AMHERST — An annual street festival that serves as a welcome-back event for the fall semester is being canceled for the second consecutive year.
Officials with the Amherst Business Improvement District announced Tuesday that the Celebrate Amherst Block Party, in which a section of North Pleasant Street becomes a pedestrian way lined with vendors, musicians and performers, will not be held on the evening of Sept. 17.
Unlike last year, when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of emergency in Massachusetts limiting gathering sizes, this year’s decision was based largely on having a susceptible population of children under the age of 12 not yet able to be vaccinated.
“First and foremost is our concern for our community and those unable to vaccinate,” said BID Executive Director Gabrielle Gould.
The Amherst BID also consulted with public health experts and town health officials, Gould said.
In a statement released by the organization, the BID notes, “While we feel very confident that being outdoors without masks is safe, we do not want in any way to build an event that could be responsible for any rise in numbers and therefore create a stricter mask mandate or gathering restrictions.”
In addition, there are also continuing challenges facing restaurants, and concern about restaurant owners having sufficient staff to operate both their establishments and any tents that would need to be set up.
“The staffing is a secondary issue but it definitely put weight on our decision,” Gould said.
