By High Times Staff, with reporting and photography by Brett Churchill
The Berkeley stop of Garcia Hand Picked’s California tour brought sungrown flower, legacy farmers, Jerry Garcia photography, and live Dead songs under one roof.
The jars came first.
At the Chapel of the Flowers in Berkeley, guests approached a tasting table, lifted the lids, followed their noses, and decided which Garcia Hand Picked cultivar to try. Staff loaded samples into PAX dry-herb vaporizers while Jonny Mojo and friends worked through Grateful Dead songs nearby.
Brett Churchill attended the gathering for High Times, documenting an afternoon that may have technically been a product launch but did not feel like somebody had simply booked a room to move units.
Farmers stood beside the flower they grew. Jerry Garcia watched from the walls through photographs spanning different stages of his life. Galactic Farms poured samples of honey produced at its homestead. Deadheads, dispensary customers, cultivators, artists, and other members of the local cannabis community drifted between the tasting tables and the music.
The Berkeley gathering was the opening stop of a four-city Garcia Hand Picked California tour celebrating the collection’s return to the state. Produced in partnership with CBCB, Aundre Speciale, and Budist’s Jocelyn Sheltraw, the event gave the brand its first chance to show what its California homecoming looks like when the names on the farm list become actual people in the room.
A Homecoming Built Around the Farms
When High Times reported on Garcia Hand Picked’s return to California, the central question was whether a brand connected to one of California’s defining musical figures could make a credible bet on small farms and sungrown flower in a market dominated by falling prices and increasingly narrow margins.
The Berkeley event offered a partial answer. Rather than …
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Author: High Times Contributors / High Times
