CRITIC DOESN'T KNOW HIS HISTORY

Responding to the Aug. 24 letter, "Mellow gathering goes all
corporate," it seems as if the writer knows nothing of Seattle
Hempfest at all and makes us wonder if he even attended the event. It
also makes us question his motivation for his letter.

Seattle Hempfest's production organization is a federal 501c(3)
nonprofit corporation. It is not something from which individuals
could profit. The board of directors takes no financial remuneration
whatever. We are an all-volunteer organization.

Water was sold at $2, not $6. Hempfest controls water sales partially
for the reason of keeping the cost of it low to encourage hydration.
Water was also given away for free to attendees by us at our expense.
Booth spaces were not $600. We had a variety of booth spaces as low as
$210 and blanket spaces and strolling vendor passes were significantly
lower than that.

The first Seattle Hempfest was not in Gasworks Park. Gasworks Park was
a venue utilized for one year in 1994, the fourth Seattle Hempfest.

Anyone that attended the festival in '94 should have known that. Also,
how does the writer know in what spirit our event was created if he
does not even know when or where it was created?

It seems the writer is using criticism of a popular event as a medium
to get some press for his event, which he mentions in his letter. The
event sounds to me like a half-baked scheme without any planning or
research. We doubt if he will effect our attendance.

John B. Davis

Chairman of the Board of Directors,

Seattle Events Producer of Seattle Hempfest