By Dave Woods

dwoods@joplinglobe.com

Linda Yelvington said she’s excited about attending her first Cannabis Revival in Joplin and helping spread the word about drug-law reform.

“We have some nationally known speakers coming that are tremendous,” the 54-year-old cannabis activist said. “When can you have so much fun and be educated at the same time?”

While much of Saturday’s event is dedicated to education and drug-policy reform, the festival offers a long list of musical entertainment too.

“It’s going to be great,” said Yelvington, who moved to Joplin six months ago. “It’s the end of summer … everybody’s got to party.”







Billed on the Cannabis Revival 2009 Web site as “the biggest marijuana law reform festival in the Midwest,” the Landreth Park event promises live music, vendor booths offering art, crafts and clothing and plenty of food and beverages to keep the crowd satisfied.







For months, dozens of devoted marijuana-reform advocates have been planning, securing city permits, lining up food and other vendors and painting giant, green cardboard pot leaves to help guide attendees to the event site.

Darrell Sour, a 26-year-old Joplin resident and Cannabis Revival volunteer, played up the “good” aspects of the event.

“It’s all about good bands and good food, but what brings it together is the good people,” the Missouri Southern State University student and national board member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) said. “The people who show up are good-natured people. It’s an event where all people will be welcome.”

Hillary Fogerty, 37, who said she grew up during the Nancy Reagan-inspired “Just say no” era, said the Cannabis Revival will be a family affair.

“I’ll bring my son, and he’s 8,” said Fogerty, who is faculty adviser for the Missouri Southern chapter of SSDP.

“I like good music and good food and good company,” she said. “I think the festival is all about reform. I mean, it is a celebration, but it’s also about reform. I don’t think people should fear (drug law) reform, especially when prohibition has been a miserable failure.”

Kelly Maddy, the president of the Joplin chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law, organized the last Cannabis Revival in 2007. He said this year’s event will be bigger and better than those in the past.

“Everything has been stepped up this year,” Maddy said. “This year has more vendors and more food and more music than ever before. It’s going to be awesome.”

Maddy said that attendance at the festival has grown each year it’s been held.

“We’ve done more work and advertising than ever before,” he said. “We’ll have double the number of vendors than last time and expect more people than ever.”

Maddy said he attributes the increase in interest in the festival to his organization’s use of social networking such as Facebook and MySpace sites to promote the event and the NORML chapter’s local membership. Even with the stigma attached to being pro-pot, he said he wants prospective festival attendees to know it’s a safe place to bring the family, have a great time and not have to worry about undue attention from local law enforcement.

“The biggest (fear) we hear is that the police are there writing down license-plate numbers. That’s never happened,” Maddy said. “The police are just there to keep people safe, protect us and the city’s property. It’s just like any other big festival.”



Main stage schedule

Noon-12:30 p.m.— I Don’t Want to Die in Texas

12:45-1:15 p.m. — Hypo Luxo

1:15-1:30 p.m. — Joseph P. Welch, GSTL NORML

1:30-2 p.m. — Mountain Sprout

2-2:15 p.m. — Kelly Maddy, Joplin NORML

2:15-2:45 p.m. —Mouth

2:45-3 p.m. — Isom “Hawk” Pope, LEAP

3-3:45 p.m. — Ben Miller Band

3:45-4:20 p.m. — “Sack” races

4-4:45 p.m. — Speakeasy

4:45-5:00 p.m. — Mark Pederson, ASA/GSTL NORML

5-5:45 p.m. — The Hundred Hand String Band

5:45-6 p.m. — Ryan Denham, Fayetteville NORML

6-6:45 p.m. — Slippy Larue

6:45-7 p.m. — Amber Langston, SSDP

7-7:45 p.m. — Madahoochi

7:45-8 p.m. — Mason Tvert, SAFER

8-8:45 p.m. — Seedlove

9-10 p.m. — LFDC Funk



Speakers

• Mason Tvert is the co-founder and executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) and the SAFER Voter Education Fund. He appears frequently in the news and travels the country promoting the “Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol” message.

• Amber Langston is the outreach director for the Midwest and Southwest Regions for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). She worked on the successful passage of the Columbia, Mo., marijuana initiatives.

• Joseph P. Welch is a criminal defense lawyer and community organizer in St. Louis. He is one of the directors of Greater St. Louis NORML.

• Kelly Maddy is a Joplin native and president of the Joplin NORML chapter. In 2008, he launched a campaign committee to conduct a petition drive to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in Joplin. Since 2005, he has been head organizer of the Cannabis Revival festival.

• Ryan Denham is the founder of the University of Arkansas NORML chapter in Fayetteville, Ark. In 2006 he spearheaded a campaign in Eureka Springs, Ark., to make marijuana possession the lowest priority for arrest.

• Mark Pederson is the director and founder of Cannabis Patient Network. For 12 years he has been a medical cannabis patient. He has created more than 100 videos of cannabis patients with varying conditions that have benefited from the medical use of cannabis.

Source: cannabisrevival.com



Rules and regulations

• Unauthorized vending will not be permitted.

• Drinking of alcohol is strictly prohibited.

• No illegal substances.

• No weapons of any kind.

• No fireworks.

• No glass containers allowed on the festival grounds.