Nothing Short of A Triumph

Nothing Short of A Triumph

I gotta say it. When life deals you lemons, just pinch off a bit of one, put in in your bong and take a bodacious rip. 

Starting off your morning with some lemon ogre, inspires one to new heights. For me this grand Saturday morning, I am preparing both mentally and physically, for a lively day at The Emerald Cup, appropriately named for the herb that keeps me moving forward, at a slightly less dizzying pace than my mania is wont to dictate.

This being my third Cup, I am a seasoned veteran. I was an observer of life through the first one, a reconnaissance mission of the greatest magnitude, and one in which I succeeded beyond my wildest imagination. 

Last year I was a full participant in the booth, keeping the counter-people handily supplied with requests from vast quantities of appreciative 215-Card-holders. There is universal respect for farmers in this venue, and folks are anxious to show their support for them, in the form of donations, to keep this source of high-grade medicine available.

Imagine the Sonoma County Fairgrounds teeming with an estimated thirty thousand attendees this year, up from twelve thousand only a year ago. Considering cannabis was just legalized, this makes sense. And the music! Damien "Junior Gong" Marley, Stick Figure, Dirty Heads and Tribal Seeds head the lineup.

Understand, though, that access to the 215-Area, this entire weekend, is still restricted to card-holders only. That being said, our culture’s growing acceptance cannabis, plus the multitude of vendors who will be on-site, featuring cannabis-related products and artwork, make the experience worth taking.

My first Cup, we were outside in covered booths, and it rained on and off all weekend. Last year we moved under cover, in a huge open-sided pavilion that is infinitely more comfortable, and we are back there this year. Not all 215 booths are inside, however, as vendors exceeded space, and an outside row was added.

We have been working on-farm for a week now, but the preparation goes way back earlier than that. What we have been doing this past week is simply the plethora of logistical details to which we must attend. There are responsibilities that extend outward from HappyDay Farms, also, that will require two of our crew to work within the same booth, but not with HDF medicine.

The pace varied from hectic to frantic last year, so I am expecting it to be a fast day. I will meet many new people and reacquaint myself with many good friends. I won’t have much time to chat, but that will not lesson the value I place on each and every one of these connections.

The Cup is not unique in that the energy is positive, the vibe is vibrantly benevolent and the reason is cannabis, but it is the Granddaddy of them all. For those of us who have fought for acceptance of a medicine that Corporate ‘Merica refuses to acknowledge, it is nothing short of a triumph.

In point of fact The Emerald Cup may be the closest thing to a miracle that I have ever witnessed.