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First-ever Cannabis Cup in Cranbrook this weekend

Paul Rodgers
13275218_web1_cannabis-cup

Paul Rodgers

This weekend in Cranbrook, a new event is taking place that plans to become an annual affair: The 2018 Kootenay Cannabis Cup will be happening at Shananigans Pub on August 24, 25 and 26.

The doors for this unique event open at 4:20 p.m. on Friday. Curious what a Cannabis Cup is? According to their website, kootenaycannabiscup.org “This is an event where local growers, patients can showcase their gardens, have some fun and network with other like minded people that enjoy cannabis or use it as medicine.”

The Cup is organized by long-time cannabis activist and medical marijuana patient Tamara Cartwright, who will also serve as MC for the weekend under her alias Tamarijuana.

“We’re celebrating the fact that we’ve come this far. I’ve been involved with cannabis Canadian activism for the last ten years,” Cartwright said.

She started out in Lethbridge in 2007 but moved back to Cranbrook four years ago, where she started the East Kootenay Cannabis Club, prior to that she had the Southern Alberta Cannabis Club. She is also CEO of the Canadian Therapeutic Cannabis Partners Society.

The event is taking place ahead of the scheduled time for legalization set out by the federal government, and so no marijuana will be available for sale, however, as Cartwright pointed out, even in a legal market, there will be no sales of liquor and cannabis in the same place.

The event will feature Cranbrook’s own Dawson Rutledge performing on Friday evening and on Saturday they have Green Room comedian Darryl Makk. Cartwright is also providing dinner for all guests on Saturday night. Wildfire Productions from Nelson will also be on site, doing live glass-blowing behind the bar. There will also be numerous speakers, and the primary function of the event, other than fun, is education about the world of cannabis.

“That’s exactly what this weekend is about, educating people on cannabis, educating people on our culture and normalizing it. We’re no different than anybody else,” Cartwright said.

Weekend passes are available for $100, but you can also come for just the Friday for $25 or just the Saturday for $50. Capacity at Shananigans is 120 and they have already sold around 90 tickets, so some may be available at the door.

Cartwright said she hopes this does indeed become an annual event, and plans for next year’s event to be a full-scale festival.

“Absolutely we want to see it grow bigger and better every year, I think the East Kootenay being the Sunshine capital of Canada, and there are a lot of licensed patients in this community.”

For more information contact kootenaycannabiscup@gmail.com