Today, hundreds of thousands of potheads will celebrate across the globe as a “Hash-Bashing Holy Day”. 

How the tradition began

In the early 1970s in California, a group of San Rafael High School students known as the “Waldos,” for their hangout spot – a wall outside of the school grounds – coined the term “420.” Every day at 4:20pm, the Waldos met to smoke pot, referring to their late afternoon toke as 420, but never envisioned the code word becoming a worldwide phenomenon.

Today, hundreds of thousands of stoners across the globe celebrate April 20th as a cannabis Christmas. In the United States, 420 Day San Francisco throws a party unlike any other festival in the world, just 20 miles away from the Waldos’ old hangout.

420 Day San Francisco boasts a slew of 420 Day parties like 420 Celebration on Hippie Hill. Located in Golden Gate Park, Hippie Hill provides potheads with scenic and psychedelic views while offering them a chance to sit in drum circles and let the wind blow through their hair.

More active reefer regulars blaze trails to 420 Day celebrations like San Jose HempCon, arguably America’s largest medical marijuana show. Other smoky 420 Day events include WOMP Island 420 Music Festival, where crowds burn doobies and sway to chill funk, hip-hop, and rap music.

Come 420 Day, the most fitting way to honor the innovative high school students from San Rafael is to smoke up, down, and all around San Francisco.

Arizona

• 420 Blaze It Fest (4/20/2016) 

  First Annual 420 Blaze it Fest to be held in Mesa, Arizona with a two-fold agenda: to bring awareness to medical marijuana, and to showcase both local and celebrity artists. This festival is designed to bring consciousness to marijuana’s health benefits and fuse the music of artist who support it’s cause. 

California

• 420 Celebration on Hippie Hill 

  Located in Golden Gate Park, Hippie Hill invites people of all ages, genders, and races to gather and simply “exist.” With vibrant sunshine and welcoming drum circles, 420 Celebration on Hippie Hill gets back to the basics of stoner life.

  It doesn't cost a thing to enter Golden Gate Park, so no need to purchase passes for 420 Celebration on Hippie Hill

• San Jose HempCon 

  San Jose HempCon is one America’s biggest medical marijuana shows and features a huge number of exhibits sponsored by medical marijuana dispensaries, caregivers, legal services, evaluation services, equipment, and accessories. San Jose HempCon also features live music performances and plenty of food and drink.

  San Jose HempCon tickets typically cost around $20.

• WOMP Island 420 Music Festival 

  WOMP Island 420 Music Festival features four stages of live music, complete with psychedelic visuals projected by multiple movie projectors. Past WOMP Island 420 Music Festival performers include Donald Glaude, House Nation Mafia, Soul Puncherz, Arcade, Durty, and Shark City, among many others. WOMP Island 420 Music Festival also houses a 21+area, where stoners can catch a buzz off a drink from the bar.

  WOMP Island 420 Music Festival tickets usually start around $20 during the presale period. 

• Lommori Productions 420 Bash (4/29/2016) 

  Lommori Productions 420 Bash features two stages of live music that provides stoners with the perfect soundtrack to light one up and dream of nationwide marijuana legalization. Past Lommori Productions 420 Bash performers include Fungo Mungo, Girls with Guns, Space Monkey, Gangstas, and DJ Flip, among many others.

  Lommori Productions 420 Bash tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door. 

Chicago

• CannaTech - April Meet up (4/20/2016) - 

  This special 4/20 event will feature a panel dedicated to the use and applications of data in cannabis. We have an awesome panel from three key areas that touch nearly every cannabis business. Panel Speakers for April's MeetUp: 

  Kurt Akers - Co-Founder/CEO, Kannatopia, Areas: Social & consumption data

  Denise Vlamis - CEO, DispenseFirst  (Popular IL POS Sytem), Areas: Compliance, Reporting, HIPPA

  Jeff Nemeth - Director, ACT Laboratories, LLC (IL Cannabis Testing Lab) , Areas: Potency, Microbial's, Consumer Safety  

Colorado

This city is jumping off right now!  There is so much going on it would be like boot camp to attend all events.  But we can try right??  The best way to know what’s happening in this town is to go to Cannabis Club Tours, Marijuana events and Denver 420 festivals/events.  I mean this city is partying in the streets and calling it “420 Burnt Lips”.

• 420 Eve on The Rocks with Red Man and Method Man at Red Rocks Amphiteater (4/19/2016)   
• Merry Jane Wellness Retreat with Snoop Dogg “relaxing 420 party” at the Fiddler Green Amphitheater (4/20/2016)

Dallas

• 420 Experience Festival (4/20/2016) - The 420 Festival welcomes the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to the Experience of a lifetime.  Experience the Experiment, while we bring out the cities best musicians, culture, and ethnicities all under one roof.  The surrounding communities not only come together to celebrate cultural unity, but get beneficial information about cannabis usage.

New York City

In New York City, thousands of potheads join their brethren across the globe in celebrating April 20th like it’s cannabis Christmas! 420 Day New York City boasts an eclectic list of 420 Day parties that rivals the fun had in any other city around the globe.  

• 420 Smokeout Celebration at Washington Square Park
• The 420 Times CANNAFREE NYC (4/20/2016) - First Annual Cannabis Mega Party/ Stoner's Convention in New York City. Network & Party with the Cannabis Industry and learn about Medical Marijuana Laws and how to attain medical marijuana in New York. Cannabis in New York is still not legal and if we are going to make a change then we must stand together in knowledge and power to influence the vote. Let us affect OUR future!

• Massive One Love Block Party (4/20/2016) - 8 bands and 9 DJs will fill the afternoon with great music, all of it local and One Love Massive collective members. The party will start at 4:20pm and go till 10pm. We will have food and beverages, music, live art, vendors and a damn good time. 

• 1st Annual New York City Hot Sauce Expo (4/23-24/2016) - experience the unique insanity of the Greatest Hot Sauce Adventure on planet Earth.

Washington, DC

• DC's First Annual 420 StonerFest (4/20/2016) - 

  There are two separate locations the first one is from 12Noon- 6pm The second is from 11pm-4:20am. To attend the event you must be atleast 21yrs old and must RSVP in advance, This is a private event , you simply need to RSVP to gain entry. 

Man, choices, choices and more choices! Where will you be celebrating our favorite holiday? Don't forget to share your stories and photos with your fellow Cannabisseurs on our social network for stoners.