On the Ground at NCF 2023 with Caroline Phillips
Art By Dustin Hoxworth
Thinking back to 1998 when I was a young single mom watching the news about an organization lobbying to legalize marijuana. I thought to myself, “Damn, I wish I knew how to do that! Because weed should be legal. It's helped me stay alive!”
That was me at 22 years old, witnessing a group of people, all Caucasian, carrying on about legalizing weed. I was like FUCK YES... LETS GO! And still, I didn't know how I could be a part of this thing they call lobbying. From then on, I've immersed myself into learning as much as I can about me: my ethnicity, the reasons I do what I do, the reasons I love what I love, those things I'm gifted at and the United States of America.
Fast forward to 2016, when DC Native Caroline Phillips managed to throw one of the biggest inaugural block parties ever in DC called The National Cannabis Festival. In my heart I wanted to be there, but I didn’t go because I felt I didn’t know very much about weed anymore, since I had not used it for 10 years at that point.
Caroline was driven to host an event after being hired in 2015 to produce the First Cannabis Conference in DC, but she was surprised when the room was full of people who were not Black or Brown Citizens. Being a DC resident, she knew that people from all ethnicities participate, and wanted to create an event that would bring us all together, as a community. I’m happy to say Caroline has done exactly that! Here we are, 7 years later (minus Covid Year), still coming together to celebrate as a community from all over in my hometown of Washington DC.
All Photos Courtesy of Author, LaWann Stribling
The National Cannabis Festival (NCF) always takes place on the grounds of the Stadium Armory in Northeast DC. The Armory is known as one of the largest venues in Washington DC, built in 1941. A former Department of Defense Building, it was the largest military headquarters, armory and training facility for the District of Columbia National Guard. The festival grounds themselves stretch the distance of a 10,000 space parking lot shared with the Legendary RFK Stadium. The Stadium Armory Metro Station built in 1977 transports individuals from all over Maryland, DC and now Virginia with the Silver line addition, making events more accessible than ever for those without a vehicle.
THE ROAD TO 2023
Throughout the years, NCF has grown so much that they have been moved to a larger event space to accommodate the vendors, performers and patrons on Armory Grounds. August 2021 was my first NCF experience as a volunteer for NORML Maryland and my goodness, was it HOT! Five years after the Inaugural NCF, I was in a position to lobby, something I dreamed about doing as a young adult. Typically NCF happens during 420 week, but due to the Covid 19 pandemic they were given an August date for 2021. I would describe the DC heat in August as a thick cloud of humidity, on top of the 90 degrees forecast. Meaning thick, sweaty and HOT! Thankfully that year I was well prepared, with a cooler full of semi-frozen and frozen water bottles, plus a washcloth with which to drench my senses whenever I needed. We survived, though some people passed out, but the experience overall was absolutely amazing.
April 2022 was my 2nd time attending, again with NORML Maryland, this time as Volunteer Deputy Director, so I manned the table and did not get to enjoy the festival as a patron. I did, however, assist a lot of Maryland residents to get registered to help advocate for just laws in Maryland regarding Cannabis; 1st being Adult Use Legalization advocacy, followed by educating those with questions. I sold a lot of MD NORML accessories as organization donations and even had a few STRIB’bles on deck to share with others. That year I was also able to attend the Policy Summit which was a wealth of insightful information dealing with every aspect of Cannabis. To this summit I wore my custom made Harry Anslinger “War Criminal” shirt, which happened to be held at the Ronald Raegan building - the Irony!
As we geared up for NCF 2023, I loved how they involved the community by offering so many opportunities to showcase yourself, your business and ideas. Contests like The Ultimate Weed Wedding, CannaTank, 420 Events Week and Session Selector provided opportunities for everyone from all walks of life to be included. Cannabis Education Pavilions abound from every avenue; Culture, Culinary, Grower’s, Psychedelics, Policy and Wellness. This year I also applied for the Session Selector Contest, for my Cann’A Woman Heal Addressing Elephants. My pitch made it to the 2nd round, but ultimately was not selected. In turn, I was invited to speak on the Cannabis, Moms & Breaking the Stigma Panel in the Wellness Pavilion.
Look at this shit! I've Empowered myself to be exactly in the places I need to be at the right moment:
2021 as a Volunteer for Maryland NORML Chapter,
2022 as Deputy Director for Maryland NORML
2023 as LaWann Stribling myself, representing all that I built as a Cannabis Professional Mom & Wife, Entrepreneur, and a writer for Fat Nugs Magazine!
