'I'm just standing near a pile of spaghetti so I guess we are going to have the birds coming in soon'

Vancouver clean-up crews worked overnight to tidy Sunset Beach park after 4/20 celebrations attracted 40,000 revellers who left their mark on the football-sized field, a park board official said.

Every year, the marijuana protest party brings thousands to this site, but park board officials don't sanction it, and say they wish organizers would move 4/20 on to a spot that's more suitable, such as the PNE.

This was touted as the last 4/20 before legalization, as new rules about pot are expected by summer from Ottawa.

The 140 vendors and thousands of patrons damaged the soggy field and left piles of tenting, garbage and food behind. This year, there were two arrests. Also, 35 people — four underage — were treated at St. Paul's Hospital in connection with the event. 

Dana Larsen, the organizer of 4/20, spent the night helping clean up. Larsen said his group tried to protect the wet grass field using sheets to save the turf, and he hopes damage is "a lot less" than last year.

Park workers said that's hard to gauge as the field was wetter.

Sunrise at Sunset Beach in Vancouver and most of the garbage has been hauled away after the 4/20 gathering of cannabis enthusiasts on April 20. Every year the event, which is not sanctioned by the park board, draws ire over the mess left behind.

The hope is the area will be restore in time for Canada Day, said park board chair Stuart MacKinnon.

"It's very soggy, quite muddy," said MacKinnon as he stood on the sodden party ground.

Huge piles of garbage were left behind at Sunset Beach by 4/20 revellers in 2016.

MacKinnon said the field will need to be fenced off, allowed to dry and then aerated and seeded.

The concern is that all the garbage left behind may get punched down into the soil.

"One of the problems is there's an awful lot of cigarette butts and glass and plastic here.  I'm sure there's a lot of other butts down here as well," he said.

But he was hopeful, at least, that more help was coming to aid clean up.

"I'm just standing near a pile of spaghetti so I guess we are going to have the birds coming in soon," said MacKinnon.

People clamour for the free cannabis give-aways as the annual 4/10 event in Vancouver reaches its climax.