Officials in charge of the California State Fair announced today that the revered event will hold a state-wide Cannabis Awards ceremony in July 2022, a first-ever occasion for the state’s largest agricultural community-focused event.
It’s a huge win in the battle against the stigma that’s so often plagued the Cannabis community in California. Now the state’s Cannabis cultivators will join the producers of “wine, craft beer, olive oil, and cheese” in celebration of the fruits of their industry, the organization said in a press release.
“We are pleased to celebrate California’s legal and licensed cannabis industry as part of the CA State Fair in 2022,” California Exposition & State Fair Board of Director Jess Durfee said in the release. “For the past 166 years, the CA State Fair has always been a first mover, leading the State Fair circuit with innovative programming and large-scale competitions that celebrate the best the state has to offer, making the addition of cannabis cultivation a natural new category.”
The event has been planned in a collaboration between the California Exposition & State Fair and Cultivar Brands. All licensed growers in the state will have the opportunity to submit entries into three categories: Indoor, Mixed Light, and Outdoor.
The submission window opens November 1, 2021, and will end March 30, 2022. Judging has been developed in partnership with SC Labs, which will provide testing and analysis for the event. Winners will be announced in May 2022, and the Awards celebration will take place during the Fair, July 10-26, 2022, at Cal Expo Center.
“The launch of state-sanctioned awards is a watershed moment for the Californian cannabis industry,” said Cultivar Brands CEO Brian Applegarth in the press release. “Not only will we showcase the California farmer, large and small, and the incredible cannabis flower that the state has to offer, but we will educate and demystify the plant, challenge the stereotypes and continue to evolve towards normalcy.”
For more information, visit the CA State Fair Cannabis Awards website.
