The Emerald Cup hosts the Harvest Ball in Santa Rosa, California each year. The event is to put a celebratory cap on the end of a busy harvest and cultivation season and kick off the start of spring’s annual cannabis competition. Farmers and cannabis brands from all over the Golden State join to celebrate the bountiful crops and cultivars meticulously cultivated this season. However, among the handful of other cannabis events I’ve gotten to recently experience, this two-day event felt significant among the others. 

Around the end of April this past year, I arrived in Mendocino County ready to commit to being this season’s cultivation intern on the Swami Select farm. I took on this internship because I knew that the only way to learn more about cannabis would be to fully immerse myself in its culture and “roots” (pun intended). To me, the best way to learn is by doing - and there’s no better way to do so than getting your hands a little dirty. Spending time in Mendocino, I’m honored to have learned the strength of the cannabis community, and more specifically, of the small, legacy farmers in Northern California. 

Throughout the entire Harvest Ball weekend, the collective empathy and perseverance I always recognized about this cannabis community was stronger than ever. Even though this was my first time at the Harvest Ball and an Emerald Cup occasion in general, I had never felt more welcome or comfortable at a major cannabis event. Despite the cold and rainy weather, that Saturday and Sunday were jam-packed with a full lineup of educational speaker sessions and iconic musicians. Masterclasses on how to roll joints and nerdy terpene marketing talks filled the Santa Rosa fairground halls, while artists like E-40 and Eazybaked took the stage to perform. 

In between these events at Harvest Ball, I dodged through the rain from one hall to the next and visited all the farmers and cannabis vendors at the event. This is where I will always note the Harvest Ball to be a unique cannabis event among the rest - the prideful, joyous smiles of every farmer there were radiating. As I walked by each booth, I noticed how genuinely stoked these farmers were to proudly show off their freshly harvested flower from this season. Mason jars capped with an illuminating magnifying glass gave a closer look into the crystalized trichomes glistening on each bud. To me, the ability to see, smell and sample this bud while meeting the farmers who grew it adds a whole other value to my overall cannabis experience at Harvest Ball. 

Not only that, but the entire venue was set up with consumer-friendly signage and designated smoking lounges so we could enjoy a smoke sesh, hanging around stress and stigma free. Among the many chats and new friendly faces I met that weekend, I also noticed similar observations and remarks about this year’s event compared to the past. It’s no secret this past year has been a tough one for cannabis in general, especially for these small farmers and brands. 

“A few years ago, you would have seen the entire Santa Rosa fairground property covered with tents from different farmers and brands,” recalled Nikki Lastretro, co-founder of Swami Select from Mendocino (and one of my cannabis mentors this past season). 

She noted how this event feels considerably smaller each year due to the many fellow farmers unable to afford continuing business, “We thought it would be great to finally legally provide pure, organically grown cannabis to patients and also see people not go to jail for it, but the way the regulations have played out is killing the business. While we are determined to survive, it is a struggle every day."

Ridgeline Farms founder Jason Gellman had a similar observation on the weekend and what he’s experienced so far as a business in this community. “Many friends and legacy family farmers part of this smaller community are being pushed out by these larger brands and strict state regulations.”  

Fires, fallows, droughts, regulations and rising expenses are just some of the many factors impacting this community each year. But my experience meeting this community in the Emerald Triangle and at the Harvest Ball only proved this fight is far from over. 

The love and respect for nature, the plant, and one another is what sets California’s small farming community apart from any other corporate, flashy weed brand we see on the market today. Events like this are an opportunity to highlight and celebrate this legendary corner of cannabis culture. 

The Emerald Cup's Harvest Ball was a celebratory sigh of relief for these farmers - another successful season completed and eager anticipation for the year ahead. From a consumer and connoisseur's standpoint, the Harvest Ball proved it’s so much more than cannabis. It's about a communal group of passionate, loving, and talented growers and farmers coming together honoring their purpose and connection with the plant.