The 420 celebration in Denver — this year scheduled for Saturday, April 20, at Civic Center Park — has included a free concert for over a decade. And, as in previous years, 2024's lineup will be heavy on hip-hop.
The upcoming 4/20 Fest will include performances by Gucci Mane, Ohgeesy, Afroman, Big Boss Vette, Murs, Tommy Genesis, Dro Kenji, Lexy Panterra and Fedd the Godd, according to a March 15 announcement from organizers.
For nearly three decades, a marijuana-friendly celebration has taken place at Civic Center on or near April 20 to mark 4/20, the unofficial cannabis holiday now observed around the world. The event transitioned from a political rally to a free concert and vendor space in the late 2000s, as first medical marijuana and then recreational marijuana became legal — but the pot-friendly attitude has been a constant, attracting thousands of visitors to the park every year.
Headliners in recent years have included 2 Chainz, Big Boi, Tommy Chong, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, T.I. and Waka Flocka Flame.
JARS Cannabis, a Michigan-based dispensary chain that owns the rights to Denver's largest 4/20 festival, confirmed in February that it had reapplied for an event permit for April 20 at Civic Center. JARS acquired the right to the 4/20 event permit in 2022 by purchasing Euflora, a Colorado dispensary chain that had previously hosted the festival.
Tickets and Cannabis Policy
General admission into the festival is free, with VIP passes available for sale, according to the festival website.After receiving requests from parents and youth drug-prevention groups, in 2023 JARS enforced an age limit for the first time in the festival's history. According to organizers, the age limit will return this year, as will the festival's alcohol policy, which allows for festival-goers to purchase and drink booze, but only in designated, fenced-off areas.
Local and state laws ban marijuana use at public events, and Civic Center Park is city-owned property, which makes it off-limits for any form of pot consumption or hospitality. Despite the law and Denver government's public stance against unlicensed social marijuana use, however, city and law enforcement officials have mostly turned a blind eye to attendees smoking weed within the festival grounds on 4/20.
The festival's current pot policy is similar to last year's, restating Colorado law on public marijuana use and warning that "anyone caught distributing marijuana or using any illegal substances" at the event "may be removed from the event by local authorities." For the past two years, though, zero citations have been issued for public pot consumption, despite plenty of smoking taking place in the crowd and on stage by performers.
