On a cloudless, sun-dappled Saturday on the last weekend in June, dozens of the most legendary figures in California Cannabis gathered at Riggers Loft Wine Company on the Richmond waterfront to make their mark on history.
After 12 competitions thrown over half a decade in Anchorage, Seattle, Portland and Baltimore, the Leaf Bowl had finally come to California. But the many hundreds of people in attendance weren’t only there to find out who among the dozens of competitors would be named the best of the best, walking away with the coveted Leaf Bowl trophies. No, as the crowd grew, it became obvious that the community was there to prove something more.
The throng gathered at the Leaf Bowl demonstrated that the Cannabis community is as resilient as the plant that powers it. We’re still here. In fact, we love it here. And we’re not going anywhere.
Anchored by presenting sponsor Advanced Nutrients, a powerful list of sponsors and vendors offered their time and support to provide everyone with a place to gather and remind one another why we all chose to be a part of this community in the first place.
Fragrant clouds of the world’s best weed filled the air as revelers dabbed and dapped each other up, joked, laughed and swapped stories from the trenches of an increasingly unfriendly uphill battle against unfavorable market conditions and punitive state and federal regulations.
The light breeze carried bulletproof vibes from DJ Nikka T on the ones and twos, as he queued up deep reggae cuts and Bay Area hip-hop classics on the Cookies waterfront smoke lounge patio. It was the perfect sound, set and setting for old friends to reunite, new friends to share their first memories and old adversaries to squash the beef.
Focus V showed off their hardware with the help of fire from RosinTech. Friends mugged for the camera in the Sluggers photobooth. Don P invited guests onto his podcast bus to share their stories. Casa Flor rolled deep with family and friends, bringing a lounge bus for partygoers who wanted a brief break from the crowd.
Hash legend Cherryblossom Belle served up hookah at the Heritage Mendocino booth in a style that would elicit a trademark smile from her late mentor, Frenchy Cannoli.
As sunset began to cast the bright blue of the Cookies lounge in the increasingly deep orange dusk light, a crowd gathered inside to watch as Leaf Bowl emcee Kidd Conez brought his boundless energy and charisma to the Humboldt Seed Company stage for the Leaf Bowl awards ceremony.
The thrill of victory filtered through the thick smoke in the air, and the Leaf team couldn’t help but notice that, as the cheers filled the winery with each announced award, something was missing. There was no “agony of defeat” in this competition. This was a community that had been through so much together, that had seen so much strife and overcome so many obstacles together, that all that was left was support for one another.
Kidd Conez provided one of the night’s many highlights when he performed an electrifying set during the halftime show from Entertainment Sponsor Mission Valley Bank. Kidd Conez lit up the crowd with his single “Hot Box” and the freshly dropped single “Hot Box 2,” while DJ Imperial backed him up with the beats.
The crowd cheered as community leaders Joe Sullivan of Wood Wide Highcraft, John Casali of Huckleberry Hill and others took the stage to accept multiple awards. They hooted when favorite fire producers Ay Papi and Sense won multiple awards. They chuckled in amusement when, after accepting a seemingly endless stream of trophies for his phenomenal Mixed Light flower, Lucas Sanders of Terp Mansion then kept returning to the stage, over and over again, to gather awards for his friend Cody King of Xotic Flavorz, who couldn’t be in attendance to celebrate his wins in the Light Dep category.
By the end of the night, the vibes were so high that all we at the Leaf kept hearing from people was, “That was great! When are we going to do it next year?”
We’ll get back to you on that. One thing’s for sure: We’re definitely going to do it again — and again.
After all, we’re not going anywhere. We love it here.
WINNERS
SCORES (click to expand)
