Things to Do in Springfield
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
On Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, a sea of vendors and spa technicians transform the Lane Events Center into an escape for women of all ages. The Just for Women Expo's two days of sensory indulgence and shopping benefit visitors twice over, as 50% of ticket-sale profits are donated to organizations dedicated to women's health. This year, comedienne, stress-management expert, and author Leigh Anne Jasheway sets the expo's tone with a keynote speech and by filtering the audience's laughter through auto-tune, which then harmonizes with a number of personal-enrichment seminars. Winetasting and fashion shows punctuate hours of bargain hunting, and raffle tickets given to each guest offer a chance to win a Girlfriends Getaway for four.
Girls Night Out caps Saturday's events with four hours of catered spa pampering and revelry for those 21 and older. Gentlemen servers swing past makeover stations carrying trays of hors d'oeuvres, and 15-minute massages and bites from a chocolate buffet revive guests after belly-dance lessons. Guests to this event also take home goodies and enjoy two free drinks apiece to toast their superior toasting skills.
Helping youngsters succeed in gymnastics comes as second nature for husband-and-wife coaching duo Rosen Manolov and Neli Manolova, whose own daughters, Rali and Iva, grew up practicing gymnastics under their direction and now lead classes at The U.S. Gymnastics Academy. Rosen’s stint as the men’s gymnastics coach for Bulgaria at the Sidney Olympics and Neli’s years of competing internationally are experiences they call upon while guiding aspiring gymnasts toward their personal goals, whether they be to join an Olympic team or to dramatically end conversations with back handsprings.
The U.S. Gymnastics Academy’s sprawling 13,000-square-foot facility provides enough elbow room for fledging flippers to flourish, and its in-ground trampolines, foam pits, and high-quality equipment ensure a safe and fruitful learning environment. The world-class coaches also host various fun and creative summer camps, where kids tumble, draw, and learn to build campfires by high-kicking kindling in rapid succession.
With nearly 30 years of experience teaching gymnastics, owner and director Naja Rossoff and her staff of kid-minded professionals train children of all ages and skill levels. They start with tykes as young as 15 months old, letting them explore movement with the help of a parent or imaginary legal guardian. They keep developing skills in older kids with advanced classes and a trampoline-and-power-tumbling team. Otherwise, during circus-arts classes, they'll help students master the trapeze, tiptoe across tightropes, and learn of the ins and outs of circus performance.
Bounce Gymnastics also hosts open gyms so that kids can have their run of the facility's balance beams, nine trampolines, and padded floors. During birthday parties, the facility also opens up obstacle courses and organizes group games.
Listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, the McDonald Theatre has enjoyed a long, strange history since its establishment in 1925. Originally a community playhouse equipped with both a stage and a screen, the theater found new life in the 1950s when One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest author and psychedelic pioneer Ken Kesey began presenting free cartoons there every Saturday morning. The McDonald spent the next six or so decades as a movie house exclusively, but in 2001, the Kesey family returned, producing concerts and community events under the theater’s enormous proscenium arch. Kesey Enterprises finally purchased the time-weighted stage in 2009, and today the building hosts events ranging from high-school proms to reggae concerts to plumbing-fixture lifting contests.
Chase Adventure Outfitters’s guides chaperone whitewater rafters and fishermen across the McKenzie River’s swirling waters on quarter-, half-, and full-day trips. Guides customize each route to suit their passengers’ tastes, gliding rafts down gentle stretches or whipping them through rapids as intense as a shower taken under Niagara Falls. As a gentle breeze hits riders’ faces, they catch sights of lush foliage along the riverbanks as well as gamboling area wildlife.
Splash! at Lively Park provides Oregon residents with safe, warm year-round access to watery fun. The venue features a waterslide, a flooded basketball court, lap pool, and a wave pool, amongst more relaxing activities such as splashing in the pool or enjoying a hot tub. Splash! participates in local outreach programs, such as providing swimming lessons for every fourth-grader in the Springfield school district. The enormous space accommodates rentals for events with up to 1,000 people, dishing hot eats to fill bellies from its concessions stand. During warmer months, the outside playground and sundeck provide places to soak up sunshine and feel the sea-driven breeze.
