My first Hall of Flowers experience was this past spring when I went to the show in Ventura. I really enjoyed myself but couldn't get a ticket for the first day and was bummed that I missed out. Things have been busy with a number of new clients and lots of events and conferences but after talking to many people going and hearing about some of the new things they were doing, I decided I couldn't miss it. And boy, am I glad I didn't. Flights to Santa Rosa aren't convenient or cheap and hotels are fairly challenging but I decided to go up Thursday and spend two nights, leaving early and missing some of the festival day.
My experience with Ventura was the pre-parties can matter more than the after-parties, so I made sure I made it to the Barn Party to kick it off. I went to the party by myself and was pleasantly surprised when I arrived and three ladies I love all called out my name at once! Lisa Battista, Annie Davis and Stephanie Jeffries (not pictured) are all gems in this industry and I felt so welcome getting hugs from all of them upon arriving. There were some great booths including Top Shelf Cultivation, Flowhub serving drinks and a robot that infuses joints. I used to work for a biotech company that made a variety of robots and seeing automation always takes me back and I geek out a bit.
So many of my friends showed up and a bunch of other people that I'd been wanting to meet. I was pleasantly surprised when Jules Laspa came over and introduced himself and I got to chat with him and his partner for a while. I also got to chat a bit with AnnaRae Grabstein who I've met but haven't talked to much. Lots of people in the industry that I really respect and want to learn more from were there and it was the perfect start to a fulfilling Hall of Flowers. I also got to meet the wife of my colleague and friend, Chris Carroll. His wife, Taylor works in the industry but we had yet to be able to meet. She makes really interesting and thoughtful packing at Westcott Press and I was incredibly impressed with the Zoltar themed samples she shared. After a few hours I grabbed a Lyft back to my motel and called it a night.
Friday morning I walked over to the fairgrounds and ran into Ian Rassman at security. We chatted a bit as we strolled through one of the halls and chatted with brands. Shortly after I found a couple of my favorites, Brian Holler and Jeff Levers from the Beard Bros and we bumped into Peter Olander from Happie scoring some CBD seltzers. I met Pete at the Dunkz coffee and donuts event at Emerald Cup, he's also from Chicago and is very thoughtful about the ingredients used in his hemp drinks.
I walked through the halls checking out the booths and talking to people along the way, including running into a couple of my clients. Most of the work that I do is remote and I love meeting people in person after only virtually interacting with them. In addition, software providers are always present at Hall of Flowers and it's great to connect with companies I partner with and also form new partnerships. One company that I had been wanting to chat with was Flowhub and they were at the Barn Party and I was able to chat with them at their booth and also during the Sonoma Hills Farm meal on Saturday.
I also love running into my San Diego community at events away from home. It was great to see the Farmer's Cup crew up there at the Barn Party and with a booth
showcasing their cultivation line Calprime. Josh Caruso has built something special in the San Diego community and seeing that grow beyond is heartwarming. Another one of the usual suspects, Russ Havens from the San Diego Cannabis Times was there and we got to hang out and smoke for a bit in the lounge area. He also was gracious to take this picture of me and some of my favorites in the industry!
I was only able to attend one panel but it sure was a good one! Seth Yakatan, Jocelyn Sheltraw and Angela Pih all spoke about building their brand and presence through LinkedIn. As soon as I finish writing this post, I'm going to share it on LinkedIn because (as they talked about) it is currently the most friendly cannabis social media platform. It was great to hear what's worked for them and to reaffirm that the time spent on that platform is worthwhile. I've made a number of important connections through LinkedIn over the past year and hope that it continues to be a great space for cannabis professionals to share ideas and network.
Day one concluded with Kimberly Simms, KC Santana and I checking out booths until they kicked us out. We chatted with a number of great ones but I'd say our favorite one was Dunkz. Armande Milhouse is one of the most thoughtful business owners I've met. He really thinks through decisions telling us about how he refused to sell T-shirts on industry day despite people asking because he wanted the consumers to have the same access when they arrived on festival day. He also put together a really thoughtful gathering at Emerald Cup and the hashholes are super fire. I bought two and wish I bought more! It was a full circle moment as well because I first learned about Dunkz after KC posted about them while judging the Emerald Cup. Best booth visit of the day!
