Here’s what to do, at home, on 4/20
Humboldt County’s cannabis enthusiasts will still be told to shelter in place on Monday, which marks 4/20, but there are still plenty of ways to join in the annual celebration of the county’s signature crop.
Official canna-tourism businesses aren’t leaning into the festivities in an effort to comply with social distancing. Matt Kurth, founder of Humboldt Cannabis Tours in Eureka, said this year’s holiday will be toned down.
“We’re kind of ignoring it,” Kurth said. “We can’t really do a tour… we’ve been thinking about a virtual tour, but there’s just too much stuff going on.”
Public gatherings at Arcata Community Forest will be discouraged by law enforcement out of concern for social distancing, Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn said.
“Even though it’s a day of celebration for many, I think people understand it’s different this year,” Ahearn said. “We’ve gained so much ground, we can’t take a step back and have the virus creep back in.”
Growers Alliance to host Zoom event
Musician G. Love will deliver a keynote speech and reggae singer Don Carlos will lead a smoking session over the videoconferencing app Zoom in a free event hosted by the Humboldt County Growers Alliance.
The cannabis advocacy group had planned the celebration as the kickoff for an April 10 conference on bio-ethics and pot genetics.
But after social-distancing measures went into effect, the group punted the lineup to 4/20, and online, to promote what it calls community well-being on the event’s Facebook page.
“I think everyone was just generally bummed that we can’t be together,” said Natalynne DeLapp, operations director for the Growers Alliance. “But, I don’t know, this is basically the most legal way people can enjoy cannabis: At home, with no onsite consumption issues.”
The Zoom event will begin 4 p.m. on Monday.
Proper Wellness Center to host remote competition
The statewide shelter-in-place order had prompted the owners of Proper Wellness Center to indefinitely delay the grand opening celebration for the company’s Rio Dell location (which is nonetheless open to the public). Co-owner Tara Gurley saw fit to improvise.
“Our 4/20 event is like a cannabis cup,” Gurley explained. “We’re encouraging everyone to participate from home.”
Cannabis enthusiasts will be able to order a “judge’s package” of different pot strains and sample them at home. The goods can be obtained via curbside pickup or home delivery.
The package will allow consumers to form their own opinions before the actual judges decide what they think were the best products among various categories, including smell, packaging and effects.
Participating growers from around the state sent in strains for the event, Gurley said.
“We’re happy to do as much as we can to keep serving our customers,” she said.