First day of Pennsylvania Cannabis Festival packs Kutztown and vicinity
Apr. 18—It was near gridlock.
Inching along in traffic on Noble Street in Kutztown on Saturday on their way to the The Pennsylvania Cannabis Festival, Tim Lockman and Heather Walton of Luzerne County said that the line of vehicles headed to the festival grounds reminded them of similar slogs they encountered on the way to the Bloomsburg Fair.
Thousands of motorists streamed to Renninger's Antique and Farmers Market along Noble Street on the south end of the borough Saturday, the first day of the festival.
With parking spaces on the market grounds full and blockage at the entrance, attendees were on their own to find parking.
Whether approaching from the town or Lyons, the backup extended more than a mile, so many chose to park where they could find a spot and walk the rest of the way.
The lucky ones found parking across the street from the market in a small grid of streets. But, for most, turning into that network was a fool's errand. They were routed back to Noble Street and past the festival grounds into town.
The reward for that slow journey was a place to park their cars along Constitution Boulevard, which runs parallel to Noble, in the area of Kutztown High School and Middle School campus. Then, against the grain of the vehicular traffic they just left, a journey on foot back south to the free festival.
Nightmarish traffic scenes such as this were a big reason why the Pennsylvania Cannabis Festival was moved to Kutztown last year from its original location in Scranton.
The festival was started in 2015, and expanded each year, outgrowing a Scranton park.
Parking and accessibility were deciding factors in relocating the festival, organizer Jeff Zick told the Reading Eagle previously.
An estimated 10,000 people attended the festival at Scranton's Nay Aug Park in 2019, he said.
Staying positive
A number of people who parked their cars more than a mile from the festival took their journey on foot more or less in stride.
Dale Folk of Lyons knew what to expect because he attended last year's festival.
The 26-year-old, who hiked to the festival from a parking space near Kutztown High School with friend Alex Fields, 28, of Fleetwood, said the festival offers more than cannabis-related products.
He enjoys the environment: food, music and vendors.
"I bought some gems and some necklaces last year," he said. "And some tapestries for my room."
The free festival features more than 250 vendors, live music, marijuana-centric speakers and discussion panels and onsite medical marijuana certifications.
Gates open at 10 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Sunday. Leashed pets are welcome.
Kutztown Fire Company along Noble Street is in the perfect spot to benefit from the traffic. Volunteer firefighters conducted a boot drive, asking motorists to drop a dollar or more into a firefighter boot.
A couple of food trucks are selling ice cream, hamburgers, hotdogs and steak sandwiches from the fire company lot, donating a portion of their proceeds to the volunteer company.
The festival is part of a larger push to legalize adult use of marijuana. On Tuesday, pro-marijuana organizers from across the state are planning a march on Harrisburg.
Lockman, who is a medical cannabis card holder, and Walton said the state should legalize marijuana use for recreational purposes.
They believe it would increase tax revenue and lower the price of cannabis for those who use it for medicinal purposes.
