I'd love to know the estimates of attendance- I caught a glimpse from I-91. Amherst Center could not have accommodated today's crowd (and all the vehicles)
I returned to Amherst (4PM) via Route 9. Seemed students heading home added to the traffic problem. (lots of vehicles with just one occupant) Why don't more folks head to S Deerfield to access 91? I'd rather be moving than stuck in traffic- BTW- Construction on Route 9 in Hadley starts Monday!
The extravaganza was a boon and a great thing for Amherst.People got together once a year.Well they smoked a little bit of Mary Jane.Did not cause a lot of trouble.Listened to music,ate,laughed.It was a boon to some local businesses.But I guess that,oh my god, some people were actually seen smoking mother nature. I guess that alcohol and bars and booze fueled violence is better than marijuana.So much so that things like Blarney Blowouts are cheerleaded and then Whomever has to pay 150 grand or so to "study" it after things go south. I think that the idea of people smoking grass was just too much for some Puritanical personalities? As far as the traffic problems on route 9? Hey,they wanted it at the 3 County Fair!
There you go with the carpet bombing Woodstock thing again. My eldest brother was there a week before he shipped off to RVN.Where he spent a year as an 0311 with the 198th,if you even know what that means.
All the stores in Northampton were overjoyed with the upsurge in business. Not to mention the food concessions at the Fairgrounds which largely sold out.
Amherst couldn't really survive another Ganja unless it was a 2-day event to spread the crowd. Maybe doing something like having two venues (main park and Kendrick) could've helped but it was getting a little crazy by last year.
I think the only reason it was bigger in Noho was the venue, and the fact it was equidistant from a lot more towns. A 40-min drive to this event from Berkshires is a lot more doable than an hour. Plus you had a town with a new event, and an old town with people who still want to go. Noho bridge sucks for 1-2 hours everyday. 5 hours for this event also sucks, but not to the point that they should rethink it.
If anything, they will probably need traffic cops on that bridge next time. Don't think anyone expected such a crowd.
Looking better already not even counting the money saved cleaning up after
ReplyDeletethose bums
Good luck NoHo.
I'd love to know the estimates of attendance- I caught a glimpse from I-91.
ReplyDeleteAmherst Center could not have accommodated today's crowd (and all the vehicles)
Hadley PD was dealing with gridlock along Rt9 for the past three or four hours.
ReplyDeleteMy husband stuck took 2.5 hpurs to get from hadley center to route 5 in noho.
DeleteThis event outgrew the Amherst Common, much to local restaurants' dismay. It was their best day of the year. They weren't bums, they were customers.
ReplyDeleteLarry, I have long asked "what if" Nixon had carpet-bombed Woodstock -- how much better the country would be today.
ReplyDeleteBy the same token, a drone strike over there, ummmm....
Yeah carpet bomb Woodstock and murder a half million people gathered there to listen to music. Pretty Sick.
DeleteIt's a joke. Lighten up, willya?
DeleteI returned to Amherst (4PM) via Route 9.
ReplyDeleteSeemed students heading home added to the traffic problem. (lots of vehicles with just one occupant)
Why don't more folks head to S Deerfield to access 91? I'd rather be moving than stuck in traffic-
BTW- Construction on Route 9 in Hadley starts Monday!
The extravaganza was a boon and a great thing for Amherst.People got together once a year.Well they smoked a little bit of Mary Jane.Did not cause a lot of trouble.Listened to music,ate,laughed.It was a boon to some local businesses.But I guess that,oh my god, some people were actually seen smoking mother nature. I guess that alcohol and bars and booze fueled violence is better than marijuana.So much so that things like Blarney Blowouts are cheerleaded and then Whomever has to pay 150 grand or so to "study" it after things go south. I think that the idea of people smoking grass was just too much for some Puritanical personalities? As far as the traffic problems on route 9? Hey,they wanted it at the 3 County Fair!
ReplyDeleteDid anyone smoke a cigarette? Oh no! Can't have that!
DeleteLarry,
ReplyDeleteThey were regulated away, like most other things in Amherst.
Geez, I didn't get a permit to say that, please excuse me whilst I go into hiding (or Hadley).
Sincerely,
America
Country would be better off today, though...
ReplyDeleteThere you go with the carpet bombing Woodstock thing again. My eldest brother was there a week before he shipped off to RVN.Where he spent a year as an 0311 with the 198th,if you even know what that means.
DeleteIt was never legal, anyway. A terrible influence on kids in Amherst. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
ReplyDeleteLet the drug addicts go to Northampton.
ReplyDeleteAnd Amherst will keep the alcoholics.
Delete"My husband stuck took 2.5 hpurs to get from hadley center to route 5 in noho."
ReplyDeleteHe is one patient man- I would've turned to the right or the left (lots of opportunities) and headed to S Deerfield or S Hadley to get out of it!
I was on my way to visit my grandson who lives in Northampton. I live in Amherst. I saw the grid lock and turned around. Will visit today instead.
ReplyDeleteDruggies.
ReplyDeleteAll the stores in Northampton were overjoyed with the upsurge in business. Not to mention the food concessions at the Fairgrounds which largely sold out.
ReplyDeleteDrugs were the "Fourth Column" in Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteAmherst couldn't really survive another Ganja unless it was a 2-day event to spread the crowd. Maybe doing something like having two venues (main park and Kendrick) could've helped but it was getting a little crazy by last year.
ReplyDeleteI think the only reason it was bigger in Noho was the venue, and the fact it was equidistant from a lot more towns. A 40-min drive to this event from Berkshires is a lot more doable than an hour. Plus you had a town with a new event, and an old town with people who still want to go. Noho bridge sucks for 1-2 hours everyday. 5 hours for this event also sucks, but not to the point that they should rethink it.
If anything, they will probably need traffic cops on that bridge next time. Don't think anyone expected such a crowd.