As I write this from my couch and the warm snuggles of my pup and my partner, I’m exhausted but full of gratitude and happiness.
From a quick count of our attendees and other assorted guests, it looks like we welcomed at least 800 people to the barn on Saturday.
Anyone who’s ever been involved in event production knows that it can get a little hectic on the big day.
Many of my friends are growers who have been operating in the shadows for decades.
When we picked up the Cup back up in late 2021 and I started working with competitors again, I saw a noticeable shift in the entries – more business names and less anonymous handles.
As someone who’s been incarcerated as a direct impact of the War on Drugs, I’m familiar with the weight of being ensnared in the legal system.
When we passed the adult use bill in October of 2020, I had mixed feelings about the success of our efforts.
I was burned out as hell from the political conflict leading up to its passage, and happy that we got it through, but in a lot of ways it also felt like a loss.
Whatever we do with this Cup next, it’s important – in fact, the first priority – is making sure that The Headies Cup continues to represent these OG growers, whether they are joining the adult use market in an official capacity or not.
In working with our master judge Joe Veldon earlier this year, he made the point that these generalized designations are for consumers as well – when someone buys weed, they really just want to know how it makes them feel.
So as we take feedback for 2023, we may look at how we categorize and divide entries, keeping all of these things in mind.
Finally, I didn’t get to thank everyone I needed to – Thank you to my partner Judd for his endless support of my efforts, even though it’s slowed down our life and personal goals.
Thank you to our competitors for sharing their incredible talents, and our judges for their thoughtful feedback.