Hello, and welcome to the city where I was born, raised, and have lived all of my life! Springfield is a medium-sized city located in the southern part of western Massachusetts, close to the Connecticut border. It is a city of great ethnic variety..a true melting pot! There is a wealth of culture here because of the many different peoples who reside in the city. There are Black-Americans, Hispanics, Italians, Greeks, Irish, Polish, Chinese, Vietnamese and a multitude of others...the list goes on and on! A visitor to our city during the summer months can always find an ethnic festival to attend, where one can sample the food and culture of one of our ethnic peoples. There are also a wide variety of restaurants featuring the cuisine of the residents of Springfield. Springfield also has many other claims to fame. We have the honor of being the home of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, named after James Naismith, the man who invented the game of basketball right here in Springfield! Who would have thought that a game once played using a peach basket for a hoop would grow to be one of the greatest American sports? It is considered a great honor to be inducted into the Hall of Fame! Springfield will soon also have the honor of sponsering a professional minor league baseball team. The stadium is tentatively scheduled to be built in the downtown area and is to be completed sometime next year. There are also many facilities for the amateur sportsman here in Springfield. In Forest Park we have a profesional-sized ice skating rink and some of the best clay-topped tennis courts in the area, as well as jogging and hiking trails, swimming pools, basketball courts and baseball fields. If you are looking for fun things to do, we have plenty! We boast one of the best museum complexes in the area, centrally located at the Quadrangle. There is a terrific science museum with a hands-on area for children, an art museum, a natural history museum (where one can view a real egyptian mummy!) and one of the largest libraries in our area. And our "Bright Nights" display, held between Thanksgiving and New Years, winds all through Forest Park and has been called the best holiday lighting display in New England! Forest Park is, in itself, a great place to visit, with a zoo for children and animal lovers, picnic areas, nature trails and much more to see and do. And every summer, we host a huge outdoor pancake breakfast as part of our ongoing battle with Battle Creek, Michigan to see who can serve breakfast to the greatest number of people. Tables and grills are set up all along our Main Street in downtown Springfield, and after the breakfast there is a rubber duck contest. For $1 one can buy a rubber duck. They are all dumped into the Connecticut River and the owner of the first duck to reach shore wins a prize. It's great fun for everyone! Springfield, like any major city, has it's problems, but we are an up-and-coming city. We get better each and every year. I love living here! If you get the chance, stop by our city...you'll be glad you did!      This beautiful background set was made for me by Bekki, the former chairperson of Heartland Carnival. Thanks, Bekki!