Here’s what you need to know about 4/20 in Vancouver
Who, what, when, where and weed: Stephanie Ip clears the air and answers all your burning questions
1 Who puts on 4/20?
The original 4/20 in Vancouver was organized by Danna Rozek and Cindy Lassu, employees at HEMP B.C. who worked with B.C.’s own “Prince of Pot”, Marc Emery.
The two women asked Emery if they could host a 4/20 celebration on April 20, 1995 in Victory Park, near the shop. About 200 people attended the first year, with music beginning at 2 p.m. and going until 7 p.m. Since then, attendance has continued to grow, with the event moving to Vancouver Art Gallery and more recently, over to Sunset Beach. Last year, around 40,000 people attended.
These days, the event is put on by a group of unpaid volunteers that include Cannabis Culture staffers and a number of cannabis-related sponsors and businesses. It is definitely not organized or supported by the city or the Vancouver Park Board — they declined to issue a special-event permit — although organizers work with Vancouver police, fire and first responders to ensure the safety of everyone in and around the venue.
2 What is it?
It started as a celebration with attendees smoking pot and listening to music all day. Emery himself called it “decadent” when first presented with the idea.
Over the years, the event has become a rally to get the attention of politicians, a farmers’ market where cannabis aficionados sell goods, and a festival celebrating the good herb’s medicinal values and recreational joy. These days, most call it a “protest-ival”, although it’s billed as a protest and farmers’ market.
Those headed to 4/20 can expect booths selling marijuana munchies and paraphernalia, musical acts on stage, speakers to rally the masses, and plenty of folks out and about enjoying the company of other cannabis fans.
Rain or shine, it will be crowded, so take that into account if you’re not a fan of crowds. Instead, you can watch the livestream online from the comfort of your own home.
3 Where and when does it happen?
Things get going around noon and wrap up around 8 p.m. And yes, there is a countdown to 4:20 p.m., followed by handfuls of prerolled joints being tossed into the crowd and a cloud of smoke wafting up from the West End.
If you want to watch it happen but you don’t want to get caught in the crowd, you can always watch from Vanier Park across False Creek, or from the west side of the Burrard Street Bridge.
The event takes place this year at Sunset Beach. In the past, the rally has taken place at Victoria Square and, for a long time, at the north plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. In 2016, it moved to Sunset Beach against the wishes of the Vancouver Park Board and has taken place there since. However, since the main 4/20 event moved, there has been a smaller group of individuals who have remained at the art gallery site the last two years.
4 What detours and closures will there be?
On Friday, there will be a number of detours for TransLink’s downtown routes. Most of these are in the area of the smaller, separate rally that remains at the art gallery, while a few of the other detours affect community shuttles that run along Beach Avenue. Among the bus routes affected are:
240 Main Street/Beach 95 Burrard Station/SFU 240 Vancouver/15 Street 241 Upper Lonsdale
246 Vancouver/Highland 247 Vancouver/Grouse Mountain
The Vancouver Aquatic Centre, the Sunset Beach concession stand and an adjacent part of the seawall will be closed on Friday during the event.