Written By: Robin Roth
Vivian McPeak – The Evolutionist of the cannabis movement. Some, no doubt, have called him the pioneer of the cannabis movement putting on the biggest, what he calls “Protestival” of all time;
Vivian’s passion for the cannabis movement has brought him on a journey filled with compassion for the health and well being of others, coupled with hard work and his passion for music, that has brought us Hempfest. This year Hempfest will host thousands of people and spans three parks. How did Hempfest get started?
In 1990 there was a peace vigil being held at Gasworks Park in protest of the invasion of Kuwait. What started out as a protest ended up being a 6 month occupation of Gasworks Park. Vivian McPeak was a member of that protest and a founding member of PeaceWorks Park vigil. Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg attended as well as the then future governor Mike Lawry. Vivian was involved in several protests and rallies at the time and at this particular protest at Gasworks Park he ran into a gentleman that was starting up the Chapter of NORMAL. He spoke to Vivian about having a meeting at the peace vigil at Gasworks Park. So Vivian and about 40 other people show up and the gentleman who was the organizer of the meeting never showed up. Now, everyone is sitting around wonder what to do and all of a sudden someone in the crowd pipes up with an idea to do something called Hempfest. This is none other than Gary Cooke. Everyone was in agreement that Vivian should be the MC for the event however he had already gone home. Gary tracked Vivian down and gave him a call and they meet up at Vivian’s place to talk about it. When Gary shows up Vivian immediately recognizes him and remembers seeing him down on the Ave. in front of the bookstore where he had a table set up with the book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” By Jack Hair, often touted as the Godfather of the Modern Industrial Hemp movement. Gary would wear a pot lei around his neck, an Uncle Sam hat and had a jar of hempseeds and he’d be shouting “Hemp can save the planet! Sow the seeds everywhere!” So Gary and Vivian started talking about this idea and thus Hempfest was born.
The very first Hempfest was held at Volunteer Park in 1991, was staffed by 20/25 Seattle Peace Heathens and about 500 people attended including Jack Hair. When Vivian and the staff showed up bright and early to kick off the very first day of Hempfest they were a bit surprised and concerned to find all these “homeless” people camped out on the grass. However as the “homeless” people started to wake up Vivian and his crew realized they weren’t homeless people after all, they were there for Hempfest, some coming all the way from Idaho! Everyone was elated and that’s when Vivian realized that they had really tapped into something big.
The first three Hempfests were held at the Amphitheater at Volunteer Park and in 1993 they realized they had maxed out that area. In 1994 they moved to Gasworks Park, where the idea was originally born, and maxed out there the first year. In fact, it was packed so full the first year that no one could get to their houses in Wallingford because the traffic was so bad. In 1995 they moved to Myrtle Edwards Park where they have remained for 20 years. In the 20 years they have been there it has grown to span three parks covering a mile and a half including Myrtle Edwards Park, the Olympic Sculpture Park and Centennial Park.
Hempfest is no doubt here to stay. It was a pleasure for me to interview such a passionate man who has spent over 20 years dedicating his life to the awareness of Hemp and its medicinal benefits. We spoke upon so many other important topics involving the Hemp movement. With that being said you can look forward to a follow up article regarding the controversial political views of our State and Federal Government.
