PHOTOS: Forest fest shows off Englewood Park, Salem's "hidden jewel"

Under the welcoming shade of Douglas fir trees, hundreds of visitors flocked to Englewood Park Saturday for the annual Englewood Forest Festival.

The festival is a family-friendly destination event with music, demonstrations, crafts, and artists all coming together in one space to share all kinds of learning experiences.

There were free books for kids, 6-inch-long hissing cockroaches to be awed by and an “instrumental petting zoo” to visit and try out all kinds of things from tubas to violas. Salem’s native son Ty Curtis performed blues music, and artists’ booths of all varieties lined the pathways enticing customers.

Also available were free school supplies, plenty of crafts for kids, and a station where visitors could make a homemade seed feeder to entice even the choosiest of bird to their yard. There were also free seed giveaways, nature walks, and information on attracting butterflies to your yard.

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Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.

Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.