By the grace of some benevolent god, I managed to pull off the impossible. I know where I lie in terms of things; I’m a small website. I know where I stand and what that entails. But never did I ever think that I’d be able to qualify for press tickets to THE event of New York for cannabis. But by some stroke of luck, or passion for the plant, I managed to get them for the third time in a row. I know, it’s insane. I don’t know who I appeased but I was THRILLED to go. I’d been to Revelry in both Spring of 2025 and Fall of 2025 and I was absolutely elated to be attending again this year. So let’s get this rolling because I got a lot to say. SO! Here we go. Another year, another “What I Learned”. Let’s go.
The Who’s Who And What’s What
Once again, Revelry was -the- place to pull up if you’re in the cannabis industry in New York, regardless of where you came from. There were Multi-State Operators (MSOs from now on), home grown (often literally) brands, and everything in-between. It was interesting to watch everyone interact, truthfully, because a lot of people weren’t there to peruse the booths but rather to network. It’s definitely a “who’s who” of everyone in the industry. People were talking outside and inside about what was going on with their brand to other brand reps, people were dabbing and smoking and enjoying the day, and others were there solely to get their buy on but everyone, and I mean everyone, seemed to be in the game for the love of it. The amount of communal love and acceptance was fantastic. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a wide guy, with disabilities, and it was one of the few places where I didn’t feel wildly out of place. Pretty much everyone was welcoming, hospitable, and very excited to talk shop in whatever way they offered. There were vendors doing bulk stuff for brands, vendors with cone-loading tech (very interesting), and just brands trying to make it in the chaos that is New York cannabis. Revelry Hudson doesn’t feel so much a “trade show”, per se. I’ve been to trade shows before and they’re VERY much all business. This was more like a party where everyone had an opinion and voiced it in their own way. Frankly? I love that. I ran into so many people that I had met on social media (half of them I was too scared to talk to because, despite my bluster, I’m actually very shy) but more on that later. I know people will criticize this to some extent because it was all legal cannabis and not the legacy market but, for a legal market, it was a helluva time. If you went there, you came out smiling, no doubts about it. The heavy haze of cannabis smoke did help that though, I won’t lie. But it was jovial, welcoming, and inquisitive, which are all tenets that I hold dear to my heart so I was in my element. I ran around asking questions, positing theories, and just talking the nitty gritty of what it takes to be and sell cannabis in this state. I know I constantly say it but it really was a beating heart of all things legal (and some who transferred from legacy to legal). With every pulse of the DJ’s speakers, the heart of the event throbbed with love of the community and love of the craft.
Not only did the buyers show up but the social media coverage was insane as well. I follow a lot of people on Instagram (I’m a curious little bastard who wants to know as many viewpoints as possible) and quite a few of them were in attendance, both as representatives of booths and just on their own. It was kinda comforting to meet people in person after spending so much time wondering what they’d be like. Most of them were extremely humble, caring, and an absolute blast to hang out with. I won’t name names here (if you follow me on Instagram you’ll see who I hung out with) but I got to sesh with some very chill people…even though I didn’t smoke. So sue me, I don’t smoke while on the job. But no, really, it was great to hear a proverbial state of the union from people who had been in the game far, far, FAR longer than I had. I’m a young buck, let’s be real, so I try to let those far wiser than I speak unless I’m spoken to and, honestly…they wanted my input as well. Which was kinda…I dunno…astounding? I haven’t really fully formed opinions on a lot of things yet and I don’t wanna step on toes so I try to listen twice as much as I talk but they still wanted to know what I thought. I guess you can teach this old dog new tricks.
Overall, the event itself was an absolute blast. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone in the cannabis space: buyers, vendors, growers, and even people just in the milieu of NY cannabis will learn a lot about all sorts of things, as long as you come with an open mind and an open heart. There’s room for us all at the table, despite what some think, and I fully believe that we can all jive together, learn, and consume some good stuff. Not everyone will agree, for sure, but if you want to hear what the streets are saying about legal cannabis, this place is 100% the place to be, bar none. Besides…brisket food truck. C’mon, you can’t beat that.
Growing Pains
This was, surprisingly, the tenth anniversary of Revelry at this show and I had no idea. It’s wild that this has been going on for so long and, for the most part, it’s a pretty well oiled machine. However, I did have some qualms and, in an effort to better improve the experience for everyone, I’d like to detail them here. Don’t get it twisted, I was super happy to go and have been riding a metaphorical high since I left but there were definitely things I’d like to see change. It’s almost all there but the changes this year left some problems.
First off: the parking. I can’t speak from extreme experience because I got to park in the disabled parking lot (one of the FEW benefits of being a cripple) but I heard that parking was a bit of a nightmare for folks. The lots were few and spread out and you had to all meet up at another location (The Caboose) to pick up your tickets/badges which meant a lot of walking before the convention even started. For most folks, this isn’t a problem but for my disabled self, this presented a huge problem. I had to stand in line for about 45 minutes to get my tickets, then walk over to the venue. The disabled parking was right next to the event but the ticket pickup was about a block to two blocks away. Luckily, my body held (once again by a benevolent god) but it definitely burned a lot of the residual energy I had saved up to do the event just waiting around to check in. I’d love to see this amended in some way but I’m not sure how. The ticketing off-site did make getting things MUCH easier and much less congested but the distance from the event space and the parking was a bit of a problem.
