[420 Girl]

LINCOLN — It was “all too beautiful” to be true.

Organizers hoped that “Hempstock Nebraska'' — a festival promoting the legalization of marijuana — could draw as many as 5,000 people to Itchycoo Park near Douglas, Neb., this weekend.

The $25-per-person event would feature bands like the Jerry Pranksters, who cover Grateful Dead tunes; hemp ice cream and hempseed muffins; and tie-die fashion contests. There was even talk of a fund-raising pancake feed on Saturday morning by the local volunteer fire department.

But the festival was called off Tuesday after the Douglas Village Board declined to grant a special use permit to stage the concert in the privately owned park.

“It was going to be an incredible tie-dyed, sweet festival — and we were portrayed like maniacs,” said organizer Bill Hawkins, an organic farmer, environmental activist and director of HEMP Nebraska.

The festival, patterned after similar events in Seattle, Wash., Missoula, Mont., and other cities, was intended to promote the legalization of marijauna and other uses of cannabis.

A pro-marijuana group has said it plans a petition drive next year to seek the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes in Nebraska.

Hawkins is searching for a new site in hopes of rescheduling the festival this fall. Those who bought advance tickets should return them to the place of purchase for a full refund, he said.

He didn't know how many people bought advance tickets, but he said more than 1,000 had indicated via Facebook that they planned to attend.

For those who don't remember, “Itchycoo Park” was the name of a 1967 psychedelic rock song by The Small Faces. The song was about skipping school to get high in a park. The chorus repeats, “It's all too beautiful.”

Douglas' Itchycoo Park, a wooded area and private campground just outside town, has been something of a headache to the village of 231 about 30 miles southeast of Lincoln.

The property was not zoned for concerts when the town adopted its zoning ordinances several years ago.

After a three-day concert in spring 2009 that annoyed neighbors, the landowner was warned by certified letter that concerts were no longer permitted on the property.

Hawkins said the landowner failed to tell him about the problems before he signed a contract to hold the concert at Itchycoo Park. The landowner could not be reached Tuesday.

Hawkins said he learned that the permit was required when he drove to Douglas two weeks ago to confirm arrangements. He also learned that local firefighters had no plans to serve breakfast and were unhappy that they had been associated with a hemp festival.

Hawkins said he had no complaints with village officials, whom he said bent over backwards to schedule two special hearings to consider the festival.

Village Board member Dan Adkins said the denial was based on the property's zoning. “It didn't have anything to do with the content of the show,” he said.

Hawkins said his initial discussions with village officials amounted to “total reefer madness and hysteria,” but they eventually were able to have a serious discussion about the issue.

Although community members opposed the hemp festival, Hawkins said, with more time he might have been able to persuade the board to grant the permit.

“My biggest thing is I disappointed all these people who were just looking to have fun,” he said.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Omaha World Herald
Author: Leslie Reed
Contact: The Omaha World Herald
Copyright: 2010 The Omaha World Herald
Website: No ‘hempstock' for Douglas


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