Seattle Hempfest proves its worth
By police estimates, 35,000 people attended Seattle Hempfest on August 23. Nearly one hundred vendors lined the paths of Myrtle Edwards park, hawking everything from hemp clothing to hemp lollipops. Among speakers at the event were Jack Herer, Dennis Peron, Mike Gray, Nora Callahan and Kevin Zeese. Music was provided by Second Coming, Floater, Local 808, Bad Kitty, Herbivores, Kuli Loach, Us of All and the Lara Lavi Band, just to name a few. In addition to the Hempen Ale sponsored main stage, Hempfest dedicated the Ralph Seeley Memorial Stage this year.
Hempfest is changing the focus of its message this year, according to Director Vivian McPeak. "In the past, we’ve focused on the history of the hemp plant, the fact that George Washington grew it or that the U.S. Constitution was originally drafted on it. This year, we decided to move away from that and focus on the Drug War. Specifically, we wanted to highlight the prisoners of this insane war."
All day, musicians and speakers blasted the War on Drugs and encouraged people to get involved in drug policy reform.
Many activists have been discussing the overall efficacy of festivals of this sort. Concern over the image put forth by the drug policy reform movement runs high among many prominent organizations. The Washington, DC based Marijuana Policy Project won’t put any pot leaves on their literature and encourages activists to dawn suits and ties. Others see festivals as unproductive and reinforcing the tie-dyed hippy stereotype that has been lingering since the ‘60s.
While Hempfest did have some freakish characters walking around and even an impromptu drum circle or two, the message of the day, indeed the message being amplified from the multiple stages, was extremely political with an emphasis on individual action.
After attending Hempfest for the first time, Kevin Zeese, Director of Common Sense for Drug Policy wrote "It gave me confidence that these events can become successful political events that put out the right public image for the reform movement."
The media was suprisingly good for Hempfest. Whereas events of this nature usually garner headlines such as "Hempfest a big hit," no such nonsense graced the newspapers or the ten o’clock news. Almost every local station sent reporters to cover the event. Numerous local papers, including the Seattle P-I wrote flattering reports. Even international news outlets such as the BBC sent reporters to cover the event.
The Seattle Police Department was also rather kind this year. In all, 23 people were cited for marijuana possesion and 3 less intelligent people were arrested for selling marijuana. This is a third of the citations issued at Hempfest ‘97. Lieutenant Dick Schweitzer said "It was a real good crowd this year, very mellow."