Stargazer Cannabis Festival Leans Into Its Homegrown Nature – Festival Preview

Stargazer Cannabis Festival Leans Into Its Homegrown Nature – Festival Preview

Event Celebrates Recreational Marijuana In Ohio With Workshops and Uplifting Jams

by Bill Kurzenberger

This weekend June 12-13-14th, the Stargazer Cannabis Festival will liven the banks of the Scioto River to celebrate adult recreational and medicinal usage of marijuana in Ohio. Billed as “a three-day cannabis experience,” the unique pot festival returns to the wooded riverside campground venue Adventures On The River in rural Waverly, Ohio for the second year.

As spring soon yields to the summer solstice the days are longest; yet the nights seem to have no end as the hills come alive with music and merriment. Southern Ohio has long been home to independently-run festival events, revolving around nearby Athens County over the decades and sprouting through surrounding areas. These underrated self-promoted fests often fly under the radar, as they have long been safe havens for pot smoking during the previous decades when it was publicly taboo elsewhere. In 2024, recreational marijuana was legalized for adult use in Ohio following voters’ approval of Issue 2 in November 2023. Despite corrupt politicians’ efforts to circumvent and override the will of the voters by passing State House Bill 56 earlier this year, marijuana remains legalized for adults in the state of Ohio with some public usage restrictions.

Inspired by Ohio’s new legal weed laws, the Stargazer Cannabis Festival made its debut in 2024 near Pomeroy, then relocated to Adventures On The River last summer. Its organizers lean into attendees’ proclivities to frequently blaze on with open and shared cannabis consumption at this weekend’s fest; itself a spiritual successor to the Ohio Hempfests of the 1990’s, 2000’s and early 2010’s.

Hands-on cannabis workshops, expert seminars, and unique learning experiences at Stargazer include Cooking With Cannabis; Wake, Bake & Brew; Cannabis – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly; High & Grounded Yoga; Cannabis & Harm Reduction; and a live stream event with Rick Simpson. Last but not least is the Joint Rolling Competition, where competing twisters will receive hempy prizes to roll another one just like the other one.

Roots rock. Reggae. Improv progressions by Ohio jam-bands. Drum circles. Artistic Bonfire. Unpredictable musical moments off and on-stage. A festival celebrating marijuana would be incomplete without these auditory accessories, and the Stargazer Cannabis Festival delivers all of the above on this year’s schedule.

The weekend’s live entertainment starts appropriately at 4:20PM Saturday with Nomadic Earth, a 5-piece jam-fusion group from Licking County. Southwest Ohio’s Probably Just Paranoid brings their groove-heavy, trip-worthy reggae rock to the proceedings, while John Welton & The Awakening’s funk-folk rock features Welton’s prolific songwriting with a shamanistic twist. 

Reggae will take center stage at Stargazer with high-energy headliners The Quasi Kings and Shrub, two of central Ohio’s foremost reggae rock bands for the next generation. Led by local promoter/entrepreneur Jay Shrub, the eponymous Shrub mashes Cali reggae with west-coast rap vocalizations, with a dual presence in Columbus and Nashville. Mixing hip-hop with reggae rock, The Quasi Kings celebrate their 10th year in 2026 with a multi-month tour from Great Lakes states to the Carolinas and east coast following their billed appearance at Stargazer. Multiple visual artists will be featured at the festival as well within the festival’s Art Gallery, with Artist Spotlights including Neon Vines Art, GemRose and Stephanie Wood.

The festival venue, Adventures On The River, is nestled along a bend in the Scioto River just south of the village of Waverly. Campers are provided with both naturally primitive and RV camping options along the riverside. For boaters, the venue offers raft and kayak rentals for attendees to glide down the Big Scioto along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains – both topics of classic Americana songs dating back a century. 

Discounted rates for festival attendees are provided at two local hotels, as detailed on the festival’s website along with FAQ and ticketing. Unlike most festivals which are all ages and family-friendly, the Stargazer Cannabis Festival’s attendance is notably limited to adults aged 21 years and older; to stay in compliance with Ohio state law.

Visit www.stargazerfest.com for all the news that’s fit to print about this weekend’s Stargazer fest – dubbed the Midwest’s “premier cannabis culture event this summer” by Budpedia – and smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.