By
Zack Armstrong
Arizona Daily Wildcat
A test from God arrived this weekend, as there was a beer festival and a marijuana festival planned on the very same day. How could a person be expected to decide between these two beautiful opportunities? I am not ashamed to admit that it was my faith alone that led me to go to both.
The beer festival was at Reid Park in the baseball stadium. When I pulled into the parking lot, I thought I was in the wrong place until I saw a man stumbling out and swearing to his friends that he had driven much drunker than he was at that moment. Where is a cop when you need one?
I bought my ticket without having my identification checked and went inside to help myself to the festivities. There were dozens of people with all-you-can-drink beer in their bellies and on their breath, and the only regulatory agency on the scene was Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Vendors from all over the state came to show off their brews and gain a few new customers, but it was not until I talked to the planners that I discovered what the event's real purpose was - its goal was to raise money for Sun Sounds, an organization that provides a radio reading service to the visually impaired.
Sun Sounds is a worthwhile group, and it is a shame that their presence was not more felt at the event. The people that were there were predominantly there to drink, and while it was great to get money from those people, it would not have hurt to educate them a little more while they were there.
After sampling everything at least once, I drove off to my next destination.
I did not see a single cop until I hit the area around the Pima County Fairgrounds, the location of the Grassroots Affair. Luckily for me, they were all too preoccupied with cars full of teenagers to mess with me or the other drunk drivers across town.
The event's goal was to raise awareness about marijuana - why it is illegal and why it should not be. Unfortunately, this message was not being received as strongly as it could have been. The majority of the people that I talked to were just there for the music.
There were booths for the Green Party, voter registration and National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, but they were not exactly high-traffic areas. Just like with the beer festival, the message could and should have been much more effectively delivered.
And the Grassroots Affair could have reached a larger audience if they localized the show more and dropped ticket prices. They were charging $30 a ticket. You can get a sack for $30.
Next year I am hoping that Sun Sounds and the Grassroots people get together for their events. Since I bested God's test this time, He owes me.
