Waldos Forever Festival set for Saturday in Andersonville for first time since recreational marijuana legalization
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The marijuana-friendly Waldos Forever Festival is set for Saturday – marking the first time it has been held since marijuana has been legal in Illinois for recreational use.
The Andersonville festival, presented by Dispensary 33 at 5001 N. Clark St., began in 2018 and was held again the following year. It had to be canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, not only is this the first festival since the pandemic began, but also since all adults could legally partake.
CBS 2's Marie Saavedra talked with festival organizer Abigail Watkins.
"The last time we had the Waldos Forever Fest was in 2019. We had a lot of our medical patients come out and celebrate. We also had a lot of people from the neighborhood. I think around 6,000 people showed up in 2019, which shows how excited people were for legalization to come," Watkins said. "And so now, this is the first year that we'll be seeing recreational cannabis consumers and medical patients celebrating together at the fest."
Watkins noted that the festival has grown bigger and better this year. It will take over Clark Street between Winnemac Avenue and Ainslie Street, and will also take over Argyle Street going a short distance east of Clark Street.
"The festival footprint has more than doubled. We called it a fest, but you know, it felt like a block party in 2018 and 2019. It was on the side street outside of the dispensary, and we had food trucks and performances," she said. "And this year, we're doing it – we're closing off Clark Street from Ainslie to Winnemac, and then we are continuing the footprint ion Argyle Street – which is the original location of the fest."
Watkins said it is time to erase the stigma around marijuana – particularly given that alcohol has been omnipresent in street festivals for ages.
"I think, you know, cannabis has carried a stigma and we've had street festivals with ample alcohol and beer tents available, you know, and this is the first cannabis festival in Illinois – and so we really just want to show that it's a vibrant community, and we just want to celebrate access; that there's widespread access to cannabis, and that it really does help a lot of people," she said.
However, festivalgoers will not be able to partake in any weed right at the festival. Because smoking in public spaces is not allowed in the city of Chicago, consumption of marijuana is not permitted there.
The festival will feature live music, drag performances, local food, and "cannabis-forward vendors."
Chicago rap duo Glitter Moneyyy, Canadian electronic musician and singer Jessy Lanza, Los Angeles-based singer and violinist Sudan Archives, and New York rapper Junglepussy are among the musical acts who will be appearing. Shea Couleé, winner of "RuPaul Drag Race All Stars 5," will also offer both a live vocal performance and a lip-sync drag set.
And don't be looking for bespectacled men wearing red and white striped shirts hiding amid the crowd at the Waldos Forever Fest. The source of the name is actually a reference to the origins of the term 420 for marijuana.
In 1971, five high school students from San Rafael, California who called themselves the Waldos began meting at 4:20 p.m. in a designated spot to smoke marijuana, as noted on the festival website.
One of the Waldos found a treasure map that led to an abandoned crop of cannabis, but they never ended up finding that crop. Still, 4:20 p.m. – and later just 420, and 4/20 – became forever associated with weed.