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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2015)
4/20 MEANS WEED, THANKS TO THE DEAD EW last year that Eugene is the “weediest city” and that’s why he comes back for his annual show. Benson is the star of a podcast, “Getting High with Doug.” For marijuana media with a local flair, Eugene has its own marijuana-themed show on community television — sort of a Between Two Ferns meets Wayne’s World with a Eugene weed angle. Eugene Cannabis TV is viewable on YouTube or channel 29. Host DanK (aka Dan Koozer) has in recent episodes taken tours of Cannabis, LLC, in Springfield, discussed the National Cannabis Industry Association dropping Tommy Chong as spokesperson and he is usually featured in front of colorful pot leaf décor and sometimes accom- panied by cohosts with bandanas over their faces. The show is in partnership with Emerald Empire Hempfest, which runs July 17-19 at Maurie Jacobs Park. For answers to burning questions like “Can I take my weed to Washington where it’s also legal?” we rec- ommend you check out the Oregon state government’s weed FAQ at wkly.ws/200 (and the answer is no, you can’t take it across state lines). For info on local medi- cal marijuana strains and dispensaries go to leafly.com and type in your city. Finally, for info on the Global Can- nabis March on May 2 go to willamettevalleynorml.org. — Camilla Mortensen MITRA CHESTER & MAIYA BECKER “My parents started an arts co-op in Boulder in the 1970s,” says Colorado native Mitra Chester, who studied anthropology and religion at University of Colorado Boulder, then moved to Austin, Texas, and got married. She worked in clothing resale and began to design clothes. She and her husband, Aaron, did some research, chose Eugene for its cool climate and cool people and moved here in 2003. They ran two boutique resale stores, Deluxe and Kitsch, and she put on a yearly local fashion show beginning in 2007. When the couple split up in 2013, she became the first in-house designer at St. Vincent de Paul. “The position was created to up-cycle waste resources,” says Chester, who has installed a DIY department in one store and an upcycled clothing shop in another. Last year, she produced St. Vinnie’s Metamorphose Design Challenge Fashion Show. Designers had six weeks to make three outfits from recycled materials, to be judged by the audience. For this year’s second annual Metamorphose show, she has invited Maiya Becker, board president of MECCA (Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts) to add an art challenge. Participants have selected a discarded art piece from St. Vinnie’s collection. “They create a new piece, so that the existing art is still visible,” explains Becker, a fiber artist who began volunteering with MECCA during her rain as Eugene SLUG Queen Sadie Slimy Stitches in 2012. Cash prizes will be awarded and artwork auctioned at the Metamorphose Fashion and Art Show, scheduled to honor Earth Day from 6 to 9 pm Saturday, April 18, at Oregon Wine Lab, 488 Lincoln St., with music by Mood Area 52. BY PAUL NEEVEL HAPPENING PEOPLE The date 4/20 might mean weed day across the world, but as of July 1, every day will be weed day in Oregon. Given the long history of the association with 420 and weed, it’s doubt- ful that 7/1 will take over as a code for “Let’s go light up.” But thanks to Measure 91, if you are over 21 and you par- take (privately) on 4/20 next year, you will be doing so legal- ly. For this year, if you don’t have a medical marijuana card, there are other activities you can legally engage in. On 4/20 itself the politically minded can participate in the Salem Cannabis Industry Association’s Cannabis Awareness Walk at 11 am Monday, April 20, at the Capitol, 900 Court St. NE, in Salem. The walk is family-friendly and allows no use of cannabis, organizers say. “The rally is in support of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program and not making signifi- cant changes to it while the OLCC and Legislature work to implement Measure 91,” they add. Also on 4/20 itself, Barbie Walker with The Webfoot at 839 E. 13th Ave. tells EW that the pub will host a free triv- ia-off between Webfoot and Ninkasi employees featuring 4/20-themed questions, hosted by Derek Sheen of “The Don- key Show.” If you need to prep for trivia, then let EW score you some points: 4/20 was never a police code for marijuana. According to the BBC and to The Huffington Post’s annual 4/20 update, the term originated in 1971 with a group of kids in San Rafael, California, who kept meeting after school at 4:20 pm to find a lost pot grow — and light up before they went on the hunt. The kids, known as the Waldos, geographically and socially overlapped with the Grateful Dead, who had moved out to the Marin hills. The terms slowly grew in use among Dead fans. In 1990, according to the Huff Po, a reporter for High Times was handed a flyer while walking through the parking lot at a Dead show. It read, “We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais,” and the magazine began to use the term. In 1991, according to High Times, the magazine incorrect- ly cited the police code as the source of the 420 number. High Times later corrected the origin from cop code to stoner teens in 1998 and went on to purchase the domain name 420.com. For those who have trouble getting motivated on 4/20, co- median Doug Benson’s 5th Annual Four Twenty-One Show is 8 pm Monday, April 21, at the WOW Hall (tickets $20 in advance, $22 door). According to the WOW Hall, Benson will be flying in from Denver where, like Washington, weed is already legal. Denver might have legal pot, but Benson told No junk miles, guaranteed! May 9, 2015 mohawkvalley100k.org 40K 60K 100K 100K+ Armitage Park, Eugene, OR The 4th annual benefit for OSLP’s Arts & Culture Program Offthewaffle.com! Weekly Giveaways! eugeneweekly.com • A pril 16, 2015 9
