Springfield summer series ends with two free cultural events

Springfield's summer series closed with two free cultural events at Fountain Plaza, giving families one last no-cost way to spend a morning downtown before summer wound down. The final pair featured an Indigenous Cultural Celebration on Aug. 5 and Urban Jazz Dance Company’s Deaf Louder with ASL Interpretation on July 29.

The Aug. 5 Indigenous Cultural Celebration ran from 10 a.m. to noon at Fountain Plaza and featured world champion hoop dancers Lane, Tyrese and Kailayne Jensen in partnership with Chifin Native Youth Center. Springfield Public Library lists its events as free and open to the public unless otherwise specified, and registration is not required unless an event description says so.

The July 29 program, Urban Jazz Dance Company: Deaf Louder with ASL Interpretation, began at 10:30 a.m. at Fountain Plaza and was listed in partnership with Springfield Public Schools, H.O.N.E.Y. and the Native Youth Wellness Program. Other summer calendar entries included #instaballet: Create a Dance! on July 1, Makola Performing Arts with Okaidja Afroso on July 8, and Noche Cultural Preview on July 15, showing the library used the plaza as a repeated stage for free public programming.

The same downtown space also hosted Free Lunch on the Fountain Plaza, where Food For Lane County served kids ages 2 to 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., while supplies lasted, every weekday from June 23 to Aug. 22. During inclement weather, lunches moved inside City Hall Lobby. That mix of performances and meals kept the civic core active through a period marked by an Air Quality Alert and Heat Advisory, while giving parents, children and older residents a place to gather without paying admission.