cannabisnews.com: Christen Plans Starks Festival 





Christen Plans Starks Festival 
Posted by CN Staff on May 01, 2003 at 14:51:33 PT
By Alan Crowell, Staff Writer 
Source: Kennebec Journal 
Starks — Planning board members Wednesday night appeared to be ready to accept an application for Freedom Fest, a three day pro-marijuana rock festival in June. Board members were still reviewing the application at press time Wednesday night. The acceptance of the application would not mean the board has approved the event, it would, however, set in motion a review process that would include a public hearing in about two weeks. 
Planning board members had many questions about the information in the application Wednesday, including concerns about water provided at the event, security and parking. But Planning Board Chairman Kerry Hebert said that accepting the application for review did not mean the board agreed that it was complete. "We are not really supposed to say whether the information is good enough or not. We are supposed to say it is there," said Hebert. Freedom fest is scheduled June 20 to 22 and is the first of three similar festivals planned in Starks this summer and fall by Donald Christen, founder of the Maine Vocals, a group that advocates the legalization of marijuana. The festivals have been an annual source of controversy in town. At their peak, they attracted thousands of people and caused noise, parking and sanitation issues. More recently there has been a heavy police presence and attendance has dropped. Starks voters passed a mass gathering ordinance in 1995 to put more controls on large events and tightened restrictions in 2001. Christen has said the ordinance is an attempt to drive him and the weekend-long concerts away and that it is unconstitutional. In February, however, Superior Court Justice Joseph Jabar prohibited him from holding festivals that qualified as mass gatherings unless he had the required permit. Wednesday, Hebert said that Christen appeared to be taking the application process more seriously. Christen was not present at the hearing because he is prohibited from being in Starks under conditions imposed on him related to disorderly conduct charges filed after a 2001 event. Before the meeting, he said he had worked hard on the application and that it is complete except for one required $2,000 payment. Note: 3-day event to promote marijuana.Source: Kennebec Journal (ME)Author: Alan Crowell, Staff Writer Published: Thursday, May 1, 2003Copyright: 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers IncContact: kjedit centralmaine.comWebsite: http://www.kjonline.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Maine Vocalshttp://www.mainevocals.org/Pro-Marijuana Group Dissolves, Fight Continueshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16136.shtmlStarks Receives Application from Hempstock http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13282.shtmlVocals Ignore Ordinance http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10383.shtml
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