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
This year's NCF was very different for me. It was the 1st time I attended as a panelist, to just be, and take it all in. I feel so thankful to be a member of NORML Maryland, and am grateful for all the wonderful volunteers that make this festival worth it all. The amazing events coordinator Sita made arrival a breeze with a parking pass for me, so once she met me at the gate, the adventure began!
The morning was a nice, semi-cloudy, breezy mid-60s; and I knew we would be expecting rain, so I wore a custom hoodie, tee shirt, capri leggings and asics sneakers. I wanted to be comfortable, because I was prepared for a long day of walking and talking to people. Refillable water cooler in tow, we set off to enter the gates!
The walk down the pathway was getting more and more crowded the closer we got to the entry point. This was my 1st time experiencing the VIP entry, as I’ve been there setting up as a vendor the previous 2 years. Some of the employees were already gathering the crowds to separate according to their entry ticket to get the lines organized.
It’s now 11 am, and time to grab my VIP band. As I’m approaching the entry gates from inside the park, I then see the line is not moving and there appears to be a bit of confusion on the list for VIP. As the employees scramble for answers, I see Caroline approach and hear her respond to the concerns from the workers at the gate, to whom she said “Just let them the fuck in.” I said “YESSSS Caroline, folks been in line for a minute, and it is GO time!”
GROWER’S WORLD
I was happy to find my name was found on the tablet containing the VIP list, I received my arm band and finally, a sack bag full of NCF Day of goodies. Before the gates opened to the general public, I perused the Fields to pinpoint sections I wanted to be sure not to miss. My first stop was certainly the Growers’ World. As I had just completed my first successful croptober, I was intrigued to see what was happening under the tent. The set up was very open and spacious, with the vendors’ booths against the “wall” and a huge open space in the middle, featuring cozy comfort areas to relax and eat on the opposite end.
VENDOR AREAS, EXHIBITING & MORE
After that tent, I went to browse all eight vendor areas, where businesses small and large were set up and ready to serve for the day. On a logistic note, I really appreciated the large directional booths found throughout the event, making it so you didn’t have to keep checking the app or looking at the map to navigate the festival. It was extremely helpful when trying to locate both where you are and where you want to go, especially since ya know - we’re all smoking. Once I located the Wellness Pavilion, I made my way back to my booth to welcome my own incoming patrons.
After an hour or so of exhibiting passed, I decided to take another walk around, this time to take pictures and scope out the scene for material for this very article. However, I was sad to receive a text from Joy, the photographer I was partnering with for this release, who was at that moment stuck in traffic trying to park. While I waited for her, I decided to observe. I absolutely love people-watching! And I was not disappointed. I saw a variety of everything, literally. That, in my opinion, is the thing about WEED! It’s the peacekeeper we all need in our lives. The harmony that fills you with love, compassion and empathy. In my own photos, I was able to capture friends and family members coming together to enjoy one dope ass day.
FROM VIP TO EVACUEE
It’s now close to 2pm, so I am making my way to the VIP area, finally. I thought it was good to try and get some food in me before having to take the stage for our panel at 2:30pm. As I’m walking towards the entrance, I notice the clouds getting darker and the wind begins picking up. I get in the VIP food service line and immediately notice Carolyn going from table to table, speaking with the guests.
After getting my food, I came closer to her, thinking this would be a great time to approach her for a face-to-face interview. I then noticed the look of concern on her face and overheard that we have to evacuate. I confronted Caroline face-to-face, and asked her for clarification; “Did you say we have to evacuate the park?” She responded with a yes, explaining that a temporary shutdown is in place due to incoming storms. She followed up with a notice to follow the NCF IG stories for timely updates. With food still in hand, I briskly walked back to the other side of the park to our booth. All the while seeing Canna-fam and friends on the way, so I made sure to relay the evacuation message as well. Before I could even reach our tent, the rain drops began!
At our tent, the volunteers were scrambling to get everything closed up and secured to leave there while we evacuated. A few old and new CannaFam were taking shelter under our tent, inviting them to walk to my truck while we waited for updates. Most patrons came by train or drop off, and with Sita helping me out with parking, it was a meant to be moment. However, our walk back seemed much longer than the walk in. I thought it could be due to the rush of folks walking trying to escape the rain, but at this point my goal is to stay positive, and be encouraging by repeating “We’re almost to my truck!” Located in the first and closest parking lot, this parking lot was also the meet point for the ADA shuttle. It was great amongst all the uncertainty to see the carts escorting those in need properly! By the time we finally reached my truck, the rain was coming down hard. We got in, and I quickly turned on the heat to warm us up a bit.
