This years MardiGrass has a new level of optimism considering California’s imminent vote on legalising pot for everyone over 21. The explosion of medical cannabis in America has been much bigger than the authorities expected and suddenly their laws are looking as silly as they truly are.
The Lismore Council has put the MOB (MardiGrass Organising Body) through the wringer this year with new rules and regulations but we have triumphed and have a bigger than ever program with some class acts lined up.
Comedy is at the fore with Akmal Saleh and Sean Choolburra joining SSorrensen and Alan Glover who compere the Hemp Olympix. At least 5 venues for music will be on all weekend starting with the Pickers Ball on friday evening following the opening ceremony, all in Peace Park.
Forums on all things cannabis are on over the weekend as well as Pot Art, Pot Poetry and anything else pot you can think of. Mardigrass shows people pot can be an ordinary part of everyday life like it was for thousands of years before the recent lunacy of prohibiting natures best pain relieving herbs.
This is a not for profit event sponsored by the Nimbin HEMP (thats Help End Marijuana Prohibition) Embassy which is itself run by volunteers and dedicated to ending the ridiculous war on weed. We need you to buy an armband to support cannabis law reform and we guarantee you a great and educational weekend at Nimbins Yarndi University. An all weekend armband giving entry to all events costs $40. Or $80 with a 3 night campsite at the Showgrounds Camping (including hot showers this year!)
Two Backpackers, Nimbin Rox and Rainbow Retreat are doing camping also, for $60 which includes an all day saturday entry (for an extra $20 you can get a full weekend pass).
The Council and police are vowing to be tougher on roadside camping this year and we recommend you go into one of the official campsites. They love to watch at night for the flick of the bic on the bong in the car and sneak up on you so be aware!!
If you are visiting for the day only the Nimbin Headers Sporting Club have an off road carpark site for you seperate from camping areas.
Mardigrass is run by volunteers and you can be one if you come early and are prepared to work at least 4 hours and 20 minutes each day. For that you will get an armband and a campsite and maybe even a meal or two! Last year we were flooded with volunteers and it became unmanageable. So if you want to be part of the MOB volunteers come as early as the Monday before. We need all sorts of skills from cooks to builders, to artists and joint rollers. Here’s a link to the forum if you want to register as a volunteer, and maybe tell us your skills and time of arrival.
Alternative Free Transport to Nimbin MardiGrass.
Take advantage of no traffic congestion and being dropped off in the centre of Nimbin.
This initiative is financed by Lismore City Accord, RTA & NSW Govt to promote responsible and safe driving to and from a community event. MardiGrass Organising Body 02 6689 0326.
We recommend you buy a MardiGrass all weekend pass, including camping. This costs $80. Without camping it’s $40 but then you may have a parking problem. If you are thinking it’s safe to smoke in your parked car, don’t. Last year police officers were homing in on the flick of lighters and glowing joints in cars at night, checking it out and busting people. So smoking bongs/billies in car parks at night is not a good idea.
Restricted/no parking will be in place in the village from 12 noon Friday April 30th to 11pm Sunday May 2nd. Below are areas affected:
* Sibley St will be closed to traffic from Cullen St intersection to Thorburn St. Residents in Sibley are asked to limit any vehicle traffic over that weekend from 12 noon Friday. * The central section of the village will have no car parking this year. Chill Central safety zone will have no cars from the ‘blister’ outside the Museum to the garden before the pedestrian crossing. On the eastern side there will be no parking permitted from the Hotel all the way to Perceptios. * There is also no parking on the southern side of Cecil Street from the Showgrounds to the creek to allow pedestrian traffic easy access to a new proposed pathway from 12 Cecil St to the Town Hall parking area. This will have security and lighting and ease the pedestrian traffic along the footpath around the Hospital. * No parking at the top of Cecil St at the Cullen St intersection (Sunday only) on the southern side for 50 metres to allow for the rally assembly. * Thorburn Street from Silky Oak Drive will have a road closure managed by the Backpackers to ensure clear access to and from the campsites and their parking. * Road Closure Sunday Cecil St. from Showgrounds and turning into Cecil St. from 2pm – 2.45pm – Rally Point for March. * The western council carpark is to be free of any camping – all camping is to be directed to the Showgounds or Backpackers camping sites. Roadside camping is not permitted.
