WHAT: HempX family-friendly hemp expo
WHEN: Sept. 18-19
WHERE: Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Highway, Ste. 200
HOW MUCH?: Free, though chef-event ‘A Taste of Hemp’ is ticketed
MORE: hempxasheville.com
“Hemp X is a three-day interactive gathering in Asheville highlighting the multiple uses and future economic opportunities of industrial hemp,” reads the group’s Facebook event page.
From Adapt Public Relations:
ASHEVILLE, NC – June 3, 2015 – HempX, presented by Adapt and Highland Brewing Company, is family-friendly event that aims to educate both young and old about the uses and benefits of industrial hemp. Held at Highland Brewing Company, the two-day event will feature a Fuel/Fiber/Food expo with local and national hemp vendors; A Taste of Hemp features area chefs. The Taste of Hemp will be the only ticketed portion of HempX. Everything else will be free to the public.
HempX will be the first event of its kind held in North Carolina. In addition to educating the public about hemp, the organizers also hope to shine a light on the role the plant could play in helping revitalize the family farm in rural communities throughout the state.
Blake Butler, one of the event organizers, said, “Our goal is for HempX to be an educational experience. With hemp pilot programs currently moving forward in other Southern states, we’d like to accelerate that conversation and highlight the opportunity in North Carolina.”
In January of 2015, The Industrial Hemp Farming Act was introduced in both the House and Senate, H.R.525 and S. 134 respectively. If passed, the bill would remove all federal restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp, and remove its classification as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. The number of states that have pro-hemp legislation continues to increase. Currently, 23 states may grow hemp per Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill, including California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
The North Carolina Industrial Hemp Alliance (NCIHA) is one of many pro-hemp organizations participating in HempX. Thomas Shoemaker, NCIHA Executive Director, said, “This gathering comes at a perfect time for North Carolina and look forward to our network of farmers and small business owners descending on Asheville in September.”
An incredibly versatile crop, hemp fiber, oil seed and flowers are used for a myriad of products—including health foods, dietary supplements, cosmetics and body care products, building materials, automobile parts, bio-composites, batteries, bio-fuel, textiles, paper and many others. There are estimated to be over 25,000 products made using hemp.
Sara Day Evans, Executive Director of Accelerating Appalachia, one of the area non-profits HempX will benefit, is also enthusiastic about the event and its aspirations.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.