HEMP FESTIVAL PLANNER DEFIES LACK OF PERMIT

Organizer Of La Fiesta De Las Cucarachas Says Event Will Go On As Planned
Despite Pomona's Denial Of Application.

POMONA -- Organizers of a controversial festival celebrating hemp say the
show will go on this weekend despite the fact they were denied a city permit.

The La Fiesta de las Cucarachas, a two-day music and cultural event, was
scheduled to start Friday in the downtown's Arts Colony, but city officials
would not grant a permit. The vow to hold the festival without it has
Pomona police planning an increased presence downtown this weekend.

The festival has been advertised in fliers throughout downtown and is being
touted as a multistage concert on Pomona's streets coupled with an outdoor
marketplace for food and crafts.

Hemp Shak owner Mark Hornaday, who organized the two-day event, was turned
down by the city earlier this week. He had submitted an earlier application
that was rejected because it was incomplete. Hornaday hasn't obtained
insurance for the festival and the city says he hasn't organized enough
security for it.

Hornaday said he is appealing the city's denial. City officials said
Tuesday that Hornaday had not submitted an application for a new permit.

"He's been notified that if he tries to proceed with his festival, he will
be in violation of city code," Police Chef Fred Sanchez said. "He would
then be subject to being cited and financial penalties attached to that and
it could lead to possible arrests."

City officials said the festival would be shut down if necessary. People
who show up for the festival will be informed that the event is not
authorized and is not taking place.

The festival has also drawn fire from some critics who take issue with the
name of the event -- "las Cucarachas" (cockroaches) is a pun on "roach"
clips used to smoke marijuana, organizers say. But critics take offense to
the timing of the event, which coincides with the Cinco de Mayo holiday and
because the title of the festival is in Spanish.

Hornaday said the festival is not meant to offend any groups and is being
staged May 5 because it coincides with International Hemp Awareness Week.

"I'm not trying to compare it with any other groups in some way that is
derogatory," Hornaday said.

"The reality is that the promotions are out there and the people are coming
to enjoy a peaceful festival, if that's OK with the authorities. Are they
going to bill me because people came to Pomona and supported the
community." Both the Pomona Central Business District, a downtown business
association, and city officials opposed the festival because it focuses
largely on the use of hemp -- or cannabis. City leaders say it gives Pomona
a bad name.

Taco Nazo owner Marisa Nunez said she originally supported the hemp
festival for environmental reasons, because hemp can be used as a
substitute for wood in paper products. But she changed her mind after
Hornaday refused to change the name of the event and did not get the city's
approval.