The 2017 High Times New England Cannabis Cup was an indoor hot box like you’ve never seen. Through the clouds of dank smoke, you could find medical marijuana patients socializing and sharing terps. There were booths with grow equipment, heady glass, dope hats, free dabs, music, puppies and more.
To make the New England Cannabis Cup happen, theFarmacist partnered with High Times. The event faced opposition, but theFarmacist fielded calls from the state, supplied the venue and entertainment, secured Big Dawg Security and worked with High Times to make sure the first-ever New England Cannabis Cup was a reality in 2017. You could catch him running around the club cracking jokes in passing, as he worked tirelessly to make sure everything ran smoothly.
First Night Highlights
Beta Glass Labs had an all-you-can-dab buffet set up for both nights of the New England Cannabis Cup. On top of a variety of strains to dab, they had every one of their flawlessly functioning German-engineered water pipes out for guests to try. There were e-nails, Q-tips and alcohol wipes set up for a quick, clean dab whenever one might need it.
Prefer a torch and quartz nail to preserve flavor?
Blazer, the makers of the best torches for dabbing, provided a ton of free torches for guests to use at the event. Beta Glass Labs and Sean Black of High Times brought some of the best quartz nails for cannabis concentrates to share with any true terp snobs at the event.
The concentrates were abundant, but the star of the night was definitely flower. You couldn’t look left or right without seeing a joint lit up.
If you wanted a break from rolling up, guests also had the option to turn their nugs into oil, with the E-Z Squeeze pneumatic rosin press that was set up. Not to mention, their press was raffled off at the end of the Cannabis Cup. One lucky guest had to figure out how they were going to get that bad boy home.
E-Z Squeeze also provided all of the munchies for the evening.
There was everything from gourmet pizza to chicken strips and tater tots. New food was constantly brought out so there was always something hot and fresh to eat at no additional cost. There were also snacks and a fridge full of beverages, so there was never a need to step out or drive anywhere for any type of accommodation.
All the food and beverages made it easier to keep active while constantly inhaling cannabis smoke.
The Tetra Hydro Club provided an experience that was different from the typical club experience. I didn’t see a single person pass out, throw up or any form of belligerency.
That’s the magic of having no alcohol present at the event.
The Tetra Hydro Club social club feels closer to an Amsterdam coffee shop than a nightclub. If you’re near Wakefield, Rhode Island you can sign up for a monthly or yearly membership. You can meet and chill with like-minded individuals with similar interests at this cannabis social club.
Best Booths
Anyone planning to grow their own cannabis at the New England Cannabis Cup came to the right place. Our senior cultivation editor Danny Danko was available to answer any questions you might have about the process. Not to mention, the Aurora Innovations booth was more than willing to educate anyone on the importance of organically grown cannabis.
The East Coast Hydroponic Warehouse was showcasing grow equipment, including lights, nutrients, complete grow systems and more. Anyone interested in growing hydro could find everything they needed. The company is the largest supplier of professional and commercial grow gear on the East Coast. Solis Tek was on hand to show off their extensive line of lighting equipment and accessories for growers in attendance.
There was even an entire smoke shop set up in the corner. There was a wide variety of grinders, papers, pipes and quartz bangers. Anything you might have left at home could be picked up at the event.
One section was dedicated to the work of Long Island Glass, a glass artist who has been perfecting his craft while teaching it to others in his studio in Long Island, New York. He was posted up by the smoke shop section, showcasing his intricately carved works of art while educating guests on his innovative designs.
Many of his designs feature carvings of pop culture characters like Rick & Morty. Others include portraits of shroom-filled landscapes and galaxies that look like they were inspired by psychedelic travels.
It wasn’t just dope looks that he provided though. His pieces illustrated flawless, one-of-a-kind function at a price more affordable than most comparable clear unworked production-line pieces.
Rockin’ with Redman
It wasn’t overcrowded, and the music was loud enough for you to vibe with but not so loud that you had to shout to have a conversation.
Or, that was the case until the hip-hop portion of the night began. A couple of local openers were dropping cannabis-inspired bars for a stoned audience. You couldn’t help but bop your head to the boom bap beats and sharp lyrics.
Redman eventually came out, and everyone made their way toward the stage.
Not many artists know how to get a crowd of people who have been getting high all day pumped, but Redman is one of them. He had the crowd jumping to some of his classics, and he even put on some acapella bars.
Red also took the time to speak on the importance of politics in cannabis. He emphasized the importance of voting and the need for more open-minded politicians in office. Danny Danko reiterated this point during the Awards Show ceremony, encouraging young cannabis enthusiasts to run for office and bring about change sooner than later.
After the show, a meet and greet with the Wu-Tang legend commenced.
There was no need to crowd around or even approach him. Red walked around the club, dapping people up, smoking, taking photos, cracking jokes and talking cannabis with guests before leaving for the night. Guests were happy to share their best buds with him and sad to see him go.
New England Cannabis Cup Award Show
Free merch was flying… literally.
T-shirts, vape pen cartridges, edibles and more were tossed from the stage to guests during the Awards Show ceremony. Tons of other gear was raffled off. If you bought a raffle ticket, you most likely won a thing or two or three.
The Awards Show kicked off with best topicals announced by Eve of High Beautiful, an event and marketing management agency with the goal of consistently inspiring a positive cannabis experience and providing perspective about consumption and business/career opportunities. She presented the first place award to Budsuds for their Buzz Balm Infused Salve. The first place edible award went to the powerful Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Punch Bar by Ocean State Collective.
High Times’ competition coordinator Sean Black announced all of the concentrate winners. Black presented Paul’s Boutique Nursery in collaboration with Team Green with the best medical concentrate award for their Agent Orange.
Then, he took the time to explain how any unwanted residuals in flower will become concentrated alongside cannabinoids during an extraction.
He warned guests about the dangers of using nugs that were affected by the California wildfires to make concentrates. Those flowers could have been exposed to smoke, burning plastics and more harmful byproducts caused by the wildfire.
First place for best medical flowers at the New England Cannabis cup went to High Standard, a young couple growing some of the best legal buds in the North East of the United States. Miss Laura of High Standard came on stage with her adorable french bulldog to accept their award.
After Danny Danko presented them with the first place award for their Gorilla Glue #4, he spoke about the importance of growing your own weed. He also shouted out mom-and-pop growers, pointing out that the quality of cannabis decreases when quantity becomes the focus.
Final Hit: New England Cannabis Cup
The New England Cannabis Cup Awards Show and VIP party were the first of their kind. It wasn’t your typical cannabis cup. It was a much more intimate event—where every single guest got the VIP treatment.
