A Fitness on the Plaza class will take place at 4:30 p.m. today on Tracy Plaza, the platform deck outside of the city Municipal Building, located at 200 E. Third St., Jamestown. The fitness class will be lead by Shawna Kohlbacher of Jamestown Fitness Factory. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

Exercising outside is nothing new to city residents.

Being able to exercise, however, on the deck outside of City Hall is a new experience.

At 4:30 p.m. today, the city Development Department is hosting a Fitness on the Plaza event with Shawna Kohlbacher of Jamestown Fitness Factory leading the course. The event is free and open to the public. People interested in registering for the Fitness on the Plaza can visit facebook.com/events/811804542894290.

Kohlbacher is the owner of Jamestown Fitness Factory, located at 110 N. Main St., which recently reopened with assistance from the city’s Development Department following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I got to say I feel more than blessed,” Kohlbacher said. “Stephanie Wright (city economic development coordinator) helped write the (loan) to allow me to reopen after COVID. She asked me to do a fitness class for the community, which is something I always wanted to do, but I never had the means. She put it altogether for us.”

Kohlbacher said Jamestown Fitness Factory had been open for a little more than five years before the COVID-19 pandemic started and forced the shutdown of the business. She was able to reopen earlier this month for the first time since the pandemic.

“It’s been going good. We haven’t had anyone complaining about wearing a facemask or any of the other guidelines,” she said. “It’s been a really smooth transition back to being reopen.”

Kohlbacher hopes she will be able to lead more Fitness on the Plaza events in the future.

“I really do think this will be the start of something in the community,” she said. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited too. I don’t know what to expect. All I can say is come prepared to work hard.”

According to the Facebook page, the class will include a variety of fitness techniques for one hour of total body fitness. Participants will need to bring their own mat, towel and water. Also, participants will be asked to wear a mask.