Written by Aaron Burgin
Published April 20, 2011
VISTA — Something will be noticeably absent from a 420 celebration happening today in Vista — marijuana.
The anti-drug event is called “420 Remix,” and it’s open to middle-schoolers and ninth-graders in Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista. It combines a day of bumper boats, laser tag and go-carts at Boomers amusement park with a simple message: Take back the date that has become known by some for smoking pot.
It’s a message organizers are hoping to take to a state or national level after a successful eight-year run in North County.
“You don’t have to get high to have a good time,” said John Byrom, a community collaboration specialist with North Coastal Prevention Coalition, the group that has put on the event since its inception in 2004.
It started as an after-school event at Carlsbad Village Academy, a school for students who had fallen behind, as a response to pro-marijuana events — some headlined by celebrities — that dot the calendar on April 20.
“We’re hoping that other prevention organizations come on board,” Byrom said. “It doesn’t cost a lot, and what you gain in terms of passing that message of making sober life choices on to the students is invaluable.”
Boomers rents the facility to the coalition for $2,500. The coalition was once paying for the free event with a federal grant, but now recovers its costs by soliciting $420 donations from service organizations.
One of the other prevention groups that will attend today is the North Inland Community Prevention Program in Poway, whose leaders said they are considering taking the “remix” blueprint to their community.
“I think we all want to change the perception of the day and the environment that surrounds 420 and make it a more positive environment for children,” said Shaun Keating, a spokesman for the Poway group. “The anti-420 movement seems to be growing, and I think there are going to be more remix-like events soon.”
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