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By 1994 a strong tribe of dedicated volunteers had been established, and it became clear that a very special and unique spirit of community had developed around this group. The move to beautiful Gasworks Park had been made. Gasworks is a former petroleum production site with huge towers and stacks still standing—ironic for an event promoting alternative sources of energy.
’94 was also the year we picked up the most kick-ass graphics design team that any Hempfest has ever had. Jamie Sheehan, Hempfest’s art director, and world-renowned music art poster luminary Art Chantry collaborated on our famous cigarette pack poster, produced both on hemp paper as well as 100% hemp burlap. This poster was the first of many designed by this team to win national awards for art design and creativity.
The sheer girth and magnitude of Hempfest ’94 brought the scrutiny of city officials and alarmed residents (traffic was clogged for miles) who saw a sleeping giant just starting to wake from a haze of political apathy and indifference. Up to that point, not a single uniformed officer had ever stepped foot into Hempfest. That would change.
A growing concern from police, parks department, and neighborhood groups would be reflected in a series of negotiations that would span many months and involve as many subcommittee meetings to determine our ability to meet the new demands of the Special Events Permit that was now required of us. The negotiations culminated with assistance from the ACLU and required a $1,000,000 insurance policy, the addition of hiring licensed, bonded and insured security, emergency evacuation plans, an on-site ambulance, and paid EMTs. Meetings with concerned community groups soon followed, helping to establish Hempfest as a legitimate political rally, not merely a “pot party in the park”, as had been previously claimed by our critics.
In 1998 we realized that to fight for medical, industrial, or recreational marijuana use for adults meant to fight the greater War On Drugs, as it is this policy that is preventing all aspects of the cannabis plant from being utilized in this country. It was Nora Callahan who helped us broaden our speaker range to include not only the hidden victims of the Drug War, the families of the prisoners of war, but to introduce of an audio CD featuring the actual voices and words of the prisoners themselves, as well as the suit-and-tie national-level drug policy warriors.
With the passing of our hero Ralph Seeley in January of 1998, we dedicated our second stage as the Ralph Seeley Memorial Stage. We were honored to have Ralph’s wife Judith speak from that stage (Judith passed away shortly after Hempfest ’98). The second stage is now known as the “Seeley Stage” in honor of both Ralph and Judith.
That same year Washington activists and voters made hempstory by passing Initiative 692, making it one of the first states to legalize medical marijuana.
In 2002 we threw out all the stops and declared Pot Pride! Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata received a Green Ribbon Award for excellence in cannabis activism, and we paid lasting respects to our beloved brother Robert Lunday. Robert passed away suddenly from natural causes at 34 years old. He founded Hemp.net, a Seattle-based internet service provider. Robert’s philanthropic and drug policy reform efforts were monumental and he will be forever missed. 2002 also saw city initiative I-75 qualify for the next year’s ballot, something Robert played a big role in and would have been proud of.
Vicci Martinez played a set that almost caught the mainstage on fire in 2004, and movement heroes Ed Rosenthal, Eddy Lepp, Kyle Kushman and Dana Larsen were among the line-up of guest speakers.
2005 was the year that almost everybody came to speak at Hempfest. Movement luminaries such as Rob Kampia from the Marijuana Policy Project, Jack Cole of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Stephen Gaskin from the Farm Commune and medical patient Angel Raich came to address Hempfest’s massive crowd. This was also the last year with the old entrance of Myrtle Edwards Park, as construction continues on the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park.
2006 was in many ways the best Hempfest ever. Former Seattle Police Chief, Norm Stamper, spoke on our stages, a first for a pot rally and a real honor for us. Air America radio goddess Randi Rhodes shared some of the emcee work on Mainstage both days, and John Sinclair, an icon within both the culture and the movement, participated as a poet and musician. The band Rehab tore up the Mainstage, as the sun shone down on the essential event.
