Hemp Fest rolls in a crowd

MOSCOW - Since it was Hemp Fest, Samantha McDonald found herself making a disclosure about her "Stoner's Delight" cupcakes.

"They're straight," McDonald said to more than one customer of Strange Magic Mama bakery. Straight as in the $3 treats didn't contain any marijuana. The chocolate, peanut butter cupcakes were covered in frosting in the same flavors and had Cocoa Pebbles cereal sprinkled on their tops.

The thought behind the name is that they might ease marijuana induced munchies, said McDonald, of Spokane. "I'm an insurance agent by trade. This is my fun stuff to do on the weekend."

McDonald was one of hundreds who participated in Moscow's Hemp Fest on Saturday. The event is a blend of music, art, food and alternative culture.

Two women with cropped hair walking hand in hand could be seen yards away from two other women wearing sorority T-shirts as a group of men sitting on a park bench played bongo drums. An occasional skunk-like aroma perfumed the air.

Some attending the event had political agendas. Among them were Bill Thomas, a Clarkston resident, who gained local fame when he was pictured by The Associated Press as he was attempting to become a hemp consultant to Washington State.

"We are looking forward to getting hemp into every home to get our economy built back up," said Thomas, who walked around the festival with an oversized, green plastic beer bottle with a hemp leaf on the neck collecting donations.

The money will be used to get a hemp production facility going in Asotin County and to hold educational seminars on hemp around Washington, Thomas said.

One of his props was an 11-foot strand of hemp that was grown in China. He also had samples of fabrics made with hemp that ranged from a light-weight, cotton-blend knit, to one similar to burlap. "It's one of the world's strongest fibers," said Thomas, who owns the businesses Trendz and Hemp America.

Hemp also has a high level of cellulose, which makes it work well in bioplastics, and is great as a rotation crop for farmers because it adds a lot of nitrogen to the soil saving them money on fertilizer, Thomas said.

Washington state's department of agricultural is working out the rules for legal hemp production following the state's passage of I-502, Thomas said.

For a plant to be considered hemp in Washington the level of THC, the compound that gives marijuana users a high, has to be below a certain level, Thomas said.

Hemp is not legal at the federal level, but legislation has been introduced in Congress to change that, Thomas said.

For others, the event was an excuse to enjoy being outside in a fun environment.

Ramona Bicandi, a freshman at the University of Idaho, brought her mother, Amy Fouser of Caldwell, who was in town for Mom's Weekend at the school.

The two sat on hay bale benches listening to a band that featured a guitar, banjo, harmonica, stand-up bass and cello. "You have really cool arts and crafts," Bicandi said. "There's a lot of food. My mom's a really cool individual."

Not far away from Bicandi, Erin Erickson of Post Falls was selling signs made out of letters and numbers cut from used license vehicle plates. "It's like a big game of Scrabble."

The signs sold for $6 per letter and had slogans that ranged from "Tree Hugger" to "Hippies Use Back Door." Two of the most popular have been "Ski Bum" and "Man Cave," she said.

Her first was made for her son from his grandfather's license plates, Erickson said. "The biggest thing people say it's such a clever idea."

Getting raw materials hasn't been an issue, Erickson said. "People are inspired by what I do. They're donating their plates."

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Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.