The Hemp Hoe Down at Elkview Campground was not on Tavis Dunn's seven-week trip itinerary, but neither were the Black Hills, or much else, for that matter.
Dunn and his girlfriend, Judy Innes, were actually trying to hitch a ride east from the Flying J in Rapid City when the hoe down's Saturday night headliner pulled into the truck stop's parking lot and offered them a ride to the 10th annual hemp festival.
"We really didn't want to plan this, as much as possible," said Dunn, which is how he found himself smoking outside of a borrowed tent near Sturgis on Saturday afternoon.
Sponsored by Keefe Green Productions, the Hemp Hoe Down features live music, children's events, vendors and food for the campers.
"We're trying to raise awareness about earth's most viable and useful crop," said Jeremy Briggs, the event's coordinator. "Hemp is not marijuana."
Briggs emphasized the versatility of the plant, naming its use in food, building materials, paper and soap products.
"Hemp could be one of the major solutions to a sustainable future," Briggs said.
The festival also coincides with the first national Hemp History Week, which starts Monday.
Dunn tried the free hemp-product samples handed out at the festival, bought a hemp shirt and enjoyed the music Friday night.
The couple's journey started in New Zealand, where they decided traveling across the United States sounded more appealing than flying the roughly 36 hour trip, including layovers, to England.
"America is the land of the free," Dunn said. "We wanted to see what's free, who's free and who thinks freely."
Their American expedition began on April 24, when their plane touched down in San Francisco. They caught a ride to Sacramento, Calif., then hitchhiked with a truck driver to Reno, Nev., rode a train to Salt Lake City, caught another ride to Moab, Utah, and a Montana resident dropped them off in Rapid City.
"It's been a good journey so far," Dunn said.
A photographer, Dunn is also documenting the trip and hopes to show the final project at an exhibition in England.
The pair's return flight leaves Boston on June 15. They plan on stopping in Sioux Falls, Chicago and Niagra Falls, N.Y., before spending time in Massachusetts. The band offered to take them to eastern South Dakota, but finding a ride to Chicago is something they still need to figure out.
"That's in a couple of days," Dunn said. "We'll worry about it then."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Rapid City Journal
Author: Holly Meyer
Contact: Rapid City Journal
Copyright: 2010 rapidcityjournal.com
Website: Globetrotting couple makes stop at hemp festival
Dunn and his girlfriend, Judy Innes, were actually trying to hitch a ride east from the Flying J in Rapid City when the hoe down's Saturday night headliner pulled into the truck stop's parking lot and offered them a ride to the 10th annual hemp festival.
"We really didn't want to plan this, as much as possible," said Dunn, which is how he found himself smoking outside of a borrowed tent near Sturgis on Saturday afternoon.
Sponsored by Keefe Green Productions, the Hemp Hoe Down features live music, children's events, vendors and food for the campers.
"We're trying to raise awareness about earth's most viable and useful crop," said Jeremy Briggs, the event's coordinator. "Hemp is not marijuana."
Briggs emphasized the versatility of the plant, naming its use in food, building materials, paper and soap products.
"Hemp could be one of the major solutions to a sustainable future," Briggs said.
The festival also coincides with the first national Hemp History Week, which starts Monday.
Dunn tried the free hemp-product samples handed out at the festival, bought a hemp shirt and enjoyed the music Friday night.
The couple's journey started in New Zealand, where they decided traveling across the United States sounded more appealing than flying the roughly 36 hour trip, including layovers, to England.
"America is the land of the free," Dunn said. "We wanted to see what's free, who's free and who thinks freely."
Their American expedition began on April 24, when their plane touched down in San Francisco. They caught a ride to Sacramento, Calif., then hitchhiked with a truck driver to Reno, Nev., rode a train to Salt Lake City, caught another ride to Moab, Utah, and a Montana resident dropped them off in Rapid City.
"It's been a good journey so far," Dunn said.
A photographer, Dunn is also documenting the trip and hopes to show the final project at an exhibition in England.
The pair's return flight leaves Boston on June 15. They plan on stopping in Sioux Falls, Chicago and Niagra Falls, N.Y., before spending time in Massachusetts. The band offered to take them to eastern South Dakota, but finding a ride to Chicago is something they still need to figure out.
"That's in a couple of days," Dunn said. "We'll worry about it then."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Rapid City Journal
Author: Holly Meyer
Contact: Rapid City Journal
Copyright: 2010 rapidcityjournal.com
Website: Globetrotting couple makes stop at hemp festival
