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Downtown Redding was packed with people Friday evening for a festive block party, a first-time event for the newly opened section of Market Street.
Some 500 people came for what was billed as the Steam Whistle Inauguration Block Party to watch and hear a trio of steam whistles installed at the corner of Butte and Market streets.
Party-goers danced, stood in line for drinks, visited a food truck, and generally enjoyed the evening.
As promised, the 20-foot tall whistles let off several puffs of steam and sounded off for the clapping crowd just after a 5:30 p.m. ribbon-cutting.
Going forward, the plan is to have the whistles blare every Friday at 5 p.m. to signal the end of the work week and the start of downtown’s weekend nightlife.