Madison NORML

It was the bullhorn that saved the day again as members of the UW-Milwaukee Students for Sensible drug policy and others led attendees in chants, some made up on the spur of the moment, as we wound through downtown.

The march size swelled while progressing down State St. and then heading to Mifflin. Arriving at Miffland, GCM Marchers were greeted with deafening cheers and applause.

The GCM definitely elevated the Mifflin Party into a truly fun event, creating a welcome distraction from the usual activities, drinking beer and drinking beer, then having a beer before tipping another beer.

Miffland partiers posed for pictures with marchers gathered behind a WI NORML banner and "Is My Medicine Legal YET?" and "Pass the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act signs.

Facebook members can find video clips and phots that I took at the festivities.

Meanwhile, the WI State Journal came up with an article about Miffland Partiers that was more about our march:

Source: Wisconsin State Journal click here

Pubdate: May 2, 2009
Author: RON SEELY

MIFFLIN STREET TRADITION OFF TO 'CALM, WELL-BEHAVED' START

Of all the sights on West Mifflin Street on Saturday, none seemed more reassuring than long-time marijuana activist Ben Masel, his hair pulled back in a graying pony tail, toting a sign that read "Grow Hemp Save Farms."

Amid all the partying, Masel, 55, seemed at least an echo of the first Mifflin Street block party 40 years ago, born in 1969 during the politically charged days of the Vietnam War protests.

The more mainstream 40th anniversary edition of a Madison springtime tradition, fueled by sun and warm temperatures and beer, was in full swing by 2 p.m. on Saturday with hundreds of students filling Mifflin curb to curb and others jammed onto the sagging porches and balconies of the street's old two-story homes.

Police, on horses and in cars and on foot, were much in presence. Nearby streets were blockaded and signs reading "No open alcohol, no glass, no public urination," greeted party-goers.

Despite the prime spring weather and the swelling, swilling crowds, few problems had surfaced by late afternoon, according to Rachel Strauch-Nelson, a spokeswoman for Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. She reported only a handful of arrests, though the number was expected to go up as day turned into evening.

"Things are going well at this point," said Strauch-Nelson at mid-afternoon Saturday. "The crowd is calm and well-behaved."

About 120 officers with Madison and Dane County were on patrol during the event, which is expected to draw at least 15,000 people, mostly students. Considering that the first Mifflin Street party ended with police and students squaring off in riots that lasted three days, the relationship between law enforcement and party-goers seemed friendly enough Saturday with smiling officers frequently agreeing to pose with students for photos.

Most law enforcement efforts seemed directed at keeping beer drinkers on the grounds of private residences where open alcohol containers were legal, as opposed to the street and sidewalks.

T-shirt sales were brisk, driven by both the good weather and the 40th anniversary. Brynne and Erin McBride, twin sisters who work with ABC For Health, were hawking T-shirts from a back door of the non-profit, now housed in the old Mifflin Street Co-op building. The T-shirts read "The Revolution Continues, Mifflin Street, 1969-2009."

"We're keeping the Mifflin Street spirit alive," said Brynne.

Most other T-shirts were somewhat less inspiring. "I Would Rather Be a Good Liver Than Have One, Mifflin '09," read another.

With a stage and a disc jockey spinning tunes and food carts up and down the street, a search for the goofiness of some of the old Mifflin Street parties took a while. But the strangeness could be found Saturday afternoon in the 400 block where Alex Scherer-Jones did yo-yo tricks for beer and money. At his feet sat a cardboard box inscribed with the words "Drunk People Love Yo-Yos." In the box were two beers and a pile of bills.

Few had as much perspective as Masel, who led a march advocating the legalization of marijuana from the Capitol Square to Mifflin at noon. Masel said his first block party was in 1971, two years after the first. Saturday, he and about about 150 others carrying signs and chanting "We smoke pot, we like it a lot," paraded onto Mifflin and were greeted with wild cheers and applause.

"We did this to sort of demonstrate that some of the spirit remains," said Masel.