Boise Hempfest | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Activism & Festival |
Frequency | Annually |
Venue | Julia Davis Park |
Location(s) | Boise, Idaho |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | August 16, 2016 |
Founder | Serra Frank |
Previous event | May 13, 2023 |
Next event | May 11, 2024 |
Participants | Volunteers & Vendors |
Leader | Serra Frank |
Patron(s) | Public |
Website | boisehempfest |
Boise Hempfest is an annual cannabis rights activist event and festival in Boise, Idaho, which has been held since 2016. [1] The "Hempfest" name is licensed by Seattle Hempfest. [2] The coordinator of the inaugural and subsequent events was Serra Frank. [3] The fourth annual event took place on April 20, 2019. [4] The 2020 event was scheduled for April 18, 2020; but was postponed due to the Idaho government mandated "stay at home order" issued at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. [5]
The event is approved and permitted annually through the City of Boise Department of Parks and Recreation. It is dubbed a free and family friendly "Cannabis Education Event" that offers 12 hours of live entertainment and speakers from the Julia Davis Park bandshell; numerous food trucks and vendors in a "Munchies Market"; informational, non-profit, craft, and commercial vendors in a "Vendor Village"; access to local activism groups and citizens initiatives in a "Cannabis Cove"; educational displays in an "Enchanted Forest"; educational presentations in a "Hemposium"; and children-oriented activities and games in a free "Kidland." [5]
Idaho is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the United States. It shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north, with the province of British Columbia. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,570 square miles (216,400 km2), Idaho is the 14th largest state by land area. With a population of approximately 1.8 million, it ranks as the 13th least populous and the 6th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.
Boise is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,684 people residing in the city. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is 41 miles (66 km) east of the Oregon border and 110 miles (177 km) north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's elevation is 2,704 feet (824 m) above sea level.
420, 4:20 or 4/20 is cannabis culture slang for marijuana and hashish consumption, especially smoking around the time 4:20 pm (16:20). It also refers to cannabis-oriented celebrations that take place annually on April 20.
Seattle Hempfest is an annual event in the city of Seattle, Washington advocating the legalization of cannabis. Vivian McPeak serves as the organization's executive director. Founded in 1991 as the Washington Hemp Expo, a self-described "humble gathering of stoners" attended by only 500 people, and renamed the following year as Hempfest, it has grown into a three-day annual political rally, concert, and arts and crafts fair with attendance typically over 100,000. Speakers have included Seattle city council member Nick Licata, actor/activist Woody Harrelson (2004), travel writer and TV host Rick Steves (2007), (2010), 2012 Green Party speaker Jill Stein, Dallas Cowboys center Mark Stepnoski (2003), and former chief of the Seattle Police Department Norm Stamper (2006). Hempfest has also in recent years attracted such well-known performers as Fishbone (2002), The Kottonmouth Kings (2004), Rehab (2006), and Pato Banton (2007) to its five stages spread throughout Myrtle Edwards Park and Elliott Bay Park, on Seattle's waterfront.
Hyde Park, also called the Hyde Park Historic District, is a section of the North End neighborhood in Boise, Idaho known for its several popular eateries and locally owned specialty shops. Located on North 13th Street a few blocks north of Downtown Boise, the Hyde Park Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Interstate 84 (I-84) in the U.S. state of Idaho is a major Interstate Highway that traverses the state from the Oregon state line in the northwest to Utah state line in the southeast. It primarily follows the Snake River across a plain that includes the cities of Boise, Mountain Home, and Twin Falls. The highway is one of the busiest in Idaho and is designated as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.
Cannabis culture describes a social atmosphere or series of associated social behaviors that depends heavily upon cannabis consumption, particularly as an entheogen, recreational drug and medicine.
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 event has always been free to attend.
The Treefort Music Fest is a five-day, indie rock festival which is held at numerous venues throughout downtown Boise, Idaho in late March. The inaugural festival took place during March 20–23, 2012, with featured acts from Built to Spill, The Joy Formidable, and Poliça. Treefort has been called "the west’s best SXSW alternative" and "Boise's preeminent artistic, cultural, and musical happening" which has "morphed from quirky music festival to consuming community event." It has also been characterized as having become a "nationally renowned gathering just by maintaining its personable close-knit vibe" and a "music lover's joyous mayhem" which showcases and amplifies the soul of Boise. Given its track record, by its seventh year Treefort was being hailed as "the greatest music festival in the country" and "an absolute gem of a festival."
Cannabis in Idaho is fully illegal for any use, whether recreational or medical. The laws on cannabis prohibition in Idaho are among the most severe in the United States, with possession of even small amounts of it a misdemeanor crime, and no legality of medical marijuana. As of 2018, support for the legalization of medical cannabis is broadly popular in the state, while legalization of the drug recreationally remains a wedge issue. Both the state's legislature as a whole and its governor, Brad Little, remain staunchly opposed to its legalization for medicinal or recreational purposes.
Brett Robert Rypien is a Canadian-American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boise State Broncos and signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2019, and has also been a member of the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. He is the nephew of Super Bowl XXVI MVP quarterback Mark Rypien.
The Olympia Hempfest is an annual cannabis event in Olympia, Washington, in the United States. The event was first held in 2004, and was founded by Jeremy Miller, the same person who began the Cannabis Farmers Market in Tacoma. It attracts up to 20,000 participants. The 2015 event was held in Heritage Park in downtown Olympia.
Vivian McPeak is an American peace, social justice activist, cannabis rights activist, and musician. In Seattle, Washington. Mcpeak founded the Peace Heathens in 1988, a Seattle community action group. McPeak and Gary Cooke organized the first Seattle Hempfest in 1991, the 2-day event has grown to become the world's largest cannabis policy reform rally. McPeak, who is director of Hempfest, performed with the rock band Stickerbush in the 1980s.
Emerald Empire Hempfest is a cannabis festival in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States.
Salem Hempfest, or Salem Hemp Fest, is a cannabis festival in Salem, Oregon, in the United States. The inaugural event was held in Riverfront Park in 2015.
The Moscow Hemp Fest is an annual cannabis event held in Moscow, Idaho. It began in 1996 as a part of the University of Idaho's Mom's Weekend.
Missoula Hempfest is an annual cannabis event held in Missoula, Montana, in the United States. The fifth and tenth festivals were held in Caras Park in 2000 and 2005, respectively.
The Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic is an annual, five-day festival held at Ann Morrison Park in Boise, Idaho, USA, featuring hot air balloons. Prior to the balloon classic, an annual balloon event had occurred in Boise since 1974.
Firebird Raceway is a motorsport racing venue in the western United States, near Eagle, Idaho, in the Boise metropolitan area. The raceway opened 56 years ago in 1968 under management of racing enthusiasts Bill and Ellanor New, and it has remained under ownership of the New family.