| Idaho HOPE Fest |
The Idaho H.O.P.E. Fest, Boise’s first-ever hemp rally, is coming up on Sunday, September 25. The gathering, to educate the public on the many uses of hemp, is designed to promote awareness on the reform of marijuana laws in a positive and polite atmosphere, according to organizers.
Brought to you by Idaho NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and Idaho Moms For Marijuana, the festival will feature speakers including “Radical” Russ Belville and Cannabis Karri of the NORML Show Live podcast.
“We are THRILLED to have Radical Russ Belville of the NORML Show Live and the NORML Stash blog, a native Boisean himself, speaking at a very significant time,” Theresa Knox of Idaho Moms For Marijuana told Toke of the Town.
More than half-a-dozen bands including Voice of Reason, Actual Depiction and Malachi, will provide musical entertainment.
“This is a groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind event for the Treasure Valley,” Isaias Valdez of Idaho NORML told Toke of the Town. “We are featuring many prominent, powerful speakers from the legalization movement, as well as from the industrial hemp aspect. After 40 years of fighting a war on cannabis consumers, it has failed to stop the supply and demand.
“It’s been counterproductive, and is turning a lot of otherwise good, law-abiding citizens into criminals,” Valdez told us. “Our farmers are struggling during these hard economic times. As an agricultural state, we can reap the economic profits from domestic hemp production that our farmers and the environment can prosper from.
| Isaias Valdez |
| Isaias Valdez of Idaho NORML and Serra Frank of Moms For Marijuana International |
”The message we are spreading is about education and a call to action,” Valdez said. “Everyone is encouraged to come and experience this peaceful revolution.”
Featured will be educational exhibits on all aspects of hemp and marijuana including the history, science, culture, and controversy surrounding this plant.
It’s a family-friendly event, so you can spend a fun Sunday in the park. A Kid Land will be featured with games, prizes and fun for the young ones. While you’re there, take the opportunity to register to vote or sign Compassionate Idaho‘s Idaho Medical Choice Act to get medical marijuana on the ballot for 2012, according to Serra Frank of Moms For Marijuana International.
“The Idaho HOPE Fest is a grassroots effort to provide cannabis education in a family friendly atmosphere, while protesting Idaho’s harmful anti-marijuana laws,” Frank told Toke of the Town. “HOPE stands for Hemp Offers People Everything, and the Idaho HOPE Fest is an opportunity for the citizens of Idaho to learn the truth about the numerous benefits that the cannabis plant has to offer our society.”
| Theresa Knox |
| Theresa Knox, Idaho Moms For Marijuana: “We hope to educate people about hemp and ALL of its uses and benefits” |
”We are so excited about the Idaho HOPE Festival!” “It is the first festival of its kind in southwestern Idaho,” Theresa Knox told us. “We hope to educate people about hemp and ALL of its uses and benefits, its history, and its potential future.
“At the same time, we want people to come out and have a good time in one of Boise’s most beautiful parks, enjoy live local music and entertainment, support local vendors, and meet like-minded folks so that we may unite to relegalize hemp,” Knox told Toke of the Town.
“The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp, and Betsy Ross’s flag was made of hemp,” HOPE Fest marketing director Angela Moon told Toke of the Town. “Hemp can be used for many things…. Building homes, cars, food, everything.”
“Hemp is a natural resource that we’re ignoring,” agreed Sarah Caldwell of Idaho NORML. “It makes many things: paper, clothing, rope, biodegradable plastic, oil, and many other things. This festival is to help enlighten people about many of the things the hemp offers us, and how it can be beneficial to us.”
“We have many passionate speakers who are traveling long distances just to help educate Idaho on the need for cannabis law reform,” Serra Frank told us. “Numerous bands and performers have volunteered their talent and time, and we have tireless volunteers working nonstop to help promote and organize the festival.
“Idaho has grown so much in the last several years of local cannabis activism,” Frank said. “It’s amazing to watch the progress and change start to happen after countless hours of dedicated work by individuals sacrificing their time and money to change the stigma that surrounds this very beneficial plant.
| Sarah Caldwell |
| Sarah Caldwell, Idaho NORML: “Hemp is a natural resource that we’re ignoring” |
”The citizens of Idaho are ready for change, and it’s time for the laws to catch up,” Frank said. “We hope that this festival will help educate the public of the need for reform and the many benefits that the legalization of this plant could bring to the Gem State.”
One word of caution: according to the organizers, attendees at Idaho HOPE Fest shouldn’t smoke cannabis within the park during the event.
“As this is a family-oriented event in a conservative setting, we ask that attendees refrain from smoking ANYTHING within the confines of the event,” Theresa Knox told us.
“Of course, we do encourage CIVIL acts of disobedience outside the event,” she said with a smile.
For more information about the Idaho HOPE Fest, visit http://idahohempfest.com/ or email [email protected].