My sheltered guests I had only recently met; there was Ebony, a yoga instructor in DC and MD who I had met the week prior, and then Julia, who was giving guests premium Taste Budz DC prerolls. Julia I count as a new dear cannafriend, whom I spent time with in Jamaica this past January for the CannaGetAway Women’s Retreat, hosted by Jamila Mills. It was just silence for a few minutes, like pin-drop silence, amid the rain drops. Talk about “awkward!” 😬 So I let the ladies know that my truck is smoke friendly, and that seemed to break the ice a bit. Without further ado and with nothing else to do, we lit our jays and began observing, followed by a discussion about decisions.
“How long should we sit in the truck to wait?”
“Did they update their IG stories yet?”
“Look at the flood forming! Damn, they are walking in the water. I feel bad for them.”
“…Yea, it’s raining really hard.”
“Do you think they will reopen?”
“When is it expected to stop raining?”
I wondered where Losia and Sita were. After about 30 minutes, messages began to come in, verifying everyone I wondered about had gotten to a safe space. I couldn’t see how backed up the lot was from the spot we were in, so I drove around the parking lot to observe the exit points in order to know exactly what we were dealing with.
Noticing that it was a parking lot of vehicles running and sitting, I decided to just re-park and ride it out. At this point I notice that the entire time we’ve been sitting in the car, a line to the exit was growing, but NOT moving at all since its formation.
Another 30 minutes passed and we all made the decision to go on and head out once the traffic line began to move. It took about 20 more minutes to make it out of the parking lot, and I just kept thinking to myself: “I wonder what’s going through Caroline’s mind?”
This article was not supposed to be about an amazing event temporarily shut down due to extreme weather conditions! This article was supposed to highlight all the amazing local home grown vendors, small local businesses, all the food choices and the various advocacy booths and panelists.
Yet, here I am writing and here you are reading about how what started off as an amazing event had a significant 5 hour pause.
A SILVER LINING OF AN INTERVIEW
Keeping in mind the magnitude of this amazing annual festival, I am happy to report that I was able to interview Caroline Phillips, Founder of National Cannabis Festival after all - to finally speak about this year’s NCF. I wanted to include this interview with Caroline because I feel it is very important to understand each and every tedious (or not) matter that comes with organizing an event with almost 16,000 in attendance.
LaWann: What does planning an annual event of this magnitude look like for you? Can you break down the tedious processes that you deal with in planning?
Caroline: Preparing for NCF is an 11 month process for our team. We have 4 signature programs -
1.National Cannabis Festival
2. 420 Week
3. 420 Food Week
4. National Cannabis Policy Summit
And that requires an enormous amount of planning, collaboration with partners and finalizing small details. We start with a core team of seven people working on education and policy programs, onsite activations, contests, exhibitors and musical acts. As we get closer to the festival date, the team gets bigger and by festival day we employ just over 300 people working in various roles to create the “NCF experience” for our attendees.
LaWann: Was 2023 NCF your biggest turnout since opening in 2016?
Caroline: The 2023 National Cannabis Festival was our largest program to-date. From the number of exhibitors onsite, to the array of experiences, education opportunities (SIX pavilions with concurrent sessions), and advocacy partners taking part, we planned a big day. One element we were thrilled to launch this year is the Grower’s World activation - a giant pavilion in the middle of the site that housed our Grow School classes as well as dozens of exhibitors.
LaWann: Do you feel Maryland Adult Use legalization passing assisted in having a larger turnout in vendors?
Caroline: I think people are incredibly excited about the start of an adult-use program in Maryland, and companies want to make sure they’re building brand awareness among potential customers. In the past seven years, we’ve seen both ancillary and plant-touching businesses use the time at NCF as a way to connect one-on-one with people in their communities.
LaWann: What is the importance of hosting a summit or forum with policy makers?
Caroline: Since the festival takes place on or around April 20th each year, we wanted to disrupt the usual tongue-in-cheek coverage of cannabis and highlight the work of the member organizations on our nonprofit advocacy committee and the important policy issues being debated here in Washington, DC. The Summit (and this year “The Forum”) has allowed us to highlight bipartisan support for federal cannabis legalization, during a week when major media outlets turn their attention to the issue.
