CPiA St. Mary’s Healthcare attended the Toying Around Block Party in Johnstown NY in June 2024. This is an annual event that began in 2018. This year there were over one hundred vendors from across NYS that shut down two full blocks of downtown Johnstown for 8 hours of information, entertainment, shopping, and great local food.

The owner (Vincent McCallum) of Toying Around, a large collectible and comic bookstore, located on the block where the event was held, is on multiple community coalitions that CPiA St. Mary’s is also a part of. CPiA St. Mary’s learned of the block party during a monthly coalition meeting, and Vincent was immediately interested in having us set up a table there to share education on cancer prevention with the Johnstown community.

We spoke with more than 150 people of all ages, races, and backgrounds, about cancer prevention, specifically sun safety, indoor tanning, HPV vaccine and cancer screening paid time off. Hundreds more saw our table and signs. We also spoke with multiple other vendors, making some great community contacts for future opportunities to educate on cancer prevention.

Events like this are great opportunities to share education on cancer prevention and help everyone in the community get the facts, reduce the risk, and spread the word!