The first weekend of the quarter is always a busy one, and this quarter will be no exception with both Floatopia and the annual Isla Vista Joint Rolling Contest on the schedule.
Hundreds of students are expected to kick-start the quarter Saturday by taking to the waves for Floatopia, a loosely organized, unofficial holiday during which students take to the open waters along I.V.’s beach with rafts and beer. For those looking for something less wet and salty, Sunday will feature the fifth annual Joint Rolling Contest, put on by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Floatopia is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday but is contingent on good weather. Rafts are occasionally constructed by the students themselves, but are more often of the blow-up variety available at Costco. As of press time, roughly 9,000 individuals have RSVPed on the Facebook event.
The local festivities continue on Sunday, when NORML will host its fifth annual Joint Rolling Competition. This auspicious local tradition was first conceived in the 70s and was reborn in recent years as an unprecedented demonstration of stoner organization. Marijuana enthusiasts are expected to gather in Anisq’ Oyo’ Park to partake in a series of competitions, including the “Fattest Fatty” and the “Primo Joint.”
Registration for the contest — which will cost $5 per joint category or $20 for all 10 categories — will begin at noon, and the first competitions will start at 1:30 p.m. The event is expected to last until 6 p.m., when glass prizes will be awarded to the winners for all categories. Live music, belly dancers and a graff contest are also scheduled to be part of the day’s festivities.