I also need to take a minute and shout out my friend, KC Santana. I met her at the Beard Bros Live Sesh earlier this year and she is such a positive woman in the cannabis space. She has a fitness background and also is super knowledgeable about nutrition. KC hosts a fun YouTube show, Chiefah Entertainment Podcast and recently had me on for a chat. We covered a wide variety of topics and it was such a fun conversation that I wanted to share for anyone interested. Give her show a follow as well, you won't regret it! And one final pic with Kim and KC in front of a flower wall.
The perfect group dinner beats any afterparty, IMO, but if you can swing all of it, even better! After walking 7 miles and talking for 10 straight hours with lots of smoking, dinner was it for me. Stephanie Jeffries, Rachel Wright, and Florian Philippe along with me, Kim, and KC had dinner at a cute Italian restaurant. It was a little chilly and they didn't have any heaters on but we had great company and it was the perfect ending to the day.
The festival day didn't start until noon and though I love an excuse to be lazy in a hotel (ahem...I mean motel) room, having somewhere casual to meet up with people is perfect. But having a beautifully decorated, thoughtfully curated shopping experience with lots of products to try just for women is DIVINE! I cannot gush enough over the trunk show gathering Lucia Cifonelli put together.
If you haven't heard of Smoke Show, it's a brand Lucia started with her mom and they make the most beautiful clothes with beautiful plant-forward prints so that women feel like smoke shows. And how can you not with the stunning pieces they create? I bought the black shirt with their logo in leopard print at the Blunt Brunch event at The Emerald Cup and it's now my favorite shirt that I wear as soon as it's out of the laundry. She also partners with the best brands like Hey Bud, Humboldt Family Farms, Yummi Karma, Trichome Gold, Scratch Baked and many more.
As a special surprise, Cecilia Tsai showed up towards the end of the gathering. Cecilia came to Blunt Brunch at MJBizcon last year in Vegas representing a papers and cone brand from China. We've stayed connected over Instagram and it was so nice to have her join the end of the trunk show and we all got to take pictures together. I felt pampered, special and like a smoke show and ready to go over to the festival day. I don't have any pictures of Cecilia at the trunk show but here's a picture of me and Cecilia when we got to the fairgrounds.
I had so much fun at the Smoke Show event that I made it over to the festival just in time for my reservation at the Sonoma Hills Farm meal. When I heard about the concept I signed up immediately and I'm so glad I did. Seats sold out and the food was delicious. It was such a cool opportunity to sit down with people at the show that I wouldn't have necessarily gotten to talk to and have a meal together. I sat at a table with Megan Prusynski, who I regretted not actually meeting at the Emerald Cup despite us being in the same room and even in the same selfie. I sat next to a journalist who told me that she was transitioning to a job at NPR. We talked about a number of things including our love of cannabis beverages.
The meal was paired with various cannabis products and Budists were on hand walking around giving suggestions and explaining the pairings and products. Alex Scherma who is a chef for the Ganjier program came and chatted with us a bit. It was all very well done and the best meal I've eaten in a while. My plate reminded me of Thanksgiving and I felt almost that full after! In the same hall with the dining experience, they had cooking demonstrations and I was excited to see Christina Wong and Chef Wendy Zeng on stage after my meal showing how to make the Szechuan noodles we just ate.
There was just one thing left to do before heading to the airport and that was to enjoy one of the Dunkz I purchased with some of the best. I headed over to the Edwin Rubis stage, which was front and center at the show and a great way to highlight someone that everyone should know about. Edwin is spending way too much time in prison for cannabis and needs to return to his family. The Beard Bros, Freedom Grow, Last Prisoner Project and many other organizations have joined forces to try and increase awareness about this issue. Edwin and so many other prisoners should be granted clemency and the hope is that Joe Biden will use his pardon power before leaving office next January.
The Dunkz that we smoked was Berry Watzon flower with Zuava Juice rosin and it was a people pleaser. The perfect conclusion to the two days in Santa Rosa that were more than I could have hoped for. I enjoyed seeing Santa Rosa, got to catch up with some amazing people and met some new ones.
Oh, and it wouldn't be Hall of Flowers without checking out my product haul!
