Nimbin Ready This Year For A Wet Mardi Grass

Nimbin's annual MardiGrass and Cannabis Law Reform Rally Weekend, always on the first weekend in May, has become popular with farmers, claim organisers, because it nearly always brings the rain! "Not just joking, either" said Michael Balderstone, spokesperson for the Nimbin HEMP Embassy, organisers of the cannabis cultural event. "Sitting in the rain today, we decided that if it stays wet next week, we won't even use Peace Park".

"Last year, it became a mudbath, swallowing several truckloads of hay, which then took us a fortnight to extricate. It then took most of the year for the grass to grow back, not again."

We've deliberately kept the Town Hall as a backup in case the farmers are right, and most of Peace Park's program can go straight in there.

We won't be able to do the Hemp Olympix Growers' Iron Person Event or the Bong Throw and Yell in the Town Hall, but everything else will work inside.

This year we've added to the Joint Rolling competition with two new events. The "Joint Roll in the Dark" (competitors will be blindfolded), and the "Adverse Conditions Roll" (to simulate the back of a motorbike, fans will be used!) The traditional Speed Roll (three papers and a filter) and Artistic Roll (ten minutes, as many papers as you like) have become legendary with the Olympix medals fiercely sought after in all corners of the globe, at least within the cannabis culture, that is!

This year's MardiGrass has had the phones running hot in the HEMP Embassy, perhaps in part due to the widely circulated Good Weekend magazine's cover story on last year's event. Whatever, accommodation in the area has been booked out for months and backpackers have begun to arrive already, many offering to help as volunteers. Fortunately there is plenty of camping space available and visitors are urged to bring a tent.

A weekend pass to MardiGrass events costs $20 (a one day pass costs $10) which gives access to films, talks, discussions, balls, demonstrations, and extraordinary entertainment, the likes of which is not seen anywhere else on the planet! The program begins with the Kombi Konvoy leaving Byron Bay Friday afternoon, arriving in Nimbin for the Opening Ceremony around 6.30pm, followed by the Harvest Festival Ball. Saturday and Sunday is a full program of Hemp Olympix, comedy, art, discussion, films, Seedswap, Cannabis Cup, Picker's Ball with the Big Rally for Cannabis Law Reform and Parade Sunday 1pm.

Special from overseas this year includes the Woodstock Museum's Film Festival, which will be at MardiGrass, but also staying on in Nimbin for the 30th Anniversary Celebrations of the 1973 Aquarius Festival, held from May 11 to 24 this year.

View the MardiGrass Program

All enquiries, phone (02) 6689 1842, (02) 6689 0326. After hours (02) 6689 7525.

Michael Balderstone
Inez Price
nimbin HEMP embassy