CHEEBA 420 fest at Macalester abruptly canceled by administration? Kofi is coming soon too; a P.R. disaster looms?

For 4/20, the Cheeba organization at Macalester College is throwing a CHEEBAdanza for Social Justice at 4:20 PM. However, the student organizers, who tried to coordinate over weeks with the school administration, late in the evening of the 19th, suddenly found themselves apparently without festival approval after a surprise meeting with administration personnel. However, as of this late hour in the A.M., the event is still listed on the online events calendar:

It seems that the administration is trying to pull the plug after a rather boisterous article in the Pioneer Press Wednesday (also picked up in KR's Duluth paper). There is a lot on the line at Mac today, as the disappointed and angry students who have worked for weeks to pull together an elaborate festival that was (is?) set to include several bands, a comedy routine, the African Music Ensemble, a 100-pound roasted pig, juggling, a bouncy castle, and fire throwers.

The Pioneer Press story which alarmed the administration, although evidently they have been getting pressure from all sorts of sources, including faxed copies of their fliers, from the U and other schools:

It's, like, a pot fest, dude
The CHEEBA Club's celebration of marijuana is 'part entertainment (free food and dodge ball), but it's also about social justice.'
BY MATT PEIKEN Pioneer Press Apr. 19

So, like, check this out.

These dudes at Macalester College are throwing this righteous party Thursday. They're calling it CHEEBAdanza — "the Twin Cities premier marijuana festival." Says so right on the green flier. This isn't one of those mediocre pot fests — it's A-grade all the way.

Excellent.

First of all, OK, you have the date, right? Thursday, April 20. That's 4/20. And you know the party starts at 4:20 p.m. That's the legendary tokin' hour, my friends.

So anyway, there's gonna be all kinds of free munchies and jam bands playing on the Old Main Lawn, probably well past 7, and they promise, somehow, to parade up Grand Avenue to Fairview Avenue to Summit Avenue and back to Grand.

"It's pretty short. We're pretty lazy about these kinda things," said Spencer Edelman, a Macalester senior from Boulder, Colo., and a festival co-founder. "Marching long ways isn't really our thing."

No worries.

Just even having the festival, man, it's like, how'd you pull this off? Turns out Edelman and his buddy Reid Lustig and some other Macalester dude — think his name is Stefan — two years ago formed an official campus CHEEBA Club (Creating a Harmless Environment to Enjoy Buds Appropriately).

Kofi Annan himself is coming to speak this weekend, and Springfest, on Friday, is only a half-day long – which is part of the reason that the festival was widely supported for Thursday.

I will have to go see what is going on with this scene tomorrow. Obviously, it would be a shame to let yet another Macalester event die a swift and brutal death. What will happen? Will an army of stoners be cast out? Will Macalester's spirit finally wither and die, or rise again like the phoenix? Will security clear the green space? Was the Constitution written on hemp?

Can this be spun into a public relations victory and some spiritual relief at the same time? Or is everything these days doomed to end in disaster?

Craigslist: 4/20: CHEEBADANZA---Marijuana Re-Legalize Festival

CHEEBADANZA, a free marijuana re-legalization festival open to the public will commence at Macalester College on April 20th at 4:00 pm

St. Paul, Minn. –Hundreds, if not thousands of community members are expected to congregate at the Macalester College campus on April 20th at 4:00 pm for the 2nd annual CHEEBADANZA, a free and inclusive concert celebration in support of the re-legalization of marijuana.

CHEEBA (Creating a Harmless Environment to Enjoy Buds Appropriately), is hosting this event in collaboration with Minnesota NORML and numerous other social justice organizations located in the Twin Cities.

“CHEEBA consistently creates memorable moments that we can share with all our buds in the context of social justice” organizer Cameron Garcia said.

Homegrown musical talent will entertain the crowds starting at 4:15. The bill currently includes headliner Possibly Bailey with support from The Suspects, Scholax and Boxhead, Kontrast and Outside the Bachs. During a brief intermission, there will be a quick, peaceful march along Grand Avenue in St. Paul at 4:40. Activists will return to Macalester’s campus for more music and plenty of free food until 7:00.

Other fun and games include horseshoes, a dodge ball tournament, four-square, lawn bowling and an inflatable bouncy castle. Tentative plans also incorporate a pig roast and bonfire.

By demonstrating that people who smoke marijuana and people who do not smoke marijuana can have fun together in peace and solidarity, CHEEBADANZA shows that legally restricting marijuana enjoyment is cruel and unnecessary. This entire event is free and open to all supporters of the cause in the metropolitan area.

CHEEBA (Creating a Harmless Environment to Enjoy Buds Appropriately), is a popular and influential student group funded by Macalester College since 2004.

email cheeba@macalester.edu