Pubdate: Sun, 11 Aug 2013
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2013 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Bob Young
Page: B1

POPULAR HEMPFEST MAY BE COMING DOWN FROM ITS HIGH

Event in Its 22nd Year

With Recreational Marijuana Legal in the State, Some Question If the 
'Protestival' Is Still Relevant

The first Hempfest since the legalization of pot is just days away, 
and Viv McPeak, longtime director of the "protestival," says he isn't 
sleeping well, isn't eating well and isn't even smoking pot.

Hempfest turns 22 this year. "The heat is on," McPeak said of the 
Aug. 16-18 event expected to draw 250,000 people.

Business groups lobbied the city to move Hempfest from the 
waterfront, saying it's too big and messy.

City Hall is imposing more rules and safeguards, partly because of 
the Boston marathon bombings.

Event expenses are increasing, for everything from street-crossing 
monitors to graffiti scrubbing.

Media scrutiny is coming from faraway continents.

And entrepreneurs are inviting problems by proposing to make a 
world-record two-pound joint at Hempfest, and in another case, 
implying in a magazine ad that they'll give away 10,000 grams, or 22 
pounds, of pot.

"It isn't 'Felony Fest,' " McPeak said. The new law allows adults to 
possess as much as one ounce, and only state-regulated stores can sell weed.

On top of that, questions loom in City Hall and in Hempfest's Lake City office.

Has the region outgrown the three-day event just north of the Olympic 
Sculpture Park? Has Hempfest outgrown Myrtle Edwards Park? Is a 
"protestival" necessary now that recreational pot is legal in Washington state?

McPeak responds that the federal war on drugs is very much alive and 
is the theme of this year's fest. "That's why Hempfest considers 
itself as relevant as ever," he said.

Still, he's anxious about final preparations for the 105 speakers, 
110 bands, 400 vendors and a quarter-million folks descending on the 
world's biggest pot rally.

"I honestly do not know how many of these reefer-rodeos this old 
psychoactive saddle-tramp has left in him," McPeak, 55, wrote on 
Facebook last month.

Becoming more costly

The biggest problem right now for McPeak is rising expenses, which he 
expects to top $750,000 this year.

Hempfest can't charge admission, he said, because it's permitted as a 
public free-speech event. People need to donate "or take a good look 
at Hempfest because the question is whether it can come back next 
year," he said.

Hempfest is funded by revenue from vendors, donations, merchandise 
sales, benefit events, program ad sales, sponsorship and membership sales.

Attendees gave about 28 cents on average last year to Hempfest. 
McPeak is asking them to dig deeper this year. If 100,000 folks each 
gave $10, Hempfest would be sitting pretty for next year, he said.

With more donations and sponsorships, Hempfest could slash the number 
of vendors, creating more open space and a better event, said Sharon 
Whitson, Hempfest's operations director.

"We are requiring a lot more of Hempfest than any other year," 
acknowledged James Keblas, head of the city's Office of Film + Music, 
which oversees the festival.

Pressure from business groups has something to do with that.

In a letter to Keblas earlier this year, the Downtown Seattle 
Association and others said they appreciated the intentions of 
Hempfest organizers. But the groups said Hempfest's benefits don't 
outweigh their concerns.

It's too big for the 4.8-acre park, they said. It interferes with the 
tourist business. It produces too much noise, trash and traffic. The 
groups want Hempfest to move to a bigger venue, such as Seattle Center.

Keblas said he tried to foster collaboration between the parties.

That's led to another entrance, repositioned waiting lines and trash 
pickup by Hempfest volunteers along the central waterfront, all the 
way to Colman Dock. More detailed security and evacuation plans were 
also required by the fire department after the Boston bombings and 
gunfire at an April pot rally in Denver.

The upshot is thousands in added costs, McPeak said.

Hempfest has sold $40,000 in memberships to defray expenses, but that 
hasn't been enough. He and Whitson are the only employees who receive 
stipends, McPeak said. Though he didn't want to divulge specifics for 
privacy reasons, he said, they are "very modest."

Adjusting to new issues

Myrtle Edwards is the best location, McPeak maintains, because nearby 
railroad tracks and the bay provide existing perimeters. It has 
nearby parking and public transit.

Seattle Center would cost too much, McPeak said. Magnuson Park is too 
remote and likely to draw neighborhood opposition. And he doesn't 
think Redmond would want Hempfest in Marymoor Park, he said.

"We've got a dream to increase contributions and sponsorships, have 
100 juried vendors, more room and less impact. That's how we stay" in 
Myrtle Edwards, McPeak said.

But first McPeak has to wrestle with new twists like legal weed and 
the popularity of "dabbing," or smoking super-potent hash oil in 
bongs called "oil rigs" that require blow torches.

"We've had to restrict handheld torches," he said, because of fire 
department concerns. This year Hempfest won't allow lighters bigger 
than the palm of a hand.

Meanwhile, Ryan Kunkel, a medical-marijuana business owner, has 
explained to the police and others that he never intended to give 
away 10,000 grams at Hempfest, despite an ad suggesting that.

Kunkel explained that he's giving away coupons entitling valid 
patients to receive a free gram at his Seattle dispensaries.

Keblas wonders what the future will hold for Hempfest in light of legalization.

"With all of these changes," Keblas asked, "does it become more of a 
craft conference, with people getting into art or business? Do 
sponsors start surfacing now that it's legal? I think we're right in 
the middle of a transition."

Randy Hurlow, vice president of communications at the Downtown 
Seattle Association, said "Hempfest is moving in the right direction" 
with this year's improvements.

But it's too early to say if his group still wants the event to move 
away, Hurlow said. He'd like to see the city come up with an 
attendance limit for outdoor events. And he wants to see how this 
year's Hempfest plays out.

Next year will depend on what happens this year, McPeak said. "The 
only thing that matters at the end of the day is our performance."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom