MardiGrass
XVI

Nimbin MardiGrass

Saturday 3rd of May
Sunday 4th of May
2008

MardiGrass
XVI

Last Update: March 17, 2009 2:15 PM

Proclamation

All self recognised Knights Hemplar and Dharma Farmers are called on a Religious Crusade to Nimbin, home of the Church of the Holy Smoke, to all meet there on the First Weekend in May, in the Year Sixteen of our MardiGrass, to participate in all the Sacred Ceremonies of the Holy Smoke, and smoke the Pipes of Peace.

It is Thirty Nine Years since the Death of Hippie in San Francisco; followed by the Resurrection of his Spirit in a thousand smiling faces. That Smile spread through the Sandstone Nations in a Decade of Optimism. Since then the Fog of Mammon has spread. Still we perform the Ceremonies and remember the Martyrs imprisoned for their private observances.

Make your way past the gathering Orcs. Come to the Aquarian Shrine. Celebrate with Herb and Friends. Pay Homage to the Bountiful Flowering Fruit, Debate, Discuss, Learn and Socialise. Compete in the Hemp Olympix or Nimbin Cannabis Cup. March in the Anti Prohibition Procession. Be peacefully free. Make your mark in the Book of MardiGrass.

Of course, we expect exhemplary behaviour from our pilgrims. Good heart to you all.

You can check the weather on the Grafton NSW Rain Radar

You can check the NSW weather on the Infra-red Australian Weather Sattelite

You can check the Infra-red Australian Weather Sattelite

Please respect our little peace of Gondwanaland.

Click on the map above for a larger version.

A Full Weekend Pass costs $30 and gives you access to all official activities, including those in Peace Park and the Nimbin Town Hall . A One Day Pass for either Saturday or Sunday costs $20. A Full Weekend and Showground Camping Pass combined is $50.

The MardiGrass Organising Body endeavours to keep MardiGrass accessible to everyone, but we do need YOU to BUY A PASS to cover costs and support the future of MardiGrass and our efforts for Cannabis Law Reform.

Please be generous of heart.

If you cannot afford a pass or just want to contribute to the cause, you can register as a volunteer at the Hemp Embassy or the Information Booth in front of the Hall. Four hours and Twenty minutes (4:20) volunteering earns you a weekend pass.

We need volunteers from as early as Monday on, so if you want to be part of the preparations, come early. You do not have to register in advance, just come. Locals are especially encouraged to volunteer four hours and twenty minutes to obtain their weekend pass. Register at the Hemp Embassy prior to the weekend. Volunteers are needed throughout the weekend so register your interest in the bunker at the back of Embassy.

"Accommodation" is not provided for volunteers, camping is available at many sites near the village, a bedroll and sleeping bag are minimum kit. The nights are starting to get cold at MardiGrass so make sure you bring warm clothing and whatever else you need in case it rains.

Jobs are varied, and according to the needs of the moment. They can include fence and barricade construction, rubbish collection, erecting marquees and tents, setting up stages, constructing big joints, and anything else that needs to be done to make MardiGrass happen successfully.

ADDITIONAL NEW CAMPING AVAILABLE

For the first time this year, the Nimbin Agricultural and Industrial Society (A&I) plan to open the showground for camping and parking for the MardiGrass weekend, which is May 3 & 4. The A & I don’t get the Government grants they used to get and urgently need funds to maintain the place. They can also help minimise the impact of so many visitors to the village over the big weekend.

They are offering $20 per head campsites for the weekend, with toilets and showers, or $5 per day secure parking for day visitors. Their volunteers will be camped there for the weekend to keep an eye out, as well as cooking country breakfasts with bacon and egg rolls a specialty.

It is now too late to book by sending a $50 money order to the MOB,(MardiGrass Organising Body),PO Box 177, Nimbin, 2480. $50 secures you an all weekend entry to MardiGrass and a campsite at the showground. We will keep a register and when you arrive at the showground your pass and site will be given to you.

Camping ground opens Thursday. If you want camping with hot showers arrive early. There will still be plenty of other camping, but with cold showers or none...

For further information;

Hemp Embassy 0266 891842

NEW MEMBERSHIP DRIVE FOR BRAVER HEMP PARTY MEMBERS

Please don't join the HEMP Party unless you are willing to confirm your membership to AEC officials on the phone. If you are unfindable or unwilling to confirm membership, don't join, because it stuffs it up for the rest of us. Sorry, but that's how it works. Give us as many ways to contact you as possible to make it easier to confirm your membership with the AEC.

LETS DO IT!

M*U*N*C*H (Monitoring*Unfair*Nimbin*Cannabis*Hype!)

We need licensed non-stoners with vehicles to be the M*U*N*C*H vehicles, which will patrol the approach roads to Nimbin making sure police don’t turn people away from the MardiGrass like they did in 2006, saying “Nimbin is full, turn around and go home!” and observe police behaviour generally. Our fleet of M*U*N*C*H vehicles will be monitoring any unfair Nimbin Cannabis Hype and measuring Omega 3, 6 and 9 levels to make sure you are a healthy driver with a good singing voice. Hemp Seedcake, a winner at the last Nimbin Show, will be provided for those without a glossy coat. Healthy drivers equal better drivers.

Try a Hemp Bar today!

Please remember to respect this village that allows this festival, and try to conduct yourself as a true ambassador for HEMP. Do not give our opponents free ammunition through bad behaviour. The whole world is watching, possibly when you least expect it.... Be your best self. Peace.

Please do NOT block driveways when parking your vehicle!

The Jungle Patrol, the parking attendants, all the people doing the work that make it possible, they are all VOLUNTEERS, so please try to help them to help you.

Chill Out Zones: So far, Peace Park and Town Hall

ANNUAL AUSSIE GROWERS CUP?

We have a proposal for an annual grower's cup possibly held late June or early July to allow grower's a bit of time post harvest to prepare and select their best.

Organic only? Different Categories? Rules on how to determine categories? What if its organically grown under lights?

Judging criteria ideas so far include entries and equivalent guests; minimal weight ten grams, no maximum. All unused bud returned to grower, all donations gratefully received! The time and location for a meeting to discuss this idea of an National Aussie Cup is understandably a bit vague but keep your ears to the ground at MardiGrass!!

How To Make Cannabis Legal

http://www.nimbintelevision.com/420-VIDEO.html

We would like as many video-witnesses as possible to encourage the peace.

NIMBIN MARDIGRASS and CANNABIS LAW REFORM RALLY
XVI
MAY 3rd & 4th, 2008

Growing aHead!

LIST OF ATTRACTIONS!

Industrial HEMP Expo, Medicinal Cannabis Info, Ganja Faeries, BIG JOINT, KOMBI KONVOY, “Just Say Know” Forum, Parade Float Competition, Rainbow Lane Market, Photo and Video Competitions, local musicians, PotArt Competition, street theatre, live HEMP web-cam, Dealer Of The Year Award, Cannabis Cup, Pickers Ball, HEMP OLYMPIX and more!!!

Don't forget the core event, 2.30pm Sunday - Cannabis Law Reform Rally and Parade.

Don't miss Dutchies Café (Official Hemp Embassy Cafe) next to the Stage in Peace Park!

LANTERN WORKSHOP: Graeme Dunstan will be making a small number of lanterns to light up the MardiGrass. Help needed. An hour or two or a day or three. From 10 am Tuesday 28 April. Contact Graeme 0407 951 688. Graeme will be in the car park next to the Post Office with PeaceBus.

HEMP EXPO includes hempseed meal, hemp plastics and hemp clothing, hemp cosmetics, hemp oil, hemp paper, hemp bricks, hemp building products and anything else that is made from the versatile cannabis plant.

MardiGrass Industrial Hemp Forum – Hemp paper making, hemp plastic products and hemp-lime building technologies will be demonstrated during the weekend.

Beyond Prohibition Workshop - Special guests: Dr Alex Wodak (Director, Alcohol & Drug Service, St Vincent's Hospital), Professor Paul Wilson (Chair of Criminology, Bond University), Ed Rosenthal (USA Medical Cannabis Activist), Steve Bolt (Solicitor and author of a number of publications on drug laws and drug policy).

MardiGrass Market open all weekend, Bubblehash Demonstration, Seed Swap, Oasis Comedy Café, Cannabis Cup, Pickers Ball in the Town Hall Friday.

Jamming and Drumming Space outside the NRMA. Join in the spirit!

Cannabis Cup Raffle - You must have a ticket, be there, and have a valid armband in order to be eligible.

NIMBIN CANNABIS ACADEMY OTYAs (Of The Year Awards) including: Best Dealer (DOTYA), Best Attitude, Best Cannabis Costume, Best Banner, Best Placard, Best Busker, Best Humour and Best Whatever....

JUNGLE PATROL NEEDS YOU. First Aid Training will be offered free and locals are encouraged to be leaders in this field. Jungle Patrol operates from Friday 8am through to early Monday morning and people are urged to sign up for two four hours shifts .Sign up at the Hemp Embassy or for further info call Heidi 0266897589. Be warned: the T shirt is pale pink, with a purple logo. If you are here the Thursday before you could do Red Cross Save A Mate Training. Jungle Patrol Orientation Meeting 5:00pm Bowling Club Thursday 1st May

Ganja Faeries on Parade - Aspiring Ganja Faeries need to be in Nimbin the week before MardiGrass in order to join in learning the dance steps for the Parade Performance. Ask at the Oasis Cafe. If you cannot, then you can still dress as a Ganja Faerie and march in the parade, just not dance in the dance troupe. This year’s parade organisers would love to once again create two percussion groups for this parade. We envisage one small group of drummers – the Ganja Faerie Drummers moving with the Faeries, whilst the Hemp Drummers line the street creating a guard of percussion and energy. The parade moves through with the Hemp Drummers falling into the Parade at the end, creating a dynamic and powerful finale at the end of the parade to keep the energy up and moving. The Ganja Faeries Drummers who have been working with the Faeries are already organised but we would love all other musos and drummers to be part of this other incredible percussion force.

"Hello Ganja Faeries! Yes, that means you! If you come to march at the annual MardiGrass Cannabis Law Reform March and Rally, and you can dance, you’re one of us!

We’re a bunch of friends who start getting ready each year around March or April for the MardiGrass, the first weekend in May. The common thread is green, in all its shades, in all our styles. Ganja Faeries are all different but the same. We create dance steps for the grand parade where we can be a sea of green moving in rhythm to the drums. We sew our costumes and make them wilder every year.

One week before MardiGrass we hold a dance workshop where we show all the new ganja faeries the steps and inspire them to wear costumes. We do it again the day before the parade (Saturday arvo) to make sure everyone knows which way to go when. It’s lots of fun but you need to be fit because on the day it’s a long way to dance and frolic and make lots of noise from the police station down the hill to Peace Park and you’ll probably be stoned as well. Water is essential. Dropping out is not an option. Ganja Faeries go to the end. So come and practice!

Workshops will be held at the Nimbin Community Centre dance studio the Saturday a week before MardiGrass, then the Saturday before the parade, in the afternoons. If you are already in Nimbin rehearsals are held at 5:30pm on Wednesdays. Meet at the Spangled Drongo restaurant / Oasis café across the road from the Dance Studio at the north end of town."

MardiGrass Comedy Club, the traditional night of laughs that will once again turn the Oasis Café in Nimbin into Humour Central on both Saturday and Sunday nights as our local funnyman S Sorrensen leads the charge into the annual investigation into life, hemp, Nimbin and beyond. (Is there life beyond Nimbin? Yes. Sort of.)
S will be ably assisted by his comrade in comedy, Alan Glover. (Alan and S also do the commentary for the Hemp Olympics – a sporting event to rival the Chinese version. And no Tibetans trying to put out the torch will be shot.)
Featured comedians this year include Steve Allison from the Gold Coast, Nick Johns from the land of the long white cloud and the divine Divishti (from Venus).
The MardiGrass Comedy Club sets sail for laugh land Saturday and Sunday nights from 9pm.

Holy Smoke Communion -with Hempseed Balls and the Goddess of the Church of the HolySmoke.

CWA - Cooking With Attitude, Rainbow Market, Pickers Ball, Pot Art Exhibition, Pot Art Tattoo Show, Dance for Cannabis Law Reform.

KOMBI KONVOY -arrives in Nimbin at 4:20pm on Saturday.

HEMP OLYMPIX
Sponsored for 2008 by Bringabong

. Bong Throw & Yell - where entrants throw a bong full of stinking bong water as far as humanly possible whilst yelling “Free the Weed” or something similar.
Growers Ironperson Event -involves lugging a sack of fertilizer and buckets of water around the simulated planting area obstacle course with a tick and leech infested lantana tunnel. The men’s event is a 40kg sack while the women contend with an 20kg sack. The top five crawl into the final. A disclaimer must be signed to compete in this endurance event.

