STIIIZY SOMA’s Rudy Corpuz, Jr Honored at Hippie Hill on 420
SAN FRANCISCO’S CONSCIOUS CANNABIS COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER
Over 20,000 people filled Golden Gate Park to celebrate the legendary 420 holiday at Hippie Hill. Notoriously unpermitted and unofficial, the historic gathering started during the Summer of Love in 1967. At the time, the hippie subculture promoted a lifestyle that embraced music, art, nature, and a conscious cannabis community that was criminalized up and down Haight Ashbury.
As the cultural event grew, so did the criticism from the city. Complaints about trash, tourists, and toilets were a major concern for the surrounding community. “We know that this event at one point was occurring whether we wanted it to or not,” explained SF Mayor London Breed, who coordinated with city departments, event organizers, and community members during the pandemic to reduce the festivals impact on the park, resulting in two consecutive Covid-19 cancellations
Post pandemic, the 420-celebration continued to make history when in 2022, regulated and tested cannabis products were available for purchase and consumption for the first time. “It’s no secret that San Francisco is home to a vibrant cannabis and social equity community which seeks to create a safe, clean, and enjoyable experience for all”, said Nikesh Patel, director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis. Wellness and mental health were also made a focus for the festival, per event organizer Alex Aquino.
"The 420 celebration of today is much different than the 420 celebration of years ago thanks to the hard work of our City and community partners organizing the event," expressed Mayor Breed, who touched on how the culture event continues to evolve.
This year, the city-sanctioned cannabis event had the support of over 20 sponsors, multiple city agencies and local non-profits like the Success Center, who had a booth among permitted food and cannabis sales. The celebration was also hosted by Grammy-winning musician Erykah Badu, who lead the community countdown at 4.20 p.m.
IT TAKES THE HOOD TO SAVE THE HOOD
Before the festival’s celebratory smoke and STIIIZY break, event organizers and Bay Area community stakeholders honored Rudy Corpuz, Jr, founder of violence prevention and youth development organization United Playaz, on the main stage.
In typical Rudy fashion, the humble SOMA native used his time on stage to highlight his childhood mentor Jack Jaqua, who founded the juvenile justice group Omega Boys Club, in 1987.
After accepting the second annual Hippie Hill: Community and Compassion Award, Rudy handed the mic to his UP family, who educated the crowd about the organization's youth violence prevention, restorative justice, and gun violence reduction initiatives on the main stage.
The nonprofit also had a unique presence throughout the festival with a two-booth activation tent and table filled with anonymously surrendered gun parts collected at their annual United Playaz Gun Buyback program, which STIIIZY has sponsored since 2020.
Check out our coverage of the most recent United Playaz 11th Annual Gun Buy Back in SOMA.
STIIIZY SUPPORTS SOMA
As the newest social equity owner of STIIIZY Soma, Rudy’s continues to bring community-based solutions to the SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District, who hosted their own Baked! event that evening.
The SF cannabis community and Filipino culture seekers were invited to celebrate at Kapwa Gardens, a re-imagined public space in the SOMA community. The multi-functional garden connects neighbors from all walks of life in SF through cultural activities, hence, the name Kapwa – the Filipino spiritual belief of interconnectedness.
Baked! attendees shared space with SF’s best underground DJ’s, local Filipino food vendors and the STIIIZY family who came out to support the 420 friendly event.
Come see how cannabis can help make a positive change in your neighborhood.
