San Francisco signs up sponsors for 4/20 weed fest in Golden Gate Park
San Francisco’s favorite pot party has finally gotten the official go-ahead from the city.
The Recreation and Park Department is issuing its first-ever permit for next month’s 4/20 marijuana-smoking blowout on Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park. For years, the event has drawn tens of thousands of weed aficionados to the park and the city has been stuck with the costs, including paying for hauling away tons of trash that the crowds leave behind.
This year, a handful of Haight Street merchants and local cannabis businesses, including the Diamond Supply Company, Cookies SF and the Green Door dispensary, have taken on the job of sponsoring the festival. They will pay for fences and gates, portable toilets, and traffic and emergency plans for the formerly unsanctioned celebration April 20. The permit fee will also help cover policing and trash-removal costs.
“The way it used to be was a free-for-all,” said Alex Aquino, a sponsor who owns Black Scale, a clothing shop on Haight Street. He declined to say how much the sponsorship cost, only that it was “very expensive.” A typical permit for an event of 4/20’s size costs around $100,000, according to Rec and Park figures.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-signs-up-sponsors-for-4-20-weed-fest-in-Golden-11039958.php