Joint Rolling
The joint must burn from one end to the other. The categories are as follows:

1. Speed Roll - Roll a standard three paper joint as fast as you can. The three fastest go into the finals. Joints must include a cardboard filter, or will be judged incomplete. If this custom is alien to you, consult a local professional before the event.
2. Artistic Roll - Roll the most beautiful joint within ten minutes with as many papers as you like. The three best examples enter the finals.
3. Roll in the Dark - Athletes are blindfolded.
4. Adverse Conditions Roll – Dependent on weather conditions on the day and the judges’ creativity.
5. Seed Sorting -You have to get the “seeds” out of the “mull” faster than anyone else. How fast are you?

You could win a Bling Medal at the HEMP OLYMPIX!

We've created the world's biggest vapouriser bag, cunningly disguised as the new lighter meaner more portable Big Joint. Its in the march this year, and while there is a team working to create a traditional bamboo and canvas Big Joint, will it be ready in time? See the new rapid deployment model at this year's MardiGrass.

If you need a Big Joint overnight .... who you gonna call?

Check out the 2NimFM radio podcast site at http://nimbinradiomedia.libsyn.com/ This site includes podcasts of many of the 2NimFM radio programs broadcast during last MardiGrass. They will be recording events over this MardiGrass and posting new material as it comes in.

While at MardiGrass, Tune your FM radio to Nimbin's own NIM FM 102.3, broadcasting and interviewing live from venues around the village.

SPONSORS

Makers of the NEW 2008 Inflatable BIG Joint
Please visit our Blog site:- http://giant-inflatables.blogspot.com

Legal problem?
See Steve Bolt at

1/42 Woodlark St Lismore tel: 6621 2188

First appointment FREE if you remember to mention Mardi Grass!

The Prelude
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

The monumental hillocks, and the pomp
Is for both worlds, the living and the dead.
At other moments (for through that wide waste
Three summer days I roamed) where'er the Plain
Was figured o'er with circles, lines, or mounds,
That yet survive, a work, as some devine,
Shaped by the Druids, so to represent
Their knowledge of the heavens, and image forth
The constellations gently was I charmed
Into a waking dream, a reverie
That, with believing eyes, where'er I turned,
Beheld long bearded teachers, with white wands
Uplifted, pointing to the starry sky
Alternately, and plain below, white breath
Of music swayed their motions, and the waste
Rejoiced with them and me in those sweet sounds.

stoned high wasted bent blazed drugged ripped blitzed faded smashed munchied bombed blasted buzzed hammered lit mashed fried plastered toasted trashed smoked bombed gone intoxicated chronic

weed marijuana pot skunk hydro sativa indica bong billy cannabis bud ganja dope grass hookah chillum pipe blunt mary-jane mary-warner hash joint spliff reefer

smoke inhale toke suck

Industrial HEMP

Farmers in NSW going to pot
Date: April 9, 2008
Ben Cubby Environment Reporter

THE NSW Government has turned over a new leaf after decades of opposing commercial cannabis, revealing plans for a new scheme to grow the plant on an industrial scale. It will introduce legislation in weeks to allow farms to grow hemp, the fibres and oil of which can be used in food and clothes, biofuels and skin-care products. (see more)

Fantastic news! NSW catches up with other states. How long before hemp food products (hemp oil, hemp flour, etc) are listed by Food & Drugs as food products?

Features of Hemp Fibre
Pure hemp is an amazingly durable fabric. When washed it constantly reveals a new surface, becoming softer with use.
Hemp fabric rapidly absorbs moisture, which accounts for its coolness and comfort when used for clothing or bedding. Because of its strength when wet it does not weaken with washing. Canvas is hemp! (The term canvas describes the materials used to make the cloth and comes from the Arabic name for hemp - Cannabis)
Until recently whenever the word canvas was used, it referred only to hemp cloth.

Hemp is one of the oldest plants used by humans. It has been cultivated for thousands of years and hemp seeds have been found in archaeological excavations over much of the World.
Some of the oldest paper found in tombs in China was made from hemp fibre.
Hemp cloth has been found in the tombs of ancient Egypt.
Hemp ropes, cords and fabrics were essential to the early exploration of the World, providing ropes and sails for ships, shelter and clothing for settlers.

