Sunset Beach Park will be closed for repairs for up to five weeks due to damage done during the 4/20 pot festival on Thursday.
Thousands gathered for the event, which led to damage to the field, according to the Vancouver Park Board.
Staff arrived at the park and nearby beach earlier this morning to assess the damage and begin the work of cleaning up.
“The field is in rough shape and muddy with lots of rutting, holes and dips so staff will need to aerate, over seed and top dress it before it can be used again,” park board chair Michael Wiebe said in a press release.
“Organizers of the 4/20 event had indicated they would install a turf protector, but failed to do so. The board will make every effort to recoup repair costs from organizers.”
Repairs are expected to cost in the thousands of dollars.
As much as 6,000 pounds of garbage was removed this morning, which 4/20 organizers had collected and stacked in piles. Barricades, fencing and porta potties will also be removed today.
On March 6th, the park board denied the 420 Events Society a permit to hold the annual protest at Sunset Beach in a split vote.
Commissioners and critics who opposed to having the event at the park cited the smoking ban in parks, disruption to residents and lack of alignment with the park board’s mandate.
But organizers said they would go ahead anyway.
On March 29, city council decided in a 5-3 vote not to make a decision on where 4/20 would be held in the future until the federal government established a legal framework for legalization.
The issue of politics and freedom also came to bear during the discussion at city council. Several councillors conceded that while some view the rally as an excuse to get high, it is also a legitimate form of protest.
In 2016, an estimated 40,000 people visited the event when it was held at Sunset Beach for the first time, which cost the city close to $150,000, of which the park board picked up $25,000. Policing costs were an additional $100,000.
— with files from John Kurucz