The 2009 Seattle Hempfest also took place in beautiful summer weather, and record crowds thronged to the downtown waterfront to check out the scene. The theme was “cannabis for a better future” and we were happy to work with the Hemp Industries Association in offering a glimpse of what the hemp pant could do for America. The music included Potent, from L.A., Oregon’s Alice Di Micele, and our own state’s Rich Wetzel’s Groovin’ Higher Orchestra (a fourteen piece brass band). On Saturday Hempfest experienced a crowd crunch from unprecedented attendance.
Our Board of Directors met for an emergency meeting that night and identified 11 points throughout the 1.3-mile event site that needed to be widened. The next morning anything that could be was moved. Generators, fencing, sanicans, vehicles, and other obstructions were moved to gain more access on the paths. Hempfest worked with SPD to manage the crowds on Sunday and there were no notable crowding issues at all that day.
After 20+ years working from our homes without a central office, Hempfest took the plunge and secured offices and storefront on Lake City way in North Seattle. We like to say that we worked “grass-roots to our ass-roots” for years while we organized the world’s biggest pot rally on a shoestring. After many months of looking, we finally secured a storefront at 12351 Lake City Way NE # 102, in Seattle. We call our new home Hempfest Central, and in some ways, it is like a Hempfest mullet, with the store in the front and offices in the back.
The 2013 Seattle Hempfest was unlike any previous one. The historic victories in the previous election cycle set the stage for an equal part protestival and victory celebration, and the 22nd annual Seattle Hempfest featured unbridled revelry as attendees relished in the knowledge that victories are being realized after so many decades of prohibitionist control. The year began with another iconic poster image from husband and wife art duo Cory and Catska Ench. The image of Uncle Sam passing a lit joint against a backdrop of the Emerald City embodied the new paradigm that is emerging as the meme of prohibition being an impenetrable barrier has been shattered.
The 23rd annual Seattle Hempfest took place August 15, 16, 17, 2014. The weather was good, and former members of the Seattle music icon Heart performed a blistering set on the Main Stage with the band Heart by Heart. Chimaira rocked the McWilliams Stage, Seattle favorites Jim Page, Joanne Rand, and Annie O’Neill all played a 4:20 pm slot on Seeley Stage over the weekend. Hempfest’s theme was Time, Place, and Manner, and it was reflected in the introduction of two “Adult Lounges” that were out of public view. Hempfest teamed up with The Human Solution to advocate for “adopted” prisoners, raising $3,400.85 for Jimmy Roman, George Montorano and Eddie Lepp. Hempfest Voter Registration volunteers registered 1,206 new voters during the 3-day event. Sadly, we lost two loved members in 2014; Mimi Peck from Safety Patrol, and Michael “Parijat” Kearns from the Hempstory / Protestival Book Booth. Recreational stores opened as the brave new world of legal cannabis emerges a testament to the sweat equity and shoe-leather organizing and advocacy of thousands of local and regional activists. Hempfest Central, our storefront and offices, raged on, approaching its third year of existence.
The 2017 Seattle HEMPFEST experienced some of the best August weather of the events’ history. The 26th annual event featured a diverse and representative musical line-up including great acts such as the renowned Seattle reggae icon, Clinton Fearon and his Boogie Brown Band, the powerful folks artist Naomi Wachira, psychedelic Seattle favorite Andy Coe Band, and the city’s high priestess of metal, goth, and industrial music, Charlie Drown. There was also an hour-long indigenous Tribute to Standing Rock featuring Mista Chief and the Rising Buffalo Tribe as well as other First Nations drummers and singers. The HEMPFEST footprint was a little smaller, reducing the traditional six stages down to four, and bringing the north perimeter in a bit. The Seattle HEMPFEST Event Guide featured a Memoriam section to honor five staff members who passed away in 2017. Capping the event was a rare total eclipse of the sun on Monday directly after the event, that was visible to all of the tear-down staff still on site.