FESTIVAL CELEBRATES MARIJUANA HARVEST

If you're looking for a family-friendly way to celebrate autumn, the
first Harvest Fest isn't for you.

The 18-and-up event, to be put on by The Darkside & Tattooing in
Redding, will celebrate the marijuana harvest with live music,
jugglers, arts and crafts classes, and the Cannabis Cup, where judges
will rate local growers' marijuana plants.

Bruce Vussard, owner of The Darkside, said all 10 judges are
authorized by physicians to use medical marijuana, making the contest
legal.

"There's going to be no marijuana for sale, no marijuana on display,
no foods or anything infused with THC," he said.

Vussard said he's been in contact with the state Attorney General's
Office, the Anderson Police Department and the California Highway
Patrol, as well as Woolf Security and Investigations Inc.

"I'm going to have much more law enforcement present than normally is
at the fair grounds," he said. "We're complying with everything
they've required."

Vussard said there will actually be more security at Harvest Fest than
at the Shasta District Fair, so the event will be much safer than many
would expect.

"The people that own collectives all wanted something like this," he
said. "It's to educate the public at large about marijuana." Plants
entered in the Cannabis Cup will be judged for smell, visual appeal,
density, resin content, flavor and high.

Those who aren't medical marijuana users can enjoy the event as well,
Vussard said, and green wristbands will be issued to those with a
physician's recommendation.

Chad Hylton, founder of the Hampton Collective in Redding, is looking
forward to raising public awareness about medical marijuana through
the event, and providing information to those who may want to get a
physician's recommendation.

"I believe it's going to help those people," he said. "I think there's
going to be a lot of great access to information there."

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IF YOU GO

What: Harvest Fest, an event focused on medical marijuana, sponsored
by The Darkside

When: Oct. 29-31

Where: Shasta District Fair grounds in Anderson

Admission: $10 in advance, $15 at the door Friday and Saturday; free on Sunday

More information:

921-4951,

www.harvestfest2010.com