We’re ALL about experiences at Experience We-Ha – and Ryan and I had the opportunity to test out weightlessness in the float tanks at the new Float Forty-One in Bishops Corner.

Floatation therapy provides a zero-gravity environment that allows the mind and body to completely let go, relax, and reset. Using 1,000 pounds of Epsom Salts, the buoyancy of the water makes floating on water feel like floating on air.

We chatted with owner Sarah LaTeano about her journey with floating that inspired her and her husband, Ryan LaTeano, to open Float Forty-One as a way to help people reduce stress and anxiety among many other physical and psychological benefits. We then tested it out by doing our own 1-hour floats and we talk more about our experience in the podcast so make sure to listen in to the story to find out if float therapy is right for you.  

Float Forty-One officially opens on Monday, Jan. 6, and you can find out more about it and book a float session by heading to their website https://www.float41.com/ 

Episode chapters:

0:00 – Intro

2:00 – How Sarah and her husband got into floating

4:30 – What is float therapy?

6:30 – How floating helps

7:45 – The pre-float

8:40 – Sterility of floating

11:12 – Types of float tanks

15:10 – Pricing and memberships

16:08 – The benefits of multiple floats and consistency

17:34 – Floating history and today

19:05 – How has floating helped Sarah most

21:15 – Jeff and Ryan go floating

21:30 – Review of the experience

27:10 – How to find out more about Float 41

28:15 – Sarah and Ryan’s (the man behind the build) favorite We-Ha dish

As we come to the end of another year (and decade), Ryan and Jeff reflect on 70 episodes of the Experience We-Ha Podcast. During this journey, not only have we learned a great deal about the medium of podcasting but more importantly about the extraordinary and wonderful things people are doing and the stories they have to tell. From our popular chefs around this culinary town to local artists and entrepreneurs and everything in between, our podcast guests are truly those who help make this great community of West Hartford what it is.

Learn more about our experience – and thank you to those who have listened in to even one podcast as it makes it all worth it, and stay tuned for more exciting guests to come in 2020. Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!

Episode chapters:

0:00 – Intro

3:15 – How the Experience We-Ha Podcast got started

6:45 – Top 5 … errr 10 episodes

16:20 – Top 5 We-Ha restaurants mentioned on the podcast

21:00 – Podcast stats and how we’ve grown

22:00 – Our favorite episodes

30:10 – What we’ve learned about podcasting

34:15 – Ryan and Jeff critique each other

36:46 – What we should do differently in 2020

40:20 – What are we most proud of in 2019

43:50 – Personal goals in 2020 and additional reflections

52:45 – What are your goals???

The West Hartford Dog Park Coalition is making headway in establishing West Hartford’s dedicated dog park as they opened their temporary gated park at Beachland Park this past week. Jeff Lovanio and Ryan Keating chatted with coalition member Suzi Craig about the 10-year journey to open a dog park in West Hartford. This marks one step closer to building a permanent park in town for dogs to play freely off-leash as this temporary spot will be open for three months. Learn more from Suzi in this week’s podcast – and make sure to read the latest news story about the dog park on We-Ha.com HERE.

For additional information visit http://westhartforddogpark.org/

Episode chapters:

0:00 – Intro – Ryan, Agent Von Woofenhauser, Gus

3:42 – Suzi Craig -–About the West Hartford Dog Park Coalition

7:57 – Beachland Park location

9:00 – Pooch Plunge

9:30 – History of challenges

12:45 – Opening

13:20 – Funding and upkeep

16:30 – Keys to success

20:10 – Online resources – westhartforddogpark.org

24:45 – Suzi’s favorite We-Ha dish

What’s the holiday season without “The Nutcracker”?  For some reason seeing the live performance truly invigorates the Christmas spirit, and this year’s rendition by Ballet Theatre Company at the Hoffman Auditorium at The University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford is no exception!

Jeff and Ryan had a chance to chat with Artistic Director and General Manager of the Ballet Theatre Company, Stephanie Dattellas, to find out what’s new for this year’s performance and how BTC adds some special nods to West Hartford to make this year’s performance special. In addition, we learn more about Stephanie and how BTC is doing local outreach to make the art of ballet accessible to more people.

0:00 – Intro/About Stephanie

3:45 – What makes a professional dancer

6:50 – Stephanie’s role and about BTC

12:25 – The Nutcracker

17:55 – Putting the Hartford art scene on the map

20:12 – Stephanie’s favorites as a dancer and as a choreographer

26:39 – Youth in ballet

31:00 – Reaching The Pointe – local outreach

36:50 – Stephanie’s favorite We-Ha dish

DECA or (Distributive Education Clubs of America) prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe – and there is a chapter right here in West Hartford at Conard High School. Jeff and Ryan got to sit down with Holly Ruiz and the DECA team to talk more about how DECA is further preparing students for their futures. From building local fundraising and marketing campaigns to attending state and national conferences and competitions, the program allows students to network with others around the country while gaining valuable experience from industry professionals.  

2:20 – DECA chapter at Conard High School – Holly Ruiz

4:38 – The DECA state conference – Johnny Hoang

6:45 – The competition

10:00 – The shark tank event

13:00 – Community service campaign – Jojo Rai, Rachel Son

17:00 – The organization – Thao Vy Ha, Miriam Lopez-Cruz

20:30 – The press release and fundraising efforts – Hunter Marotto

23:15 – Sports and entertainment conference opportunity – Andrew Rosa 

24:55 – Makeup of Conard DECA

28:00 – DECA membership

32:00 – What the students think of DECA – Rachel Son, Miriam Lopez-Cruz, Jasea Amchok, Johnny Hoang

42:30 – Favorite We-Ha Dishes