Portland Hempstalk Festival
| Portland Hempstalk Festival | |
|---|---|
 Festival goers at the 2007 Hempstalk in Portland, Oregon playing Hackey Sack | |
| Location(s) | Portland, Oregon |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Website | http://www.hempstalk.org/ |
Portland's Hempstalk Festival is an annual event in Portland, Oregon advocating decriminalization of marijuana for medicinal, industrial, and recreational use. Founded in 2005, the festival often takes place the weekend after Labor Day and features food vendors, live music, and information booths. The first two festivals were held at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, and the event has always been free to attend.
In 2008, the festival was held in Eastbank Festival Plaza, organized by Paul Stanford of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF). In additional to the usual events and activities featured, the two-day event offered educational panels to inform attendants about industrial hemp, legal use of marijuana, and answer any other questions they may have.[1]
History
In 2007, nearly 20,000 people attended the third annual Hempstalk festival at Sellwood Riverfront Park, which included a special appearance by Tommy Chong of "Cheech & Chong" fame. While organizers insisted smoking would not be tolerated, the smell of marijuana lingered in the air and some festival goers chose to consume various forms of cannabis foods.[2] No festival attendees were arrested. Originally slated for Tom McCall Waterfront Park, the event was temporarily canceled[3] by Portland Parks & Recreation due to "unspecified 'problems' the city encountered with the event in the past two years there."[4] According to the Hempstalk official site, the previous location (Waterfront Park) was already booked and the City Parks & Recreation Department "refused to issue a permit to use a different park, citing unsubstantiated claims that minors were drinking beer in the park... and widespread marijuana smoking was taking place (not in public view and only by medical marijuana patients)." Hempstalk officials deny these claims.[5] Due to limited space, officials had doubts about hosting the event at Sellwood Riverside Park in the future.[4]
According to Andrew Hangerud, assistant director of the event, "It's time to reform ideas about cannabis and the use of hemp. It is a huge natural fiber resource. It can be used to produce clothing, food, fuel, medicine for people that otherwise would have to take deadly narcotics to deal with their diseases. The best thing about the event is it gives people the opportunity to speak freely about the topic of cannabis, and listen to an alternative view regarding it."[4]
See also
References
- ^ King, Bonnie (2008-09-14). "HempStalk 2008 Gives Legalization Activists a Voice". Salem-News. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Schiff, Rachel (2007-11-12). "Hidden At Hempstalk". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Deshais, Nicholas (2007-0815). "The City and the Giant Hempstalk". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c Ashton, David S. (2007-10-05). "'Hempstalk' pleases patrons; but fest raises ire of neighbors". East Portland News Service. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ "About Hempstalk". Hempstalk. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-22.