'It's So Nice To Be Back,' Boston Blooms Block Party Welcomes Everybody's Return Downtown

BOSTON (CBS) - Downtown Boston is busy with free food, entertainment and giveaways.

The Boston Blooms Block Party is on from South Station to Downtown Crossing until 8 p.m. to welcome everybody back to downtown Boston, from workers returning to offices to shoppers and tourists visiting the city.

The streets have been lined with flowers, balloons and art and there's free coffee, food trucks, live music, plant giveaways, lawn games, and a pop-up beer garden.

"It was kind of a bonus, a treat. I had no idea," said one woman.

People emerging from the T and walking to work were excited to line up for free Dunkin' on this sunny spring morning.

"This is awesome! I always walk this way on my commute, so it's nice to see this," another woman told WBZ-TV.

"The city came to us and said you know we really want to try to create some more buzz and excitement about downtown Boston. It's been a really rough two years and a lot of our local businesses have suffered through that, so how do we bring that back," George Comeau of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District told WBZ-TV.

The group organized the event, which was a pleasant surprise for people commuting into the city again after working at home throughout the pandemic.

"It's so nice to be back, it's honestly been a total game changer and the past few weeks seeing more people out and about downtown," said Jillian Weidner, who works in the area.

The Downtown Boston Business Improvement District says people are returning to the office. Data from pedestrian sensors shows about 80,000 to 90,000 people are walking through downtown a day, up about 65-percent compared to last year, though still not near pre-pandemic levels.

"What we're seeing is that hybrid model emerge and more and more businesses are embracing that, happier employees, and we want to make sure when they are downtown they have a really welcoming experience," Comeau said.

For more information, visit the city's website.

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