The joy was contagious at Englewood Park Saturday as people gathered for the annual Englewood Forest Festival to enjoy nature, traditional music and dance, art, culture, and a bit of mindful laughter.
Standing together in the middle of the park under towering fir and oak trees, Sophie Sparling, Lynn Albright and Heidi Toepfer spread the word about laughter yoga which involves, well, laughing.
The body doesn’t know the difference between laughing because something is funny or laughter for the sake of laughing, Albright said.
Laughing yoga brings all the health benefits of spontaneous laughter but in a deliberate environment, she said.
Aside from the medicine of laughter, the park was teeming with musicians, artists, and education focused on the natural world.
From a meet-and-greet with a Madagascar hissing cockroach to a terrarium building workshop, the festival had it covered.
Local Polynesian troupe Paradise of Samoa and the Ballet Folklorico Guelaguetza brought some flavor to the park and dazzled the crowds with traditional Polynesian and Mexican dance and culture.
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.
