Hemp Ride

Sustainability arts festival > Hemp Ride
Visit the official front-end Hemp Ride web site at HempRide.org.
"Spreading the good news of industrial hemp to local communities on bicycles"
==Return of industrial hemp farming in the USA==
Hemp Ride is a grass roots, artistic, first amendment / free speech clothing-optional bike ride with the aim of educating the public about and promoting legalization of agricultural low-THC industrial hemp in the USA. Thus it is also a protest against Federal laws prohibiting farmers in the USA to grow industrial hemp, as other industrial nations allow all over the world. 
==Sustainability==
Hemp Ride also raises awareness of the dangers of pesticides and other toxins used in conventional cotton/textile raw materials and their negative affect throughout the chain of life on our fragile planet. The hemp plant is naturally resistant to pests and weeds, so the farmer does not need to dump toxic pesticides and herbicides on the land. Hemp also requires about 1/20th as much water to grow and process as cotton, and the hemp fiber is up to 4 times stronger than cotton. Cotton is the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world, accounting for 25% of the world's pesticides. 
===Stop the flow of toxins into our environment===
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 20,000 deaths occur each year from pesticide poisoning in developing countries, many of these from cotton farming. Many health experts have linked the ever-increasing amount of toxins in our bodies to many of our most common diseases and the affects on health of our soil and water is doing little better. 
==Current legislative activity==
In the United States, the federal hemp farming bill, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2007" (H.R. 1009) and the initiative to include industrial hemp in the 2007 Farm Bill needs support. See VoteHemp.com to learn more about these initiatives.
==A fun protest ride==
More needs to be done on a citywide and national scale and we can't afford to wait for others to pick up the ball. So why not throw a big party, invite people to wear their favorite hemp clothes, get bodypainted and go for a fun hemp-themed bike ride?
==2007==
===Seattle===
====Start time and location====
*Date: August 11, 2007 at Magnuson Park in Seattle. Hemp Ride will be part of a larger Sustainability arts festival. People will also be needed to build interactive art installations around related themes and also to provide information to people checking out the event. 
*Time: 10:30 am - 1:30 pm body painting, Ride leaves around 1:30 pm. We could use help setting up around 10 am or so. 
*Location: North of the main Swimming Beach at Magnuson Park, south of the off-leash dog area, just off the Lake Shore Promenade. Please look for us along the shoreline just north of the main Swimming Beach. See a map of the park.
*What to bring: Bring your own lunch and non-alchoholic drinks (preferably not in glass containers), towels, sunscreen, Frisbee, folding chair, sun umbrella/shade, inflatible float/lounge chair for the water, water sandals (the "beach" is made of small cobbles), a donation, a friend to help you bodypaint, sustainable clothing (BRING CLOTHES WITH YOU ON THE RIDE), a bag to pack/in out your recyclables and garbage. See also the WNBR Seattle wiki page for more comprehensive info on suggested items to bring.
*Musical guest: Gandharva will be providing some solo Native American flute music. He has a very authentic collection of Native flutes, all made from natural reeds. Ganharva describes his planned music:
::"The music is improvised "on the spot" and embellished with percussive sounds made with various types of stones, shells, and pieces of wood. The flutes are rather subtle but they speak with a powerful timbre. Perhaps what would work best would be setting up in a special space and invite small groups of folks to gather to listen and participate by meditating, or "just being", allowing the music to speak to the heart. It's a powerful reminder that music in nature is all around us all the time. All you have to do is deeply listen."
=====Sustainability arts festival=====
This event is strategically staged one week prior to Seattle Hempfest and is developing within/alongside a hemp-themed camp within the context of an emerging grassroots ecology / sustainability arts festival in Seattle. The festival is beginning this year as a humble gathering of dedicated people interested in various aspects of the art of sustainability, permaculture and natural living. People will also be needed to build interactive art installations around hemp themes and also to provide information to people checking out the event.
====Body painting party====
There will be a body painting party prior to the start time of the ride located to the north of the Swim Beach at Magnuson Park. Specifically the area will be around the shoreline north of Swim Beach and south of the dog beach. See also Magnuson Beach Bares.
=====Photography restrictions=====
Photography/videography will be restricted in the bodypainted area. Riders only taking pictures of riders they know with permission in the body painting area. Outside of the area photographers should stay back at least 20 feet and should respect peoples' comfort zones.
====Fashion show====
J. Steve and Franz have suggested a fashion show. This idea needs development.
====Proposed route====
So far, Daniel and J. Steve have suggested the following route but we are open to suggestions:
*(1) Magnuson Park shoreline to Burke Gilman Trail. 
*(2) Burke Gilman Trail to Seattle Center International Fountain (WNBR has been here before)
*(3) Olympic Sculpture Park (need to contact SAM)
*(4) Myrtle Edwards Park (area from South trail portion to new beach area on the south. Good opportunity for rock balancing and a place to relax for a few a bit.)
*(5) Alki Beach as the destination, 
*(6) eventual return to Magnuson.
