The Best 4/20 Events in America 2019

KahliBuds.com
Apr 9, 2019
4 min read

This 4/20 will be one to remember, no matter how much you puff.

One in five Americans now lives in a state with legal, adult use cannabis laws. From sea to shining sea—concerts, contests, film festivals, and expos are going off on April 20, which this year falls on a Saturday.

What was once high school code for meeting up and getting lifted (“420!”) has transformed over a generation into a rallying cry for cannabis culture and liberation.

With ten legal adult-use states, plus Washington, D.C., the parties are bigger than ever. We rounded up this year’s absolute biggest, baddest throwdowns on April 20th and the surrounding weekend. So mark your calendars and stock up.

Top 5 Best 420 Parties in the US

1) Kaya Fest 2019 with the Marley Family, Bayfront Park, Miami, FL

2) Snoop Dogg + Ice Cube at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO

3) Ludacris + Action Bronson at National Cannabis Festival, RFK Stadium, Washington DC

4) High Times Cannabis Cup—Central Valley, Cal Fair Expo, Sacramento, CA

5) SPLIFF Film Fest, Revolution Hall, Portland, OR

What is 4/20?

The term “420” began in San Rafael, CA, in the ’70s as a high school clique’s code for “let’s go smoke some weed at 4:20 p.m at the pre-designated location.”

The clique known as The Waldos spread ‘420’ locally. San Rafael’s intersection with the Grateful Dead music scene passed the code phrase along to the Grateful Dead’s touring culture, who shared it internationally.

The rise of cannabis law reform in the ’90s, first with medical marijuana in 1996, brought the term “420” aboveground, where it became a symbol of support for reform efforts. Over two decades, informal, non-sanctioned public observances of a day-long ‘cannabis holiday’ honoring 420 on April 20 (4/20) have morphed into licensed, permitted events—the biggest of which draw tens of thousands of people each year.

The Best 420 Parties in the US – Full Listings

Northern California’s Best 420 Events

Join the man behind the Cookies strain craze, Berner, with other Bay Area musical guests Nef the Pharaoh, Los Rakas and Kool John for a day and night show.

Date: April 20
Where: The Midway, San Francisco, CA
Tickets: $40 (ages 18+)

(Courtesy High Times)

Musicians Rae Srummond, Schoolboy Q, Soulja Boy, Too $hort, and Afroman lead off the festivities in Sacramento April 20-21—alongside a consumption expo and cannabis contest that is High Times’ namesake.

Date: April 20-21
Where: Cal Expo Fairgrounds, Sacramento, CA
Tickets: $50 (ages 21+)

Two days before 4/20, San Francisco’s world-class exploratorium delves into the social, judicial, economic, and environmental impacts of legalization. Also, a cow eyeball dissection.

Date: April 18
Where: Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA
Tickets: $20 (ages 18+)

Grab a patch of grass early and get reeeaaally comfortable for a massive, daylong smokeout in San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Park. Sponsors pay for extra trash cans, bathrooms, and security.

Date: April 20
Where: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
Tickets: Free

Southern California’s Best 420 Events

In terms of 4/20’s cultural north pole, it’s going to be hard top the iconic jam band’s lead vocalist at the hallowed Los Angeles venue on Friday, April 19. Anastasio plays at the other Greek in Berkeley, CA. the next night.

Get into the “laissez faire vibe” of one of the best Grateful Dead cover bands, Grateful Shred, as they headline an irie day at the Echo + Echoplex on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Date: April 20
Where: Echo + Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA
Tickets: $35 (ages 21+)

Also in L.A.: The Budtrader Ball with NBA’s John Salley; Baked Eggs brunch with Netflix’s “Cooking on High” Chef Andi Leon and host SweetTatas.

Oregon’s Best 420 Events

The inaugural “first film festival created by the stoned, for the stoned” features about 20 shorts, experimental films, and headscratchers.

Date: April 20
Where: Revolution Hall, Portland, OR
Tickets: $20 (ages 21+)

Washington’s Best 420 Events

Can we talk about this for a second? Cheech and Chong are playing a casino off the I-5 in Tacoma on 4/20. The actual comedians Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. Good for Tacoma, you know? All hail the kings.

From the creators of HUMP! and Savage Love— the “first film festival created by the stoned, for the stoned” has show dates both in Portland and Seattle.

Date: April 19-20
Where: SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Seattle, WA
Tickets: $20 (ages 21+)

Nevada’s Best 420 Events

Reserve a bottle ahead of time for Snoop’s official gathering at Drai’s Nightclub to celebrate 25 years of his debut album Doggystyle on the last stop of his 420 Wellness Retreat tour.

Date: April 20
Where: Drai’s Nightclub, Las Vegas, NV
Tickets: $40 (ages 21+)

Enjoy a thuggish, ruggish musical legacy almost 30 years in the making at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas. Guests get special discounts at Caesar’s Palace.

Date: April 19
Where: Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV
Tickets: $30 (ages 18+)

Colorado’s Best 420 Events

(Courtesy Merry Jane)

Snoop Dogg kicks off his sixth annual 420 Wellness Retreat tour with Ice Cube and Warren G at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

311, Method Man, and Redman return to headline this pre-4/20 concert.

An admission-free public gathering with music, food trucks, and cannabis vendors galore in front of the Colorado Capitol in downtown Denver.

Date: April 20
Where: Civic Center Park, Denver, CO
Tickets: Free

Washington, DC’s Best 420 Events

(Courtesy National Cannabis Festival)

Ludacris, Action Bronson, DJ Biz Markie, and much more perform amidst exhibitions, munchies, and cannabis in the country’s capital.

Date: April 20
Where: RFK Festival Grounds, Washington, DC
Tickets: $49.50 (ages 21+)

New York’s Best 420 Events

Humble Bloom presents the launch of New Highs CBD, with signature cocktails by Warren Bobrow with Gem & Bolt, live music, movement, and other goodies.

When: April 20
Where: The William Vale, New York, NY
Tickets: $40 (ages 21+)