By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
On a warm, sunny October 14 Saturday, Dr. K’s Kushstock 4 festival rolled into town and took over the NOS Events Center in San Bernadino, bringing with it over 500 vendors and around 56,000 marijuana-loving attendees. Once again, the event was free to anyone over the age of 18 with a valid ID, but VIP packages were also available for purchase.
Inside the front gates, booths sat atop a grassy area next to the lagoon where people could obtain a doctor’s recommendation to purchase and consume cannabis—something that may not be a necessary item for entrance at marijuana festivals after the first of the year.
Art displays and live art creation exhibitions are prominent features at many cannabis events, and Kushstock is no exception. On the side of the lagoon opposite the recommendation booths, a long row of glass blowers set up shop for the day to compete and showcase their abilities for the crowds. Artisans manned their fiery torches in the booths, spinning, molding, and shaping pieces throughout the day, proudly displaying the finished works on their tables for purchase.
A second row of booths sat nearby in another section of the lagoon where painters were exhibiting their various works. In addition to the pieces that were available at the various artists’ tables, very long pieces of canvas had been rolled out and attached to the nearby fences. Artists were present during the day, busily applying paint to their individual sections of the fabric which eventually resulted in a pair of beautiful and authentic-looking makeshift graffiti walls that looked as if they had been pulled right from a freeway overpass.
All activities related to the event’s primary draw, cannabis, took place in the medicating areas that were set up in the Citrus and Damus venues, as well in as a sizable fenced-off section of the outdoor paved area. The medicating sections were mazes of twisty little passages, all different; with row after row of cannabis flower, concentrates, edibles, topicals, glass, clothing, and everything else in the modern world that relates to marijuana and its general interest and consumption.
The diverse array of vendors that composed the sometimes seemingly endless number of booths showed a wide range in not only complexity and theme, but also in size. While the majority of merchants did their vending from behind glass cases, tables, and counters, others arranged their spaces as mini-showrooms. The Gorilla Glass company allowed customers to walk through their booth and browse pieces on the shelves as if they were produce items in a grocery store.
Certain companies with larger budgets literally stood out among the rest as some of them rented larger booth spaces, complete with tall concert-style scaffolding, lighting, and large multi-color displays. Throughout the event, vendors climbed atop the shiny structures tossed out product samples, and free hats and t-shirts to eager attendees below. Inside the Citrus venue, a life-sized Jabba the Hutt sail barge complete with DJ booth sat parked in one corner, towering above the rest of the booths.
As is the case with other cannabis events held at the NOS Events Center, organizers reserved The Dome for VIP ticket holders. Inside, guests with a VIP wristband enjoyed air-conditioning, dab samples, and other various amenities. A brilliant display created by California’s “first and only team of medical cannabis florists,” Flowers on Flowers adorned a table at the Dome’s center. iBudtender kiosks were also set up inside the venue where people could cast their vote for their favorite entries in the vendor competition.
There were multiple music stages scattered across the entire event both in the inside and outside areas, occupied by various reggae and hip-hop groups throughout the day and evening. Pato Banton, Don Carlos, and Kyle McDonald from Slightly Stoopid took the stage during the festival before the day’s headliner, Three 6 Mafia co-founder Juicy J entertained the nighttime crowd outside in the general access area. The veteran rapper handed out water to the people during his set, and at one point, gave a giant joint to the fans which they passed around with his encouragement. “Juicy J’s getting you high tonight,” he said as he instructed the people to take a puff and keep it moving.
While there was a massive variety of edibles available to guests, there was also a good selection of non-medicated food available from trucks which were located in both the general admittance and in the outdoor medicating area. For those looking to enjoy an adult beverage during their time at Kushstock, a few beer stations were also open for business at the festival.
This latest installment of the Kushstock festival was their largest one yet with many more vendors and more guests than the last one that was held in March. The next event in the series, Kushstock 5 is expected to be even bigger and is scheduled to take place at the NOS Events Center once again on March 31, 2018.
