After two years of online celebrations, the Hash Bash is officially back on the Diag at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Crowds of pot-smoking enthusiasts and advocates will gather at high noon on Saturday, April 2 for the 50th annual gathering.
While a group of rogue attendees showed up for an unsanctioned Hash Bash last year, this is the first official in-person gathering since 2019. Like a lot of events, Hash Bash had pivoted to an online version for the past two years due to COVID-19.
Toking up at home doesn’t even compare to celebrating this beloved plant medicine while watching live music and listening to passionate speakers among thousands of other cannabis enthusiasts.
This year’s return features appearances by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and legendary Detroit poet and pot activist John Sinclair, whose 10-year prison sentence for possessing two joints inspired the first Hash Bash back in 1972.
Michigan House Reps. Yousef Rabhi, Alex Garza, and Cynthia Johnson will also make appearances, as well as National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Michigan's executive director Rick Thompson and members of Decriminalize Nature Michigan
Yes, we know, the event is largely seen as an excuse to party and smoke pot in public, but it's rooted in marijuana activism and policy reform that is still desperately needed despite it being legal in Michigan now.
Hours of live music and chill will follow the speeches including a performance by Grand Rapids jazz fusion jam band Cosmic Knot. As usual, Hash Bash will also coincide with the Monroe Street Fair, a shopping extravaganza featuring food, artwork, and vendor booths for cannabis brands like Cookies and Pure Roots. Sales of actual cannabis products are not authorized at the event, however. You'll find the fair just a few blocks down from Hash Bash.
And if you aren’t ready to stop partying by the end, hit up the psychedelic funk afterparty at the Blind Pig from 7 p.m. (Entry is $10.)
Though the festivities begin at noon, the earlier you can get there the better, as it gets packed quickly. It’s a huge festival celebrating pot on a university campus, what do you expect?
Schedule
- Monroe Street Fair: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. a few blocks down from the University of Michigan Diag (Free, but bring cash if you want to buy something from the vendors)
- Hash Bash: From 12 p.m. at the UofM Diag (Free)
- Hash Bash Afterparty: 7 p.m. at The Blind Pig ($10)