LaWann: Do you feel the information for these summits are reaching the community the war on drugs has affected the most?
Caroline: That is our intention, and that is why programs like the National Cannabis Policy Summit are free and open to the public - we want to make sure that everyone has access to information and education on cannabis policy priorities. Even so, I know that getting away from work to attend an event (whether or not it’s free) in the middle of the day is not an option for a lot of people. We are grateful that the Summit has been aired on CSPAN for the past few years, which I hope means that more folks are able to view the program. Also to get cannabis information out to more people, we expanded the festival to include 420 Week, which over the years has focused on conversations around cannabis policy, wellness and culture in venues across the city during the week leading up to NCF. Most of those events are free to attend and they take place after business hours.
LaWann: Do you feel NCF's advocacy and exposure reduces the Stigma associated with Weed?
Caroline: Even with some form of cannabis legalization or decriminalization in the majority of states, I think that a lot of folks who aren’t working in or advocating around this issue don’t really know what to expect from our businesses and community. NCF is a chance for our community to highlight the important work of our nonprofit advocacy partners and to celebrate the creativity and innovation on display by our exhibitors. Any “cannabis skeptics” that look at our website or attend the festival can see that there’s much more to our community than the tired stereotypes.
LaWann: What were you most excited about for 2023 NCF?
Caroline: Everything! I don’t even know where to start. We had the most beautiful site set up for our guests, the education sessions and speakers scheduled for all six pavilions were so high quality, our exhibitors did an incredible job of creating a vibrant and festive marketplace, the Munchies Zone was packed with amazing food vendors, and the concert line-up was such a good vibe. I wish the weather had been kinder!
LaWann: As with years before, the forecast showed rain for the day of this year. What is that feeling like for you as the organizer during planning?
Caroline: NCF is a rain-or-shine event, and we had a lot of tents and ponchos ready to go. Rain-or-shine does not include lightning or high wind gusts, and when those conditions got too close to the festival grounds, we had to follow the venue's inclement weather protocols and clear the site. It was really heartbreaking for our entire team, not only because of our own disappointment about the weather, but also because we know how much the whole community - from near and far - had been looking forward to and preparing for the day. It was hard to have Mother Nature step in and change the plan.
LaWann: I was able to observe you in action when you were informing guests of a temporary shut down due to incoming storms. Your demeanor was pleasant and unfrazzled. Can you explain for my readers what that feeling was like for you?
Caroline: It was not a good feeling but we had to stay focused, follow the venue’s inclement weather guidelines, and clear the site. My team and I spend 11 months out of the year planning an event to bring thousands of people together to create great memories. Our exhibitors and advocacy partners spend months preparing materials, exhibit spaces and retail experiences. Our speakers are top experts in their fields who set aside the weekend to come and share information with our guests. Some ticket holders save for months and some travel from far away to be with us. Asking everyone to leave was not something we wanted to do, but it is what we were told we had to do because of incoming thunderstorms with lightning.
LaWann: Many guests were unhappy, as you can't please everyone, but your follow up email stated no one was injured. How many guests attended NCF 2023? How much time were you given to evacuate the fields? How much time did it take to get everyone out?
Caroline: In total, about 16,000 people attended NCF over the course of the day. At the time of the evacuation, we had about 8,000 people onsite. We were asked to clear the grounds as soon as possible because of the storm rolling in and nearby sightings of lightning. The large majority of guests had cleared the grounds by 2:15pm.
LaWann: I wasn't able to return for the reopening, but I saw the concert was “fire” for those that did. Can you elaborate on the process it took to reopen? What was the atmosphere/vibe like when guests returned?
Caroline: To re-open the site there had to be no reports of lightning at or within miles of the festival grounds for 30 minutes (any time lightning was reported or spotted on the radar, the clock would reset); the site had to be re-inspected by the city to ensure all tent structures were safe; and, we had to clear debris and put exterior fence lines that had blown over back in place. Once those processes were complete, we had a final meeting with city officials and got the all-clear to open gates. We re-opened at 7:40pm. People brought such good energy when we opened back up! I think they were excited to hear great music and we were happy to be able to get Free Nationals,Juicy J and 2 Chainz on stage that evening.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Was I sad that we had to evacuate? A little, but what was most important was everyone's safety. 8,000 guests escorted out for an emergency evacuation and NO ONE was INJURED. All in all, I arrived Happy and left Happy - must be the weed!
