The High Times Cannabis Cup is returning to Santa Rosa. According to High Times magazine, the traveling cannabis roadshow and judging event will take place June 3 and 4 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.
It’s the second time that High Times has been to Sonoma County, holding its first Nor-Cal event in 2014. The Cannabis Cup did not return in 2015 or 2016 after fairground officials were left a major mess from the first event.
“They left our facility really messy — debris, stickering, couches — more so than any other event we’ve had,” Katie Fonsen Young, deputy manager, said afterward. “It took us about a week to clean up after the event. The normal event that’s just in one building will just take a few hours.”
Promoters of the 2017 event have assured fairground officials they won’t repeat that mistake.
“We didn’t ban them but did not have them back for several years due to clean-up issues,” said Rebecca Bartling, Chief Executive Officer of the fairgrounds. “The current promoters have assured us that we will not experience the same issues with them this time around. With their assurances we have allowed the event to be booked,” she said.
The Nor-Cal event follows an event in Southern California in late April, and in Las Vegas this March. The event moves to Michigan, Portland, Rhode Island and Jamaica throughout the rest of the year. Marijuana is legal recreationally in California, Oregon, and Nevada while Michigan and Rhode Island have medically-approved marijuana programs. Marijuana is still federally illegal.
High Times magazine was founded in 1974 to advocate the legalization of marijuana. The magazine’s Cannabis Cup has been held since 1988 in Amsterdam. In 2010, Cannabis Cups began in the US in response to the passage of medical marijuana laws.
In addition to the competition, the Nor-Cal Cannabis Cup will include a live grow room, “Taste of Cannabis” chef competition, Edibles Village, topical massage spa, activism areas, cannabis career fair, lab testing trends, concentrate demonstrations and glass blowing.
Because recreational marijuana will not be sold until 2018 in the state, medical cards will still be required for partaking or purchasing marijuana at the event. Tickets are $50 for single day passes, $160 for VIP passes and $420 for “Super VIP” weekend passes online.
