The 13th annual season of the Senses Block Party brought all the March Madness excitement to Main Street on Thursday evening.   Senses Block Party is an event that features a theme and has different things to appeal to the whole family. It happens every third Thursday of the month until October and the events are free to attend.  The theme was “Alley-Oop” and it was a slam dunk of fun everywhere people turned. With games testing children’s basketball skills, live band Suns of Venice singing some tunes and a churro food truck ending the night on sweet note, the night coincided with the beginning of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament commonly referred to as March Madness.  Ramon Garcia, 10, (left) and Ricardo Calderon play NBA JAM at Santa Clarita’s first 2025 Senses Block Party, themed March Madness, presented by the city of Santa Clarita in Old Town Newhall on March 20, 2025. Katherine Quezada/The Signal Families, couples and young adults all joined in on the fun.  “There’s a lot of booths here tonight. There’s a lot of activities and all of them are geared towards young children and families in a way where it’s like you spin a wheel to get a prize … right now, I’m looking at an inflatable basketball court that seems really fun … parents are waiting in line with their kids and so it’s just everywhere you look wall-to-wall, there’s a family activity to be had,” said Zach Haddad, smiling with his wife and children.   One couple has been coming to Senses since it started, and they had to make sure they kept their tradition going by getting a silly photo from the photo booth.  After getting onto her husband’s back laughing to make a slam dunk, Naya Fithian said that the block party is a way to run into friends and family.  Adding to the sentiment, Jay Fithian said that downtown Newhall is vibrant.  “It pulls everyone from Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, Canyon Country all together to a little common kind of spot, which keeps the community together. It helps out the local businesses and it’s really for families. You know, you bring your dog, you bring your kids. It’s a blast every month,” Fithian said.   Attendees dance to music performed by the Suns of Venice band during the first Senses Block Party of 2025 presented by the city of Santa Clarita in Old Town Newhall on March 20, 2025. Katherine Quezada/The Signal Doing things a bit different this year, Cali Nocella, arts and events coordinator for the city of Santa Clarita, said that they had the opportunity to be creative and play with the theme of the month and really hone in on those elements of the month.  “I think this year, we have a couple of mix themes that we’re throwing in there. We’re really excited about the date night theme. It is to kind of emulate the first date and give people the experiences,” Nocella said.   Nocella also believes that Senses holds a lot of nostalgia for families and can help bring people back to Newhall.  The Suns of Venice band perform a series of rock classics during the first Senses Block Party of 2025 presented by the city of Santa Clarita in Old Town Newhall on March 20, 2025. Katherine Quezada/The Signal The post Main Street knocks some ‘Senses’ into March Madness block party  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal. ...read more read less