Oregon Growers Cup: Competition between cannabis growers

Oregon Growers Cup: Competition between cannabis growers

The Oregon Growers Cup, a competition between cannabis growers from all around Oregon to see who has the best oils, flowers, and rolls, is taking place this year as a fully virtual event. This will be the fifth year the Cup has taken place, and the public can join the free live event on their website.

 The competition will be livestreamed on Dec. 5 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. It’s proven to be quite a challenge to engage with the audience as they have in years past, according to Nathan Marsh, the executive director of the Oregon Growers Cup. While some staples of the face to face Growers Cup will not be possible this year, people joining the livestream instead will get some special features: “People will be able to see things they weren’t able [to see] before,” said Marsh. 

For example, some new behind-the-scene judging information may be shown.

 “We have put a lot of effort into getting content we can air on the live stream, and I think that’s a big plus, getting a lot of unique content,” Marsh said.

The Grower’s Cup has also seen a small increase in sponsors as well, which may partially be due to the fact that the stream can be re-watched at any time at a later date.

 That’s not to say it’s all upsides. “Yeah, it (having to live stream) is really a bummer,” said Marsh. “We’re not trying to sugar coat it.”

While the Growers Cup has had difficulty finding a way to do their event in light of the pandemic, the cannabis market has actually boomed. “The sales have broken records pretty much every month,” Marsh said. According to a CNBC article which quoted Steven DeAngelo, founder of a large California cannabis business, “The plant can help calm people during stressful times.”

As Marsh said, “From my stand point, the events that we do have, have always been about bringing people together—the whole thing I loved about these events is we brought people together that did disagree on a lot of stuff, and they all came together for their love for this plant.”

In previous Grower Cups, the event included live music with a lot of reggae, raffles, cannabis samples with a people’s choice vote, contests and prizes.

To watch or participate in the event online see the Cup’s Facebook page and their website.

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