The National Cannabis Festival will take place one more time at DC’s RFK Stadium on Saturday, August 28, following an 18-month hiatus due to COVID-related restrictions.
The festival will feature hip-hop artists Method Man and Red Man, Young M.A, Backyard Band, Antibalas, The Archives, Lee, Blackwood & Graham and DJ Farrah Flosscett.
There will also be four “educational pavilions” titled Wellness, Policy, Culture, and the Grow School at the festival, which will feature local and national advocates and focus on “greater equity, accessibility and criminal justice reform for the cannabis community.”
Holding DC’s first major outdoor event since the beginning of the pandemic, the festival’s organizers announced that everyone is required to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours ahead of the event in order to attend.
Rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 that take 15 minutes to produce a result will also be provided on-site from 10 am to 5 pm via the testing provider Sameday Health for a fee.
“We are thrilled to bring the National Cannabis Festival back to D.C., the community, and fans who’ve been waiting since 2019 to celebrate in-person again,” said Caroline Phillips, founder of the National Cannabis Festival, in a release. “The cannabis community is ready to listen to good music, with good friends, while raising awareness of federal cannabis legislation and the work that activists are engaged in to advocate for greater equity, accessibility and comprehensive reform for the cannabis community.”
Phillips is hoping to set an example for future large-scale events in terms of creating safe environments for attendees.
Fully vaccinated participants are not required to wear masks. But those who are partially vaccinated or unvaccinated are encouraged to wear masks, as per current local and federal public health guidance.
This will be the fifth edition of the National Cannabis Festival which was founded in 2015 and took place in 2016 for the first time to celebrate marijuana legalization in the District and across the nation. The 2020 festival was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
General admission tickets, which include all-day music performances, exhibitor fair, munchies zone, and more, are currently available on the festival’s website for $65. Ticket prices do not include tax and fees.
All inclusive annual VIP memberships ($295), early-entry general admission tickets ($75), and general admission group four-pack – 10 percent off tickets have already been sold out.
Attendees must be at least 21 years old and hold a valid government-issued ID.