The North Bay cannabis industry has reportedly been struggling this year, too — but there are signs the local stoner scene is going strong. Not least of which was the annual “Hall of Flowers” cannabis market and festival at the Santa Rosa fairgrounds last month, open to the public for the first time this year (it used to be an industry insider event). By the looks of attendee reports and pics, the festival was a dizzying menagerie of radical new strains and blunt haze and weed-aesthetic art and paraphernalia. Cultural icon Wiz Khalifa even stopped by for a surprise “Khalifa Kush Smoke Out”!
And most impressively, at 4:20pm that Sunday, organizers say 7,000 of the event’s most ambitious pot smokers — of the 13,000 who attended, according to the Press Democrat — set a world record for the most joints lit at once in one place.
“The energy was electric, the vibe was unparalleled, and it was amazing to see everyone come together to set this record,” Hall of Flowers cofounder Rama Mayo says in a press release.
(Not trying to harsh your buzz here, but FYI, because this is still capitalist America in which we’re lighting up, the successful Sept. 21 world-record attempt did happen to be a concoction of the rolling paper brand OCB, which sent reps to the event to unveil the company’s new “Houseplant” line of smoking accessories and home goods — a collaboration with another icon of weed culture, actor and filmmaker Seth Rogen.)
A Forbes journalist investigating the pot-industry downturn braved the Santa Rosa festival to “dive deep into the heart of cannabis in the Golden State and see if it’s still beating.” From his report:
I attended the Hall of Flowers trade show and festival in Santa Rosa on September 20-21st to see if I could find a pulse. Hall of Flowers is typically a B2B event but this year they opened it up to the public on day two for a “fan day”.
This innovation appeared to be a big success judging from the crowds of weed enthusiasts enjoying all the activations, games, and rides. Vendors sold their cannabis directly to the consumer without the usual regulatory hassle. Large branded bags of weed could be seen in the hands of consumers. That was a big win for the event organizers and from their perspective, things may be looking up for the state’s cannabis players.
“The industry is going to continue to evolve over the next 20 years, and we look forward to being at the forefront of that change,” said Rama Mayo, Hall of Flowers’ spokesperson. “Our focus is always on creating the most effective show possible in order to provide optimal value. The industry has been asking for a D2F (direct-to-fan) extension of Hall of Flowers, so we created a ‘Festival Day’ for the first time ever in Santa Rosa. This show hosted more brands than ever before, and that speaks volumes.”
See video from the Press Democrat of Sonoma County’s historic cannabis moment. And here’s some more aerial footage from a guy named Jackson Case-Barnes.