====General info====
On August 11, 2007 cyclists in Seattle will take to the streets to be advocates for industrial hemp and building momentum toward legislative reform. Hemp Pride, in conjunction with other important events such as Seattle Hempfest, will help raise our collective voices in an effort toward reform.
====What to wear====
Inspired by World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR), and organized by WNBR coordinators, riders will be encouraged to wear clothes (DIY hand made or store bought) made of organically- and/or pesticide-free-grown fibers or little to no clothing to protest the high price and silliness of importing hemp from more civilized countries (well, at least ones that realize its value and have sorted through a campaign of disinformation (see Vote Hemp's Myths and Facts page) launched by industrial hemp's ill-motivated foes).
As Jack Herer says, "the emperor wears no clothes". Its time to expose the naivety of the Feds in regards to hemp. One possible motto we are thinking of is "We'd rather go bare than wear pesticide-grown fibers! Its time again to grow American Hemp! Show your Hemp Pride! Join our Hemp Ride!". Stupidity and misinformation is no longer an excuse!
Please stay within the theme and stay on message to stay within constitutionally-protected free speech!
====Sign Up/Contact Us/Get involved====
=====RSVP=====
Please fill out the form on the main page. Select which event/s you are interested in, fill out your e-mail address, how you heard about the event, how you might be able to help (optional) and hit "submit". We do not share or sell your e-mail address with others.
=====Yahoo! discussion group=====
Get involved! Join the development team and hear about the latest developments by joining our Yahoo! discussion group:
*http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hempride/
=====Meetings=====
So come on over to one (or both) of our upcoming meetings so we can begin to get our hands dirty and have some fun getting ready for Saturday, the 11th!
(these meetings follow WNBR meetings which will be starting 45 minutes earlier than times listed below):
*Sunday, 5 August 2007, 12:45 - 1:45 PM
*Tuesday, 7 August 2007, 7:45 - 8:45 PM
Location info:
Chaco Canyon Cafe, 4757 12th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98105 Google Map
======Meeting Agenda======
(please feel free to contact me in advance of the meetings regarding any of these topics)
*The message of Hemp Ride
*Body painting setups
*Route/Start time (we are starting the ride at Magnuson Park on the shoreline north of the main swim beach (see also http://MagnusonBeach.org ))
*Stencil designs for bodypainting
*Bike decoration ideas
*Networking with other groups/sponsors/supporters
*Getting other cyclists and supporters involved
*Working with the City/permitting (permits are moving forward through Magnuson Park Special Events)
*The bigger picture with the Sustainability Arts Festival
=====Contact us=====
*Leave your comments and ideas on this article's talk page
*e-mail Daniel at apr 2007 @ organicparty d0+ org
*call Daniel with any questions at (206) 369 - 2661 (mobile)
=====Hemp Events=====
* Seattle Hempfest August 18 & 19, 2007
=====Partners/endorsements=====
*Sustainability arts festival
*Organic Living Party
*World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR)
**WNBR Seattle
*Body Pride Ride (BPR)
*Add your group here!
=====People we should work with=====
*Hemp Industries Association (HIA)
*The Hemp Coaltion/WA NORML
*Hemp for Victory Tribe.net
*Seattle Hempfest August 18-19, 2007
*Hemp Initiative Projects of Washington State - Hemp.net
==Where to buy hemp/eco-friendly textiles==
:Check out Eco-Fashion Comes of Age An article by Seattle Conscious Choice Magazine about the greener side of fashion or the Seattle Time's article Eco-clothes help you make a statement by Tom Watson.
:See also Hemp Stores - a great resource for finding a store near you that sells hemp products.
===Local===
*The Last White Elephant Compassion in Fashion. What could be more sustainable than reusing someone else's clothes and using the proceeds to discourage animal factory farming?
*Seattle Hempfest Seattle Aug 19-20, 2006, multiple vendors sell sustainably-produced goods
*Rawganique Denman Island, BC, Canada Organic cotton, hemp goods
*Terra Hemp Store is in Wallingford, Seattle Organic cotton, hemp goods
*Bamboo Hardwoods Located in South Seattle and Roosevelt. Sells shirts made from bamboo
*8 Limbs Yoga Their boutique on Capitol Hill sells organic cotton clothes and claims it is "50% sustainable and eco-friendly".
*Andaluz Located in Columbia City, features recycled products and sustainable fashions.
*CERTIFIED jeans Seattle’s CERTIFIED jeans are made from 100% organic, transitional cotton grown without chemicals in the USA.
===National===
*Patagonia 
*Whole Foods Sells some sustainable clothing (organic cotton, hemp, bamboo) National store chain. Greater Seattle locations: Downtown, Roosevelt, Bellevue, Interbay
==External links==
*Hemp for Victory Informational film produced by the American Department of Agriculture.
*HIA's Hemp Facts page
*Industrial Hemp Factsheet PDF document on industrial Hemp made by BC's Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
==References==
*(1) LookSmart's FindArticles - Environmental Medicine: Excerpts from Articles on Current Toxicity, Solvents, Pesticides and Heavy Metals Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Jan, 2001, by Walter J. Crinnion