Thousands fill streets for Amherst block party

AMHERST, Mass. (wwlp) - A monster celebration involving thousands of partiers in downtown Amherst Thursday night.

The town turned a stretch of Pleasant Street into a pedestrian way.  The normally busy road was closed to traffic, and the street was filled with crowds of people dancing to live music, enjoying circus entertainment,  and sampling the restaurants.

Hadley's Andy Morris-Friedman called it an amazing scene.  "I've never seen a crowd so happy.  Jugglers and music and everything.  It's so terrific!  It shows that if you get rid of the cars, people come out to town," Morris-Friedman told 22News.

Joining the jugglers and a man on stilts, the "Belle of Amherst" herself, Emily Dickinson made an appearance as part of a static entertainment display in the form of a living statue.

What's billed as the "First Annual Amherst Block Party" was sponsored by the town, UMass, Amherst College, Peter Pan Bus Lines and the Business Improvement District.