Hempfest

Annual Seattle cannabis-policy reform rally first held in spring 1991 as the "Washington Hemp Expo" in Volunteer Park, drawing roughly 500 people. Organized by Vivian McPeak and Gary Cooke through the Seattle Peace Heathens Community Action Group; the idea emerged from a 1990 Gas Works Park Gulf War peace vigil. Renamed Hempfest the following year, the event moved to Gas Works Park in 1994 and to Myrtle Edwards Park on the downtown waterfront in 1995, where it remained. It expanded from one day to two (2003) to three (by its 2011 20th anniversary) and grew into what organizers and press commonly described as the world's largest cannabis policy reform event, with peak attendance estimated above 100,000 and a reported 2008 draw near 310,000. Speakers over the years included Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata, Rick Steves, Jill Stein, Jack Herer, and Woody Harrelson; later editions, following Washington's 2012 I-502 legalization, emphasized federal rescheduling and industrial hemp. The final continuous edition was held in 2020; as of 2026, logistical and permitting obstacles have left its future uncertain. McPeak authored Protestival: A Twenty Year Retrospective of Seattle Hempfest. Hempfest codified the "protestival" format — half celebration, half policy rally — that other 4/20 events later adopted.