Children’s Celebration: Mill Street work can’t keep kids from park

SPRINGFIELD – Kids’ laughter, a sing-along of “Baby Shark,” the hum of generators blowing up bounce houses, and a far-away goat’s bleat could be heard while walking through Island Park last Saturday. Willamalane kicked off the start of summer with its annual Children’s Celebration that began in the 1980s.

2025 Springfield Children’s celebration at Island Park in Springfield, Oregon. Credit: Craig Strobeck / The Chronicle

Jazmine Medrano, event coordinator for…