Boise Hempfest

{{short description|American annual cannabis rights event}}

{{Infobox recurring event

|name = Boise Hempfest

|logo = Boise_Hempfest_2019_poster.png

|logo_alt =

|logo_caption = Poster for 2019 Event

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|status = Active

|genre = Activism & Festival

|frequency = Annually

|venue =Julia Davis Park

|location = Boise, Idaho

|coordinates =

|country = United States

|years_active =

|first = {{start date|2016|08|16}}

|founder_name = Serra Frank

|prev = May 13, 2023

|next = May 11, 2024

|participants =Volunteers & Vendors

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|leader_name = Serra Frank

|patron = Public

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|website = {{URL|boisehempfest.org}}

|current =

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}}

Boise Hempfest is an annual cannabis rights activist event and festival in Boise, Idaho, which has been held since 2016.{{citation|title=Boise Hempfest! 5 Things to Do This Weekend in Boise|author=Michael Deeds|date=April 13, 2017 |newspaper=Idaho Statesman|location=Boise, Idaho|url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/words-deeds/article144511959.html}} The "Hempfest" name is licensed by Seattle Hempfest.{{cite news|work=High Times|title=Nevertheless, Boise Hempfest Persisted|author=Russ Belville |date=April 11, 2017 |url=https://hightimes.com/activism/nevertheless-boise-hempfest-persisted/}} The coordinator of the inaugural and subsequent events was Serra Frank.{{cite news|newspaper=Idaho Statesman|location=Boise, Idaho|title=Education, legalization the focus at Boise's first-ever Hempfest|author=Nicole Blanchard|date=August 13, 2016 |url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/article95540087.html}} The fourth annual event took place on April 20, 2019.{{citation|date=March 28, 2019|title=Idaho's marijuana fight in 2019 will likely be all uphill|author=Quinn Welsch|newspaper=The Pacific Northwest Inlander|location=Spokane, Washington|url=https://www.inlander.com/spokane/idahos-marijuana-fight-in-2019-will-likely-be-all-uphill/Content?oid=17099778}} The 2020 event was scheduled for April 18, 2020; but was postponed due to the Idaho government mandated "stay at home order" issued at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Hempfest|first=Boise|title=Cannabis Education Event - Boise Hempfest - Boise, Idaho|url=https://boisehempfest.org/|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Boise Hempfest|language=en-US}}

The event is approved and permitted annually through the City of Boise Department of Parks and Recreation. It is dubbed a free and family friendly "Cannabis Education Event" that offers 12 hours of live entertainment and speakers from the Julia Davis Park bandshell; numerous food trucks and vendors in a "Munchies Market"; informational, non-profit, craft, and commercial vendors in a "Vendor Village"; access to local activism groups and citizens initiatives in a "Cannabis Cove"; educational displays in an "Enchanted Forest"; educational presentations in a "Hemposium"; and children-oriented activities and games in a free "Kidland."