Madison Area Marijuana Activists Continue on with 4/20 Celebrations
Madison will be among pot-friendly cities hosting 420 celebrations this April 20. The Madison 420 Festival 2013 is being held at two downtown venues, the Brink Lounge and the High Noon Saloon and will feature three stages. Madison reggae favorites Natty Nation will headline the event at the High Noon Saloon.
Madison’s city council declared April 20 as “Ben Masel Day,” and the 2013 event builds on a 2012 concert at the Barrymore Theatre celebrating both occasions.
Confirmed Sponsors of the Madison 420 Festival 2013 include the Madison chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Ignite Glass, Maximum Ink, WORT and Cannabis Energy Drink
Cost for tickets for the event is $10 at each venue or $15 for both. Patrons will be able to upgrade to both venues at any time during the night. A portion of proceeds will go to Madison NORML and the Ben Masel Project.
A Facebook event page for the Madison 420 Festival 2013 can be found here.
Here is the complete lineup for all 3 stages:
The Brink – Nightclub
4:20 – 5:35 p.m. Warm Wet Rag (ween tribute feat. former Elf Lettuce members)
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Mudroom (rock)
8:15 – 9:15 p.m. Patchwork Monkey (sultry blues and jazz)
10:00 – 11:15 p.m. The New Speedway Players (Madison’s premiere Grateful
Dead tribute)
12:15 – 1:30 p.m. The Grasshoppers (jam rock, former Harvest fest
performer, played Ben Masel day event last year)
The Brink – Lounge
7:00 – 8:15 p.m. Electric Spanking (jam rock/funk, former members of
Baghdad SCUBA review)
9:15 – 10:00 p.m. River Water Tribe (played at Harvest Fest last year,
eclectic rock from Milwaukee)
11:15 p.m. – 12:15 a.m. The Material Boys (Madonna bluegrass, also played at Harvest Fest 42 in 2012)
High Noon Saloon
6:30 – 7:15 p.m. Mount Zion Soundsystem
7:30 – 8:15 p.m. T.U.G.G. (La Crosse)
8:30 – 9:30 p.m. DJ Trichrome
10:00 – 11:30 p.m. Jon Wayne and The Pain (nationally touring dub reggae)
12:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. Natty Nation (Madison’s favorite reggae band, longtime
friends of Ben Masel, NORML, and our cause)
“Being involved with Baghdad SCUBA Review and the Ben Masel Day event at the Barrymore last year, I wanted to help put on something this year, but make it a little different. I started talking to Burbie from the GrassHoppers and at the same time able to secure the Brink as a venue. Then Aaron from Natty Nation joined forces with us and everything came together with the High Noon as another venue to make it a mini-festival with 3 stages. Our goal is to make this THE 420 Event in Madison. So far so good…” — Erik Riedasch — Madison 420 Festival 2013 organizer.
In addition to the 420 Festival, there are rumors that folks will again gather at 4:20 p.m. on Bascom Hill as in prior years.
Finally, a Facebook event page lists another event: “Ben Masel Day at the Capitol,” scheduled to commence at 2 p.m. The Facebook page notes: “In honor of Ben Masel, Madison’s proudest fighter for freedom, let’s meet at the Capitol to remember our missed friend and the ideas he stood up for. As April 20th has been officially deemed Ben Masel Day in Madison it seems only fitting. 2pm. Come ready to speak if you have words.”
In the true Ben Masel tradition, the Facebook event page also proclaims, “THIS EVENT WILL HAVE NO PERMIT.”
So it seems that Madison area folks will have some good opportunities to gather and celebrate 420 this April 20. While it won’t be like Denver and the first-ever High Times Cannabis Cup open to adults from all over now that Colorado voters have legalized the herb, there will be some great events for local like-minded people to gather in Madison on 4/20.