* Vehicle parking paddoack areas this year are being run by The Nimbin Headers Junior Soccer Club, all profits go to them. Please respect the volunteers and listen to them. PARKING; $10 a day per car – each occupant to buy either $20 day pass/$40 all weekend pass.
Under the terms of our D.A. there will be NO CAMPING at any of the Day Parking areas. You may sleep in your car but in NO WAY – Light fires – Set up tents – Disrupt Traffic flow – and PLEASE only poo in the toilets provided, use Bins supplied and Respect Our Unique Village.
ALTERNATIVE HERBS TO SMOKE AT MARDIGRASS THAT ARE LEGAL (INCLUDING READY ROLLED “JOINTS” AT NIMBIN MUSEUM AND THE HEMP EMBASSY AND HEMP BAR AND TOWN HALL INFO)
1. Dreamy Time.. bliss out!
A tasty blend of prime smoking herbs intended to promote a tranquil, dreamy space. Rich, well-rounded flavour. Blends well with tobacco or other herbs. Mugwort, Californian Poppy, Mullein, Calendula, Passion Flower and Calea. Relax and enjoy!
2. Flower Power.. feels really mellow, man!
A base of Raspberry leaves gives this blend a creamy base, topped with sweet, uplifting Rose and Red Clover petals and succulently combined with three varieties of Lotus Flowers. The result is a smooth, silky smoke that relaxes body and mind, leaving you open to feel deeply into every blissful moment. Smoke alone or with other herbs.
3. Pot Luck… cheep and cheerful!
Well cured herbal blend containing Catnip, Lionstail and other herbs. Mixes well with Pot as a tobacco alternative.
Magic plants with magical properties to help us see what lies behind the veil. Open yourself to the subtle realms and experience something new!
Polite Force Cookie Caution
If you take it orally (eating cookies, cakes, etc), you could be in for quite a ride. The liver metabolises THC into 11-OH-*9-THC, a compound three times more psychoactive. Foods made with high THC “heads” or hashish can give a powerful, almost psychedelic experience, which can be very uncomfortable if you’re not expecting it. The effects are slower to come on (1 to 2 hours) and last considerably longer (around 4 hours).
Different people have different experiences. While one person might go to sleep, another might smile and laugh excessively, while another might have a panic attack. These are classic responses but they are by no means definitive. Experiences vary. If smoking cannabis makes you nervous or agitated, then consuming cookies (and indeed other temporarily mind altering drugs) may be inadvisable.
Do not assume cookies from different sources are of the same strength. Even different batches from the same source can vary.
Know thyself. Stay in your comfort zone. Try half a cookie first, and assess the effect.
Weather
Nimbin sometimes has wild weather and floods. In the days leading
up to MardiGrass you can check the weather on the rain radar
MAY 1st & 2nd is not so far away, so it’s fortunate we have most of the jigsaw in place. If you are one of the missing pieces, meetings are Fridays from 4.20pm in the HEMP BAR or you can leave messages in the pink MardiGrass book behind the counter in the HEMP Embassy shop.
* Musicians and performers wanting to play should register sooner rather than later.
* Local residents or businesses with special needs or requests please get in touch. The DA plan is on display at present in the papers and seems to be on track.
* If you want to get involved as a volunteer please drop in and write in the book when and what you want to do, what skills you have, contact no etc etc.
* Speakers booked in include Professor of Criminology from Bond University Paul Wilson to inform us of the latest in our hopes for cannabis law reform. Dr Andrew Katelaris is also coming again to do a workshop on the wonders of hemp seed. Paul Benhaim, another speaker, is founder of Hemp Plastics, Zelfo and has worked with hemp foods globally for 12 years now. Ask any questions and see 100% hemp didgeridoo’s www.hemp.co.ukwww.hempplastic.comwww.hempmusic.com
* Peace Park is to be the focus with 3 big gigs there on a new stage…. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. MardiGrass Entertainers confirmed so far. PEACE PARK: Drunken Munk, 50 Bags, Chocolate Strings, Anarchist Duck, Diana Anaid, Groove Foundation, A French Butler Called Smith, Fyah Walk, Pagan Love Cult, Red Belly Black, Imandan, Alice Blue, The Jiggi Jam Hog, A Little Province in China. MINGLE PARK: Greg, Booze Hag, Quandamooka, Bart Willoughby, Guriabu, Monkey and the Fish Band, Louis Burdette, Manju, Burri. MARKET STAGE: Janaka, Jade Supernova, Kaptan Reefer and the Konescrapers, Spencer.E.Rogans Sensory Explosion, Dr Baz and Mr Slyde, Alice Blue, April Maze, Diana Anaid, Grasshopper, Essie Thomas, Homeless Yellow, Mayana and Friends.
* KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE… Nimbin Aquarius Foundation… Come and meet us at the Nimbin Aquarius networking space in the Nimbin Community Centre garden area during MardiGrass and throughout the year. Locals and visitors to Nimbin are always welcome to visit us and share their stories.
We will have tea, coffee and cold drinks for sale, as well as some delicious food.
Music will be playing in the garage with N.O.O. (Nimbin Organic Orchestra), show-casing a wide variety of musical talent. They welcome donations to help with future events.
* BUSKERS’ ‘Grass Stand. Fifteen designated busking zones for MardiGrass 2010. The winner of the ‘most popular’ busking performance during the big weekend, whoever collects the most “tokes”, has the opportunity to travel to Canberra to visit Obama in June with the BIG JOINT and the Obama look alike winner. Keen buskers can register for their preferred locations at the Town Hall info booth or at the Embassy on the day.
* Pot Art in the Hemp Bar and Embassy, drop entries in from April first …..
* John Jiggens talk in the Town Hall Sat arvo. “The 3 Ages of Reefer Madness”. A history of cannabis, its prohibition and where it leaves us today. Evil sex drugs in the 1930′s, gender imbalance as men remembered they had long hair in the 1960′s, schizophrenia and psychosis in the 1990′s.
* The Hemp Rope Tug-O-Peace is a ramped up event in the Hemp Olympix this year so get your team of 5 (five) together. All five team members have to have something in common!
* Thong Throw or Shoe Toss? Give who the Shoe or For Whom the Moccasin Flies? Made popular by George Bush in Iraq, this is a new HEMP OLYMPIX Event for 2010. Get ready to toss a thong at your choice of targets at Nimbin MardiGrass on the first weekend of May. When it comes to their opinion on cannabis law reform, who do you give the boot, shoe or thong too? For $2 you can fling a thing at your choice of targets (all profits towards victims of the drug war). Vent your fury on any of the following; Hemp President Balderstone and over 2 million Australian consumers who refuse to stop smoking, the local coppers who are hunting them, Area Commander Lyons who gives the orders, the NSW Premier who maintains the Policy, the Prime Minister who refuses to deal with it, or the Opposition Leader who, had he been busted, wouldn’t have the job.
* Comedy Cafe moves to the Bowlo!
* MardiGrass POLITE PLOT! The Nimbin POLITE SERVICE was created in response to the Police Riot Squad raids on April Fools Day 2008 on the HEMP Bar and Nimbin Museum. This years MardiGrass Polite recruitment drive is looking for more overalls and bodies to fill them, and for the first time our new division, the Polite Undercover Surveillance Squad, is taking enrolments and there are unlimited vacancies left. Bring a camera if you have one and a mobile phone for Undercover Polite work.Since last year, the POLITE Missions have taken the BIG JOINT to Byron Bay, Lismore, Sydney twice and made their presence felt from the HEMP BAR-POLITE BUREAU attached to the Embassy. As ambassadors for cannabis law reform and advocates of medicinal cannabis, the POLITE will champion the cause again at this years’ Rally on May 1st and 2nd, carrying the parade flagship BIG JOINT at 2.30pm on MardiGrass Sunday. During the big weekend, Nimbin POLITE will coordinate with Jungle Patrol, the Justice Action Group (JAG) and the Civil Liberties Observers. They will document all civil liberty complaints and also witness the behaviour of law enforcement. New ‘Undercover Operatives’ will be trained to mingle with the crowd and detect suspicious activities!Watch out for a MardiGrass warm up at the now annual April Fools Day Polite Raids.
*MardiGrass Arm Bands and Passes:MardiGrass has always been about trust but it doesn’t happen all by itself. Months of preparation and ground work go into the weekend so the village as a whole benefits as well as the thousands of visitors. We’d like it to happen in such a way that everyone who attends it has an uplifting experience. Accordingly, the MardiGrass organisers ask that everyone understands the critical importance of buying armbands. Without you buying armbands we are history, this year in particular. Some businesses even give preferential service to armband wearers and we support that. We need your support too. Please buy one.
* Several overseas visitors confirmed including Dr Bob Melamede who will love Nimbin we expect.
