During the summer months, Springfield, Massachusetts, offers an array of fun events. If you live in the area or plan to visit Springfield, you have no shortage of places to go and activities to do. To help you plan the rest of your summer, here’s a look at the top four summer events you may want to attend.

1. Cool Tunes in the Summer Heat

The Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival takes place August 6 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Springfield’s Court Square, located downtown at 2 Court Street. It’s easily accessible from Interstate 91. Visitors have access to paid parking at the Civic Center and 91 South Garage.

Once you’re at the festival, expect to see large crowds enjoying the music at this free event. This year’s mainstage lineup includes Taj Mahal, the Eric Krasno Band, and the Joey DeFrancesco Trio. With so many food and drink vendors on hand, there’s no need to pack a lunch. Instead, you can sample ethnic food from local restaurants.

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Boston is a historic city and a single day in this New England seaport can be a day well spent. Although you will not be able to immerse yourself in all that Boston has to offer, thanks to its compact nature you can see some of the sites that should not be missed by any visitor with a little time on their hands. Many of Boston’s most important cultural centers and historic sites are clustered near enough together to make taking a self-guided tour an easy affair.

Freedom Trail

Laid down to guide visitors on a tour of some of Boston’s most historic places is the red-brick path known as the Freedom Trail. Running for 2.5 miles from Boston Commons to Bunker Hill, the Freedom Trail passes by no less than 16 historic sites in American history.

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Toyota vehicles are ubiquitous on today’s roads and have earned a reputation for enduring quality, rugged durability, and innovation. The vehicles coming out of Toyota plants cover a spectrum of types, from burly full-size pickup trucks to eco-friendly electric hybrids like the Prius. Toyota’s Scion line of vehicles have established new ways for a car company to involve its customers in the ownership process, but these and other innovations come on the back of a long history of automotive achievements, milestones, and little-known facts. Read on to discover some fun and surprising facts about Toyota and Scion.

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As an independent brand, Scion isn’t going to be around for much longer, so while you can still count on regular support and service from Toyota dealerships, the Class of 2016 is your last chance to buy a new car with Scion’s sensibilities.

The Mazda2 Is Staying Overseas

The Scion iA is the brand’s smallest offering, and it’ll soon turn into the Mazda2 sedan. However, by all indications it seems that the 2017 Mazda2 won’t be coming to American shores. Therefore, if you want to experience the surprising power and fun driving experience of the iA, you may have a long time to wait before you’ll get another chance.

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All sport-utility vehicles have some ability to go off-roading, although for some it’s nothing more than an all-wheel drive option that allows drivers to get more traction in slippery conditions. However, the 4Runner goes above and beyond what you might expect from an off-road vehicle, making it the best Toyota vehicle for dirt trails and other unpaved conditions. Here are a few of the features that make the 2016 4Runner shine where the pavement ends. Read the rest of this entry »

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Springfield is the second biggest metropolis in Massachusetts after Boston, and there are some real benefits to coming in second place when it comes to population centers. Small towns don’t offer much to do, but big cities make it too easy to lose track of people, so a place like Springfield combines the best features of both.

Speaking of things to do, here are a few ideas which both locals and visitors might like to try.

1. The Basketball Hall of Fame

Every major sport in America has its own Hall of Fame, a place to honor the history of the sport and its greatest athletes and coaches, and for basketball the Hall happens to be in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame sits just off I-91 along the Connecticut River, just south of Memorial Bridge. The site includes the Hall of Fame itself, hundreds of interactive exhibits, several restaurants where you can get a bite to eat, a gift shop, and an auditorium where a new class of inductees joins the Hall every year. Read the rest of this entry »

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For someone looking through used car listings, Toyota’s high resale value doesn’t seem nearly as positive as the company makes it out to be. After all, unless you’re on the hunt for a classic car, the only reason you’re buying used is that you’re on the lookout for a bargain, and bargains don’t come as easily to Toyota dealerships as they do to other automakers.

Fortunately, “harder” doesn’t mean “impossible,” and there are still plenty of inexpensive used Toyota vehicles which you can find for under $15,000 and which have the bonus of Toyota’s well-known dependability. Here are some deals you can find on your local Toyota dealer’s lot today.

2015 Toyota Corolla

The Corolla is arguably the bestselling car of all time, potentially even bigger than the VW Beetle, and one reason it’s done so well is that it provides a lot of features for not a lot of money. New Corolla compact sedans start at just a few thousand over 15k to begin with, so it’s no surprise that used Corollas start entering that sweet spot straight away. The Corolla is small and efficient, getting 37 EPA-estimated miles per gallon on the highway, newer models come with Entune even on the low trim levels, and 2014 and later Toyota Corollas feature a full eight air bags. Read the rest of this entry »

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