Festival to promote music, legalization

The Citizens' Alliance for the Legalization of Marijuana will offer an alternative to Little 500 events this weekend with its fifth annual Calmfest Saturday in Dunn Meadow. The goal of the festival is to unite music, community and social action.\nCalmfest showcases performances from seven bands including Alma Azul, the Indiana Trip Factory and Blue Moon Review, as well as speakers. \nCALMFEST is supported by 17 sponsors. The group said it hopes holding the festival during Little 500 weekend will increase attendance at the free event.\nSophomore Chris Welz said he believes the issues presented will draw an attentive crowd for his band, the Indiana Trip Factory.\n"I think a lot of people affiliated with the issues are into our kind of music," Welz said "Our music is pretty experimental, so we feel this is a great opportunity for us."\nBlue Moon Review said it is excited about the show for other reasons. \n"This is our last show for awhile because we're recording, so we're looking forward to having a good performance," sophomore Andy Salge said.\nWhen the bands aren't playing, speakers will take center stage, with attorney Robert Miller speaking on protecting one's civil rights. City Council Member Chris Gaal, D-VI, will speak on the state of the war against drugs.\nOne of the festival's organizers and founder of CALM, Mike Truelove, said the biggest obstacle in gaining community awareness for CALM's campaigns was trying to keep up with what he called "propaganda" from well-funded government organizations. \n"The amount of resources used by the federal and state governments to fight the issue is extremely one-sided," Truelove said.\nCALM memebers said they hope the festival will not only create a sense of community, but also educate the crowd on its controversial issues.\n"The drug war is breaking up families and taking kids away from parents," Truelove said. "It's time for people to stand up and say, 'this isn't right.'"\nTruelove said he was surprised at the amount of negative press marijuana use receives, and was also concerned that people who could benefit from medical marijuana use where being forced to suffer as a result of laws in many states.\n"No one has ever died from using the drug, unlike synthetic prescriptions, which can often have unpleasant side effects," he said.\nThe group will circulate petitions to support the legalization of industrial hemp for clothing as well as petitions for the legalization of marijuana.\n"A lot of people don't realize that you can get four times as much material for clothing from a field of hemp than you can from trees," Truelove said. "It's more durable and it's better for the environment."\nCALM said it plans to prepare for its festival by having a walk through town Friday, beginning at noon at Showalter Fountain, in which members will carry a banner championing the group's cause.\nTruelove said Calmfest will be a relaxing alternative during Little 500 weekend in which politics and music can be woven together for the betterment of the community.\n"It's for a good cause, and it's great to play Dunn Meadow, just being outside in the sun, and everyone can just relax and have a good time," Salge said.