SF’s Official 420 Celebration Canceled for Second Year in a Row

San Francisco’s festival about getting high has hit a low point.

Daniel Montes, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department communications manager, told KQED that the city’s official 420 celebration has been canceled for a second year in a row — for all the same reasons. 

“ There were conversations with organizers early on to see the feasibility of having the 420 festival, but because of economic challenges within the cannabis industry, organizers couldn’t secure sponsorships,” Montes said. “City budget cuts have also affected Recreation and Park’s ability to cover staffing for the event.”

Instead, as it did last year, the city is replacing the big-name concerts and flashy cannabis brands that the festival had become known for with kickball and volleyball tournaments. It is partnering with coed sports league Volo Sports for the event called “Peace, Love and Volo Field Day.”

Before cannabis was legalized in California in 2016, 420 in San Francisco was an informal but well-attended cannabis culture event. On April 20 of every year, cannabis enthusiasts would gather on a hill next to Robin Williams Meadow and collectively spark up at 4:20 p.m. The event’s increasing popularity brought growing pains. In 2016, there were reports of violence and theft, and 11 tons of trash were left behind by attendees, putting the event at “risk of being shut down.”

A 2016 statewide voter-approved measure legalizing cannabis provided an opportunity for organizers to apply for permits and seek the city’s blessing for a sanctioned bud-bonanza in 2017. Since then, 420 morphed from an informal gathering of Hacky Sacks and drum circles into a highly-produced event, including amenities like portable restrooms, medical services and security.

But pulling off such a production has its costs.

“People don’t realize there’s a lot of infrastructure that needs to happen to be compliant with all the city departments and to have legal sales and consumption,” Alex Aquino, a longtime festival organizer, told KQED in 2024. “There’s a lot of restrictions and guidelines, and it’s expensive to do that.”

Aquino did not respond to multiple requests for comment but previously told KQED in an interview that “it’s really up to the sponsors to come and say, ‘Hey, we have the cash and the financing to fund this event.’”

Montes shied away from saying the 420 celebration was canceled. Instead, he said the Volo Field Day marked an exciting opportunity for the sports event, which attracted 400 people last year, to grow.

“There’ll be other activities like spike ball and corn hole, food trucks and giveaways, so it should be a fun day. Participants are also encouraged to wear their best 60s-themed costumes and tie-dye,” Montes said. “It is kind of following in the tradition of the wacky, kooky, fun 420 festival, but it’s not the same. It will be a little different this year.”

The cancellation does not mean the city will be without cannabis-focused 420 events. SF Space Walk, formerly known as SF Weed Week, launched last year and features a weeklong celebration of cannabis culture. It returns on April 13.

When last year’s 420 event was canceled, organizers assured the public it would be back this year.

Montes said it’s possible the city’s official 420 celebration could return in upcoming years, but not certain.

“ It all depends on the climate within the cannabis industry and also the city budget,” Montes said, “We don’t want to rule anything out.”