Pubdate: Tue, 20 Jan 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Jon Murray

FESTIVAL WILL MISS ACTUAL POT HOLIDAY

Organizers Can't Extend Event to Include Monday.

Before organizers put together Denver's first permitted 4/ 20 
pro-marijuana rally seven years ago, Civic Center served as a magnet 
for ragtag gatherings of enthusiasts each April 20.

This year, it's back to that old reality - in contrast to recent 
expanded 4/ 20 festivals that rolled out the green carpet for tens of 
thousands of people, plus vendors, for the all-important smokeout in 
solidarity at 4: 20 p. m.

The 4/ 20 fest likely will be back this year as a weekend event on 
Saturday and Sunday, with political speakers and big-name music acts 
dialed in with the marijuana culture. But timing- April 20 is a 
Monday- and new Denver public event rules will keep the 
almost-guaranteed gathering at Civic Center disorganized on the 
annual pot holiday.

By that afternoon, the festival's fences and stages and security 
checks, first introduced last year, will be gone. Officials expect 
plenty of people to show up Monday regardless.

Lead organizer Miguel Lopez applied to stretch last year's Saturday/ 
Sunday festival combo into Monday, but city officials denied that 
request. The city cited a moratorium this year on new events in 
Denver's big parks, including Civic Center, because the policy also 
bars recurring events from expanding their footprints or adding days. 
The Denver Post recently reported on the 2015 public event limits.

Unorganized crowds

Denver police and the Office of Special Events say they will be ready 
for the possibility of unorganized crowds on April 20.

Festival organizers will have a deadline of noon that day to tear 
down their stages and fences, said Katy Strascina, executive director 
of the Denver Office of Special Events.

That's several hours before the moment at 4: 20 p. m. that marks the 
climax of a day laden with countercultural significance because of 
pot fans' focus on the number "4/ 20."

"Obviously, we expect plenty of people to come down anyway," despite 
the lack of a sanctioned event, Denver Police Department spokesman 
Sonny Jackson said. "We'll be staffed appropriately and will take 
appropriate measures that day," geared primarily toward ensuring 
safety rather than mass citations.

Typically, he said, the department shifts schedules before any 
expected large gathering or event with a need for a police presence 
to minimize or avoid paying overtime.

Cannabis Cup

Elsewhere in Denver, High Times magazine's Cannabis Cup is expanding 
to three days so that it concludes April 20- a change that's allowed 
because it's hosted at the private DenverMart.

While Strascina said moving the two-day 4/ 20 festival to a Sunday/ 
Monday lineup was an option, Lopez said that change likely would have 
resulted in lower festival attendance, and lower proceeds for vendors 
and the nonprofit festival, throughout the day.

Lopez and others sparred with city officials last year in a standoff 
over their request, later withdrawn, for the city's blessing of 
public marijuana consumption, despite a city ordinance against it. He 
says he doesn't plan to test the issue this year.

But while Lopez says Strascina is treating organizers well as they 
work out permit details, he suspects meddling from Mayor Michael 
Hancock's office.

"I don't think the mayor's efforts are anything but patronizing," 
Lopez said, citing Hancock's opposition to Colorado's marijuana 
legalization vote in 2012. "The mayor's moratorium will give a black 
eye to the city. ... He can't change that around to make us look bad 
just because he lost ( on legalization)."

Mayoral spokeswoman Amber Miller says the 4/ 20 fest isn't being 
singled out, since the new restrictions apply to all events.

Rallies draw scorn

The 4/ 20 rallies have drawn scorn from public officials, especially 
as a flashpoint over public pot-smoking. And in 2013, a shooting 
injured three attendees.

City Councilman Charlie Brown, long a critic of the 4/ 20 event, said 
he was glad the organizers weren't granted a third day.

"It's still a bad image for our city and, I think, for spreading the 
movement ( of marijuana legalization) to other states," he said.

But Lopez says it's important to celebrate Colorado's expanded rights 
while calling for legalization at the federal level and pressing 
other civil-rights causes.

Without the festival on April 20, Lopez says he's been talking with 
others about an idea for an unofficial gathering that day surrounding 
the State Capitol, where past requests for permits by marijuana 
activists have been denied.

He calls it a "big hug" of the state building, timed at 4: 20 p.m.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom