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Thursday, May 24, 2012
First Annual Hempfest Sacramento
by Dora Bromme, published on August 15, 2011 at 8:40 PM
Storyline: In the Community
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Medical marijuana awareness will reach its peak in Sacramento and Sutter counties this weekend as the Freedom Entertainment Group presents the inaugural Hempfest Sacramento.
The purpose of the event is to “promote awareness and to educate the uneducated on the purposes and benefits of cannabis,” said Kristina Wheeler, event organizer for the festival.
The three-day festival will take place at the Rio Ramaza Marina, RV & Event Park in south Sutter County. The 14-acre marina is complete with an outside dance floor, misting fans and plenty of shade and is known for hosting zydeco music, pirate festivals and Louisiana-style food-and-music-themed events.
The location also offers a two-night-stay campsite for those who wish to camp along the river. The campsite has 75 tent spaces at $30 per night, and each campsite can only accommodate one vehicle.
Wheeler said that she and the other organizers chose the location because of the atmosphere of the marina and the added perk of being right next to the Sacramento River.
Susan Ramon, event coordinator for the marina, said that she didn’t give Hempfest organizers an answer at first.
“I had to kind of check into it,” the 63-year old said. “This is from a person who had no knowledge at all on the subject. I couldn’t make an informed decision.”
After researching information about medical marijuana and the success of past festivals held in other counties, she agreed to hold the festival on the marina’s grounds.
“We wanted to do something fun and educational,” Wheeler said, speaking for the Freedom Entertainment Group. The group organizes large events for clients, but conceived this one on its own, Wheeler said.
Tickets are $20 a day, or $40 for the full weekend. They will be $25 a day or $50 for the weekend if bought at the gate.Attendees can buy the tickets early online or from specified locations on the website.
The festival will host to about 50 vendors, including medical marijuana dispensaries, food and beverages, massage booths, clothing and hemp products, as well as about 13 performers throughout the weekend, including Warren G., Flesh-N-Bone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ditch, Normal Bean Band, Selekta Lou, several DJs and others.
Beer and wine will be sold at the festival in a designated area.
Highlights of the weekend will include a 215 Medication Zone – a separate smoking section only open to those who have a cannabis card, a VIP after party open to cannabis card holders, informational booths on the legal protocol behind the medicinal uses of marijuana and growing it at home, as well as cooking demonstrations for alternative methods of self-medicating.
“Some cancer patients can’t smoke or take pills,” Ramon said, “but what a wonderful thing when someone can suck on a lollipop and get a little relief.”
Each day will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 8 p.m. unless attendees have a special wristband. A cannabis card is required to enter the VIP after party. VIP tickets will be on sale at the festival for $50.
For those who don’t have a cannabis card, there will be clinics and doctors available to issue on-site cannabis cards.
Wheeler said that there will be no sales of cannabis or edibles at the event, but those with verified cannabis cards will be allowed to bring their own medicinals as long as they stay in the designated 215 area.
1 Love Wellness Center – one of the many dispensaries attending the event – will be handing out pamphlets concerning the medicinal benefits of cannabis, the kinds of ailments cannabis targets, and informational materials on how to apply for a cannabis card.
“Socially, it’s becoming more accepted, but there are people who are still skeptical, and we hope to be able to inform them. This event will be more educational than anything,” said Ryan Chua, marketing manager for the 1 Love Wellness Center.
“I think some people will be enlightened, and some will be outraged,” Ramon said. What’s most important for the festival, she added, is the containment, legality and accountability.
“We are taking every measure to ensure safety,” Wheeler said, adding that there will be security at the event, though only as a precaution.
Wheeler said they are expecting about 10,000 attendees for the weekend.
Though many are expected, traffic is the only potential problem Ramon said she anticipates. Shuttles will be running up and down Garden Highway, she said, from the nearest hotel to the festival, to eliminate much of the traffic in the area.
The biggest hope for the festival, Wheeler said, “I hope it brings the community together and that people against it get that knowledge before they judge it."
For more information on the inaugural Hempfest Sacramento, visit the website.
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Izzy Gardon
August 15, 2011 | 9:47 PM
As a high school student, this openness about cannabis concerns me. With medical marijuana usage being more socially acceptable, there unfortunately has been an increase of use for non-medicinal reasons, especially in the schools. While the California Healthy Kids Survey statistics show that the use of other drugs has gone down, marijuana use has skyrocketed in schools, particularly in Sacramento. There needs to be education for young-adults that presses that this sort of behavior is not acceptable at school, and using marijuana to get high is very different than using it for its medicinal value.
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TWRL
August 16, 2011 | 8:34 AM
Isaac, everyone who smokes marijuana does so for medial reasons. They would not lie about this, that would be wrong.
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Mark
edited on
August 16, 2011 | 12:49 PM
IMO using pot to get high rather than for medical purposes should be legal and is less harmful than drinking. However, pot use among kids is a very a different story. It's interesting that other drug use has decreased while pot use has increased. You could conclude that increased pot use has decreased the use of more harmful drugs. A reverse of the gateway drug theory. Nonetheless, excessive pot use can cause temporary psychological problems - particularly in developing brains and therefore it should be discouraged among the youth. American society has an irrational all or nothing mentality. Once some people have a freedom they go stupid with it and then have to set up a bunch of self-serving groups to try to redeem themselves instead of behaving in a rational and responsible manner - moderation in pleasure and self-discipline is what is lacking.
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FrederickBaroh
August 16, 2011 | 8:18 PM
Exactly where is medical cannabis more "Socially Acceptable"? The same knee-jerk reactions are widely present, even in your little blurb. Where does one find these tabulated results about how widespread any particular plant or drug is? Should you trust them? Let's be honest here, our government is routinely complicit in allowing drugs to come into our country, sometimes even favoring one "gang" over another. Your local sherrif knows who all the big players in local drug marketeering are. The real trick here is who is making money off of it, and where does it go? Just locally laundered drug money exceeds a Billion per year, so pretty much every business or investment is profiting from that indirectly or directly. Sorry you feel that your fellow stoner classmates are such victims, but where it counts no one ever cared. Someone must man the cash register at the convenience store.
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Dora Bromme
August 16, 2011 | 8:05 AM
You must be 18 and older to attend the festival, have a valid California ID, and must hold a cannabis card to enter the designated smoking area.
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