Seattle Hempfest August 15-16, 2009

Share Parker Main Stage, Seattle Hempfest 2006. Photo by Owl Jester.

Seattle Hempfest is held the third weekend in August. The next Seattle Hempfest is August 15-16, 2009 in Seattle, WA. The event spans three Seattle waterfront parks: Elliott Bay Park (North Entrance), Myrtle Edwards Park, and Olympic Sculpture Park (South Entrance).

Event hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Admission to Seattle Hempfest is free.

To beat the crowds, use the north entrance by crossing the Amgen Pedestrian Bridge off of W Prospect Street. It has an elevator and is wheelchair accessible, placing the avid attendee just north of Seattle Hempfest's north entrance. There is very little parking at W Prospect Street. So your best bet is to walk, bike, or take a metro bus to that location. Take metro bus 18 to north entrance, and 15 to south entrance. Downtown Seattle has several parking garages.

A Seattle Hempfest volunteer. Photo by Team Boo Images.

Click Here to Sign Up for Hempfest 2009 Crews and Shifts!

Seattle Hempfest happens thanks to a volunteer core staff of one hundred twenty (120) working year-round and an additional one thousand (1,000) volunteering through the week of our event. Over forty distinct crews synergize to produce the largest pot rally on the planet. The energy created by this activist family is amazing, and we invite you to be a part of it!

Contact the staffing crew at staff2009@hempfest.org if you need help. We need Volunteers from August 12th through the 18th, day and night. Email us to get on the HFStaff notification list!

THC Foundation Presents Seattle Hempfest 2009

Marketing with Seattle Hempfest
With thousands of people converging on a mile-long waterfront park in the heart of Seattle, Seattle Hempfest is the world's largest rally of its kind and a major Seattle institution (with a proven 17-year track record of positive relationship with many City departments), providing Sponsors with tremendous exposure to their brand and products, at the fraction of the cost of similar festivals.

Browse and book our 2009 Sponsorship Packages here.

Seattle Hempfest is an all-volunteer event, and we can use your help with promotion. Please feel free to use these in your magazine, on your blog, in your podcast, etc. Reproduction limited to free distribution for informational purposes only. Other usage is strictly prohibited unless permission in writing is obtained from the artist(s) please.

2009 Promotional Poster

Below is an 8.5x11 full-color collector poster produced by Cory and Catska Ench

Click on the poster to see larger 'print' version, which can be used for print ads.

Main Stage, Seattle Hempfest 2006. Photo by Anthony P. Lilly

Vending Sales Open to the Public!

We have vending galore! Vending sales are now open to the public. Just click on vendors to find out how to purchase a vending booth. Seattle Hempfest has hundreds of vending opportunities available and our vending team is ready to answer your questions. Contact us if you have questions that are not answered in the vending section of this website.

Hempfest is looking for volunteer certified flaggers and licensed forklift operators

We need all kinds of skills. Riggers, greeters, stage hands, drivers, security, safety, traffic, vending, cooks, food prep, sign painter, graphic artist, podcast, software design, Drupal programmers, grant writers, writers, construction, deconstruction, hydration and caffeination.

Ever wonder what British Columbia's most profitable industries are? Logging? Fishing? Tourism? Ever think to include marijuana? If you haven't, think again. No longer a hobby for the stereotypical hippie culture of the ’60s, BC's illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a seemingly unstoppable business giant, dubbed by those involved as 'The Union'. Commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually, The Union’s roots stretch far and wide, directly and indirectly affecting all areas of our society.

With 65% to 85% of all 'BC Bud' being exported to the United States, it's clear that the BC marijuana trade has become an international issue with consequences that extend far beyond our borders. When there are record profits to be made, who are the players, and when do their motives become questionable?

Hempfest congratulates our former Chief of Police Gil Kerlikowske on his confirmation as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, commonly known as the United States Drug Czar. This makes us proud that the Nation will be able to work with one of Seattle’s finest.

Members of the Seattle Hempfest Core Group have recently returned from Berkeley, California, after attending the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws national conference, where we were awarded the 2008 NORML "Outstanding Cannabis Advocate Award."

Did you lose an item at Seattle Hempfest 2008? If so, we may have it! Call or email a detailed description of your lost item, including your full name, phone and email and we will get back to you. Voicemail: 206-781-5734 Email: lostandfound2009@hempfest.org

2007 Seattle Hempfest - Event Program
Photo Credit: Mollie Molsan Dootson

Each year Seattle Hempfest creates a 32 page Event Program. The Event Program highlights the many exciting partnerships and opportunities for Hempfest attendees. Hempfest goers preserve their programs as memorabilia, offering the advertiser a unique opportunity for long-term branding.

2008 Event Program

• Page 1 - Front Cover
• Page 2 - High Times Ad
• Page 3 - Table of Contents

Hemposium Stage 2008

• Industrial Hemp: What it Can Do for America (Day 1)
• Industrial Hemp: What it Can Do for America (Day 2)
• State of the State: Washington Medical Marijuana Law
• Cannabis and Spiritual Freedom
• Looking Forward in Cannabis Reform
• Pot Pride
• Marijuana Mythbusters

On May 3, 2008, over 200 cities world wide, had marches against the prohibition of cannabis. In Seattle, hepatitis patient Tim Garon had been denied a transplant because of his medical marijuana use, and had just died. A group of Seattle medical marijuana patients organized a march and rally. The march was from Volunteer park in Seattle and went to the rally at Westlake Center Square.

Former Seattle Police Chief (1994-2000) Norm Stamper is interviewed backstage by Hempfest event director Vivian McPeak for THC-TV, at Hempfest 2006.

In 2001 Hempfest and Hype Schwartz produced a documentary of our event, featuring Woody Harrelson and a cast of many thousands.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Seattle Hempfest through the NORML Foundation
Click here to Contribute