Pa. Cannabis Festival returns this weekend to Kutztown. Here’s what to expect. Pa. Cannabis Festival returns this weekend to Kutztown By Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com The Pennsylvania Cannabis Festival, canceled last spring due to the coronavirus, returns this weekend with a two-day event in the Kutztown area. Free and open to the public, it’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Renninger’s Antique and Farmers’ Market, 740 Noble St., just outside the Berks County borough, in Maxatawny Township. Founded in Scranton in 2015, the festival celebrates Pennsylvania’s industrial hemp program that started in 2017 and medical marijuana initiative that got rolling in 2018 under a law signed two years prior. It also champions the legalization of adult-use marijuana, and comes as neighboring New Jersey and New York this year both legalized recreational use by those ages 21 and older and are working on regulations to open up retail sales. “We’re being surrounded real quick-like,” said festival organizer Jeff Riedy, executive director of the Lehigh Valley chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). This weekend’s festival is billed as featuring over 150 vendors, live music and “canna-centric speakers and discussion panels,” according to penncannafest.com. Riedy described participants as a “cannabis-friendly community.” 2021 Pennsylvania Cannabis Festival April 17-18 - Kutztown, PA www.penncannafest.com ️Free Admission Live Music 200+ Vendors Multiple Unique Food Choices️ Free Onsite Parking Leashed Pet Friendly ⚕️Medical Certifications Onsite Hemp Products ☁️Patient Area Live Art Family Friendly Veteran Wellness Area That doesn’t mean open marijuana use, of course, which remains illegal in Pennsylvania. State police patrol Maxatawny Township but do not plan to “police the festival,” said Trooper David Beohm, public information officer for Reading-based Troop L. Organizers are setting up a private, secluded consumption lounge for medical marijuana patients, Riedy said. (snipped) I've been to a few of these shindigs, and even when taking a puff is not allowed, they are fun and interesting to attend. It's quite pleasant to be able to speak your mind about cannabis, and know everyone in earshot agrees with you! And wait until you check out the glassware booths! Granny