Nothing says fall in New England quite like a bonfire, and what better environment in which to GET LIT? The fire—and smoke—brought quite a crowd to Lebanon on Saturday. Several costumes were spotted, and there were many vendors feeling the holiday spirit, including one booth that had been set up as a Kill Room. There was a very enjoyable Halloweentown vibe. In my opinion, we should have been celebrating Halloween all year. What with the masks. And the global pandemic. And the aliens. Anyway, about that bonfire.
As touched on in last month’s “Cannabis in the Time of Corona”, edibles are having their moment. Pass on the additional stress to your respiratory system, and reach for one of Lit Girl’s dank cookies. (I picked up one filled with Nutella and marshmallow and heated it up in the oven when I got home. It certainly took the chill off, among other things.) The ingenuity in the edibles field has been blowing my mind. I saw cereal, trail mix, beef jerky, and renditions on all the classic candies and baked goods—a variety rivaled only by the imported snack selection at Exoticville. BORED OF YOUR USUAL MUNCHIES? Get weird then. Did you know they make way cooler candy options in other countries? Like Cadbury chocolate bars with Pop Rocks in them? DUNKAROOS ARE STILL A THING IN AUSTRALIA! DEMAND BETTER SNACK OPTIONS! This booth also won the Cutest Dog award, with a baby Bear—a Tibetan mastiff/Akita mix who will one day be a GIANT! Bad Kuma approves of his name.
In addition to food, there are now plenty of drink options. Medible Xtracts offered a hot chocolate powder based on the owner’s grandmother’s recipe, as well as Morticia’s Dirty Chai. What’s in a name? I’ll buy anything you slap Morticia on. Goddess. I also recently tried the CBD water by Tourmaline Spring, which was another good drinkable option for taking advantage of the full spectrum of cannabinoid health benefits. Gotta hydrate to dominate.
’Tis the season to up your mask game, people. I saw an excellent set of canines on one dude, and Rashaud Grimes enhanced his 420 mask by ripping a blunt and letting the smoke billow out of the sides. There is no reason you shouldn’t be wearing something badass. Customize that shit. And ladies, you won’t have to hear dudes tell you to smile anymore. It’s a whole new accessory category! I have a sequined mask to go with my Space Witch costume this Halloween. Speaking of space, I stopped by Zero Gravity to chat, drawn by the floating astronaut on their tent. I missed their costumes—they had their own astronaut jumpsuits and I was eager to check the quality in case I need to upgrade mine. Are you guys going to sell spacesuits this winter, or what? Igloofest in Montreal had festival-goers sporting a plethora of stylish snowsuits, and I would 100% buy a locally branded one! The quality does check out with their Cherry Ghostade, which won them an award at this year’s NECANN competition. They’ll be having a special Halloween Bobblehead Bar dropping on their Instagram soon!
I loved seeing the intersection of creativity and cannabis in all of the art present—from the available merch to custom paintings to company branding. Blue Moose Casting (@bluemoosecasting), based out of Lebanon, was there with ceramic claw pieces that were cast from a 2.5 lb lobster caught this spring, as well as a most excellent Titty Mug*. Mohawk Glass and Tammy Baller were creating fire magic, in style. I was a big fan of High Dye Homiez, who told me he likes to “make cool tie dyes for high people”—livin’ the dream, man. Ghost in the Glass was also living his dream—“like every random college kid, I just wanted to sell weed so I could smoke weed[. . .] And I really like spooky shit.” I also heard my favorite Flower Girl, Electric FLORA was posted up with Soylent Green! Missed her though.. like all flowers, she is best appreciated in the sunshine.
Next to them was Humble Family Farms, whom I have heard nothing but good things about from friends. I spoke with Laura, who told me their number one goal was making “sure that our people, our caregivers, our patients, and also our staff members feel like family”—definitely seems they live up to their name. Her focus on the positive side of the industry was refreshing and warming at a time where tension appears to be high surrounding the opening of adult rec. She also shared her goal of doing a shoot with the aforementioned Flower Girl’s electric floral arrangements—PLEASE! DO! THIS! I want to see it!
As I wandered around the bonfire, I checked the general crowd vibe as well. People were there for “the bonfire”, “networking”, “getting out and being able to experience all the vendors, because it’s not often you get to see this during quarantine” and… “stickers.” One woman picked up “a pound of marijuana. And another little bag of marijuana.” Another gal snagged a jar of flower because she couldn’t resist the strain name—Karma’s a Bitch. Let’s round it off with that one guy who, when asked what his favorite part of the bonfire was, said himself. When asked what he was smoking, he replied with “this joint right here. I rolled it out of my own weed.” You do you, buddy. You do you. I sort of regret not picking up a 600 MG Hippie Cookie from Excelsior Extract just to see what would happen. It’s probably for the best that I didn’t, I’m a lightweight and I probably wouldn’t be writing this right now. I did get a 50 MG lollipop that I was told to “suck responsibly.” THERE IS A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING.
A special mention goes to Sonja’s Saviors. Sonja, who beat Stage 3 breast cancer, puts together care packages for cancer patients. “We are doing donations for care packages—I’ve done 165 in eight months, and that’s what we’re here for.” She had a prize wheel to spin! What better way to honor cannabis as plant medicine than making it available to those who could use it most. Link up with her if you are interested in donating to her cause, or hearing her story. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
*October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you just paused reading to find this addendum, please take a moment to raise your awareness. Here is an opening to do so, made just for you. E L E V A T E
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@litgirlgoodies3.0 @exoticvilleny @medible_xtracts_edibles @zerogravitycannabis @mohawkglass @tammyballer @highdyehomiez @electricflora @soylentgreensmaine @humblefamilyfarms @excelsiorextracts @sonjassaviors2018