Hemp was, for centuries, essential to the economy of many countries.
In the United States of America, for 200 years, taxes could be paid in bales of hemp.
The first drafts of the American Constitution were written on hemp paper and William Shakespeare wrote on hemp.
Many famous artists painted on canvas (hemp).
Hemp is the longest and strongest natural plant fibre.
Hemp fibre is stronger when wet than when dry.
Hemp cloth is extremely hard wearing. It outwears cotton and other natural fibres. Hemp fabric improves with washing and wearing. Over time, hemp fabric becomes softer without losing its shape or appearance.

Medicinal Cannabis
A toke a day, keeps the Doctor away!

Cannabis helps with glaucoma, relieves migraine headaches, helps brain cells, can relieve skin diseases, helps ease asthma attacks, may block epileptic seizures, works as a back spasm medicine, treats depression and other mood disorders, may help emphysema patients to breathe better, alleviates pain associated with chemotherapy, has successfully reduced tumours (benign and malignant), can help multiple sclerosis patients control spasms, can easily be grown organically (free of toxic chemicals), assists in over coming insomnia, dilates the bronchi, to allow more oxygen into the blood, helps paraplegic and quadriplegic patients, may induce antibacterial effects, is the best way known to dry the mouth’s saliva in dentistry, relieves the pain of arthritis and rheumatism, alleviates the symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol and narcotics, hempseed oil has an omega-6:omega-3 ratio of about 4:1 and the seeds have essential amino acids in ideal proportions. Hempseed contains alpha-Linolenic Acid (18:3 omega-3), gamma-Linolenic Acid (18:3 omega-6) and Linoleic Acid (18:2 omega-6)

Hempseed Oil

Is the sale of hemp oil legal?
Yes. Hemp oil can be legally imported or pressed in Europe, and from imported, sterilized seeds in the USA and for external use only in Australia.

Does hemp oil make you high?
No. The meat of hemp seed does not contain the drug tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the psychoactive substance in cannabis. Minute amounts of THC may be transferred from the flowers surrounding the leaves into the oil during pressing.
However, these trace amounts are, if seeds from low-THC varieties are used and properly cleaned, too low to have any psychoactive effects.

Can hemp oil be used for frying or deep-frying?
Better not. Unrefined hemp oil – just like olive oil – should not be used for high temperature or deep-frying. At high temperatures, unhealthy oxidation and polymerization products are formed from the unsaturated fatty acids. Furthermore, at temperatures approaching 400 F, undesirable trans-fatty acids are gradually formed. Quick sautéing is acceptable, yet care must be taken to keep the oil from smoking.
Flax oil is high in unsaturated essential fatty acids.

What is the benefit of hemp oil?
The ratio of the essential fatty acids (about three parts linoleic acid to one part alpha-linolenic acid) in hemp oil is favourable for the human body because it matches its nutritional requirements. Flax oil, despite its higher essential fatty acid content, has a less favourable ratio (1:5). Flax oil also does not contain gamma-linolenic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid, which is found abundantly in hemp oil.

Have food products from industrial hemp been approved for sale in Australia and New Zealand?

No. The application to approve the use of hemp-based foods is at the second stage in the approval process, namely, public consultation following completion of a draft risk assessment report by ANZFA. Following the 6-week consultation phase, the public comments will be addressed and, if necessary, the risk assessment report will be modified before being considered again by the ANZFA Board, and ultimately by the State, Territory and New Zealand Health Ministers for approval.

If they are approved, will hemp food products require special labelling?

Food ingredients must be declared in the statement of ingredients by the common name of the ingredient or a name that describes the true nature of the ingredient. If hemp is considered to be a characterising ingredient in the food, then the percentage of hemp in the food would also need to be declared.

It is also proposed that foods containing hemp must not be represented in a form that expressly or by implication suggests that the food has any properties associated with illicit drugs.

Are hemp-based products used in food elsewhere in the world?

Foods containing hemp and products derived from hemp are widely available in other countries in Europe and in the USA. In all cases, these products contain very low levels of THC. Australia and New Zealand are "dragging the chain".

“Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes.” Abraham Lincoln

NIMBIN MardiGrass and Cannabis Law Reform Rally
2008 MAY 3rd & 4th

www.NimbinMardiGrass.com