If you’re in the New York cannabis industry, the place to be last Friday and Saturday, Sept. 12-13, was on the dock of bay, the East River’s Pier 36, for Revelry NYC.  Well over 250 companies exhibited their wares to over 4,500 attendees, who were both industry players and the cannabis-friendly public.

Major multi-state operators (MSOs) such as Weedmaps, Rove, Kiva, PAX, Papa and Barkley, Wyld and many more brought major activations, as did several New York-centric companies and organizations.

Business-to-business herb events have been few and far between in NYC.  So, you could feel the enthusiasm of both exhibitors and attendees, despite the vagaries laid on them by Empire State regulators.  Many in the community commented they “needed this gathering.”

Along with the scarcity of New York City industry meetups, those that allow consumption and sampling are even more rare.  Exhibitors were allowed to give samples to registered buyers, and consumption was permitted in the stage and food court area outside.

Being more of a festival than a trade show, Revelry NYC is the core concept for co-founders Lulu Tsui and Jacobi Holland.  They started nine years ago with the mindset of representing the cannabis community rather than the “suits and ties” crowd. That adherence to the plant and its people may be why Revelry NYC is doing so well when other larger event companies aren’t.

Many exhibitors echoed the same sentiment—they came to Revelry not just to showcase their brand, but also to meet and connect with fellow industry leaders. Fernway Co-Founder Liam O’Brien, who started the company in Massachusetts and has since expanded into New York and New Jersey, said the event was working out very well for them, both with traffic at the booth and arranging meetings off site. 

“There are so few events in New York where you find all the companies and the innovators,” O’Brien said, explaining why Fenway exhibits at Revelry NYC.

And it wasn’t just local tribe members spreading the word and the cannabis positivity.  Movers and shakers from across the country descended on Lower Manhattan. In from California was Jocelyn Sheltraw, co-founder and CEO of the product review app and website, Budist. She and Budist’s COO, Claudio Miranda, were hearing strong buzz about Revelry and decided to investigate in person. Sheltraw felt it was more than worth the trip.

“We were thrilled to attend Revelry to experience firsthand the emergence of this bustling legal market, as well as to spread word about the MJBowl, which offers New York brands a national stage to celebrate the best their market has to offer.”

The exhibit aisles were packed. By late afternoon, booth staffers were running to collect back up supplies to give out more samples. Unlike many recent cannabis industry summits, staffers agreed that Revelry delivered: not only were valuable new contacts made, but real business was being done—the ROI was clear.

Celebrities and talented artists abounded at the event. On the exhibit floor, there was Fat Joe at the Jeeter booth; Mike Tyson representing Tyson 2.0; Rob Gronkowski at the Foy booth; and Remy Banks greeting crowds at Olio.

At the large outside stage on the second day, Durand Bernarr (solo artist and back up to Erykah Badu and Anderson Paak), Phony PPL, Dos Flakos and Angel & Dren—all NYC-based talent—kept the crowd energized and floating.

Unlike last year’s Revelry event, the doors to the East River were closed. This cut off Pier 36’s sweeping views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges and the Wall Street area. But with 55,000 square feet of exhibit space in addition to other gathering spaces makes it a strong venue for a cannabis event.

Interestingly, many exhibitors commented on how the West Coast-based Hall of Flowers will be holding their first New York City-event in the exact same space in a few weeks, October 8-9.  Several New York company representatives said they were in a wait-and-see position on exhibiting with HoF, primarily because Revelry is homegrown in New York. That being said, since no major cannabis event companies are stepping into the New York ring this year, Revelry NYC cements itself as the premier cannabis conference in the Big Apple.