By Theron Larkins
Staff Writer
STOCKHOLM — The controversial concert that was scheduled to kick off on Sept. 19, has now officially been cancelled. The three-day event was meant to act as a celebration of the 45th anniversary of Woodstock — the famous music festival held on a farm in New York in 1969.
Event coordinators of the pro-marijuana festival had their eyes set on Music Mountain in Stockholm as a venue for the concert. The event, meant to mimic the iconic 1969 Woodstock festival, was planned to happen atop the picturesque mountain overlooking Madawaska Lake. However, last Thursday, coordinator and promoter Mark Ward told the Bangor Daily News that he had tasked the owner of Music Mountain, Jack Sargent with securing the necessary permits for the event, which would include a special amusement permit, as well as a fire permit for campsites. Ward said that he had been contacted by Sargent, who markets the property as Mainiac Mountain Motor Sports and Music Mountain, about having the event in Stockholm. However, the town of Stockholm released a statement on Wednesday claiming that neither Sargent nor Ward had obtained the proper permits for the event to be held.
Ward also said on Thursday that he had left several messages for Sargent in an attempt to remedy whatever the problem was, which he claimed was simply a miscommunication, due to the fact he lives in Rhode Island and is far removed from the process.
Ward explained that this was an unusual situation for a concert promoter to be so far removed from the action, but was clearly upset about what he called a “miscommunication” between the parties.
Ward said Thursday that all of the groundwork, such as applying for permits, setting up the site, details related to camping and more were the responsibility of Sargent, since Ward does not live in Maine. He added that it was a situation he doesn’t come across very often.
“Usually, we do Hempfest farther south. We have had Hempfest in Boston and Seattle, but we’ve never had it so far north, so this is a first for us,” said Ward. “Basically, we want to show all of the uses for hemp in making clothes, fuel and countless other products, and we want to educate people about the uses for hemp, beyond what they already might know. We really want to demonstrate how important hemp still can be to the economy.”
Some groups planned to used the festival as a platform to spread awareness concerning legalization for both recreational and medical marijuana use, according to Hempfest’s Facebook page. Others planned to spread information about how hemp can be used to make food, clothing and medicine.
Project coordinator for the Power of Prevention Coalition Mark Shea, worked closely with the town of Stockholm in a supportive role, sharing his knowledge on what it takes to bring an event like this to town. Shea explained that he approached the town to offer his assistance in any way he could help. According to Shea the town provided Sargent with a “laundry list” of things that needed to be addressed before any type of concert or event could take place.
According to the town’s first selectperson Eva Ouellette, after informing Sargent of the various permits he would need, the town never heard back from him.
“No matter what the event is there are certain things that have to be taken care of beforehand,” said Shea. “Personally, I believe people have the right to express their opinions and demonstrate if they have the proper permits to do so. However, certain measures have to be taken to make sure the people who attend the festival are safe, and that someone is in place to enforce the rules. With it being promoted as a family-friendly event, it has to be made certain that someone will be there to check ID’s and do all the other things necessary to make sure that if say a 17-year-old showed up, he or she had a parent or guardian with them.”
Unfortunately for Ward and all those who had planned to be a part of Hempfest will have to look outside of northern Maine for their festival fix. Coordinators of Hempfest will also have to look elsewhere to spread their message about hemp.