Secondly is the tent situation. This year, the amount of vendors had, I’d guess, more than doubled and they had a large majority of people under very large tents. Luckily the weather wasn’t TOO bad (slightly rainy at certain times but mostly just overcast) so the tents were okay. But what I was having trouble with was the WIDTH of the tents. Now don’t get me wrong here, I know how wide I am. I’m a big ol’ boy. But it didn’t feel like I was the only one having trouble navigating the tight corridors of the tents to get to booths (and having to squeeze into the tables to let people go by). It was a pretty tight fit for even the slimmest person and my wide ass was not having it so I had to skip some booths because I literally couldn’t pry myself in there. That’s kinda on me though.
All told, I think it’s time for Revelry to look for a larger venue. I know the Basilica is iconic for the Revelry brand but I think it’s hit a point where it’s outgrown it. In order to have the separate staging of tickets not in the way of the event, the parking closer, and more space for booths and attendees, I think it might be time to look to a bigger venue for the event. But that’s just me. I love the Basilica but I think they’ve definitely grown to the point where it’s no longer feasible to cram all that goodness into that event space.
OCM and METRC
I would be remiss in not talking about the decisions of the OCM and, subsequently, the METRC system of the event. To wit, I don’t go to these events for samples. I really don’t. I go to talk to vendors and get their story, learn their style and angle, and get to know the many faces of the cannabis community. But the samples this time around were a struggle for many. Approximately a week before the show, guidance came down from the OCM on who was allowed to get samples and that was solely people with the Buyer’s ticket. No other people could get samples and, truth be told, I got nothing. No sirree. Absolutely not a single sample whatsoever. But it begs the question as to why they did this in the first place. I know it necessitated quite a bit of extra work for a LOT of vendors as they recommended (strongly, under the OCM’s guidance I’m assuming) that vendors take down the NAME AND LICENSE NUMBER OF ANYONE THEY GAVE SAMPLES TO AT THE EVENT. That’s insane. There had to have been a thousand people there at the height and to expect vendors to take the time to chart that information just to appease METRC is kind of astronomical. Also, I can’t figure out why they did it. I know that, in New York, you are allowed to give a gift of cannabis as long as nothing is expected in return. This has been explained to me by a few people in the industry as prohibiting giving samples to press/industry people as the expectation of a review is considered “something in return”, therefor forbidden. However, if you think about this logically, isn’t giving a sample with the expectation of getting a sale “something in return” as well? I just wish the OCM would be consistent with their rulings and ease the burden of documenting every license number and dispensary name off of the vendors. It’s not fair, it’s a lot of work, and it slows things down immensely when you’re trying to make sales. Don’t get it twisted, I’m -not- bitter I didn’t get any samples. I don’t care. I buy pretty much all my cannabis anyway and I’m damn happy to do so because I like supporting the industry. I just want OCM to clean up their act, be consistent, and remove unnecessary burdens from those already burdened enough by the implementation of the METRC system as it is.
Special Shoutouts
MFNY: I managed to take up a lot of time at the MFNY booth and I sincerely apologize for that because it was at the height of the show and I just…had questions. The co-founder and Head of Brand and Culture Natalia Kaminskaya was obscenely kind to me and took me through the ethos of MFNY and their line of products for, like, 15 minutes when she could have been making sales. It was wonderful to meet her and finally get the skinny on a brand I’ve seen a lot of but hadn’t really known about. It’s all vertically integrated, high purity, specifically chosen genetics at a reasonable price. Like, literally one of their vapes goes for about $17.99. That’s insane. Thank you, Natalia, for walking me through MFNY and putting up with me.
Dark Heart: Under the Curaleaf name, I originally found out about this brand via social media and a crazy cool dinner they did down in NYC. I, once again, took up too much of THEIR time as well, asking questions about their stuff because something about it fascinated me. I talked to Jeremy for another good 15 minutes at the height of the show and, once again, he was kind enough to walk me through things. Apparently it’s mostly Cali genetics coming into NY (which I’m not sure how I feel about but I’ll work on that), with the Blackend Blue strain being the crowd favorite. Interesting flower, interesting graphics and packaging, and overall just an engaging brand.
Breakfast Connections: I love Paul so much. He’s a great guy, does amazing sandwich reviews, and has some pretty damn good cannabis for a reasonable price. He just rolled out bagged flower, coming in at a STAGGERINGLY low wholesale price, so I’m kinda enthused for that to hit shelves. It’s a workhorse cannabis that I really like and tend to smoke quite a bit of because it’s priced well and is widely available. Also, I may be on his podcast this summer. So that’ll be cool. Keep doing those sandwich reviews, Paul. And make those Breakfast Connections sweatsuits in big boy sizes. I’d wear one in a heartbeat. My Italian ass would love it.
Jetty/Wana/The Botanist: Unfortunately, I got to this booth pretty late this year and the people I wanted to see either weren’t there at the booth or weren’t there at all. I had a chance to chat with Zach afterwards and big things may be coming from this brand that I won’t share yet but will be infinitely cool if it can be pulled it off. I know they rebranded their Botanist lineup to new packaging not too long ago but they didn’t seem to have anything else new that I could find but if that changes, I’ll update this.
Supernaturals NY: Ran into Beck at Supernaturals again. Nothing new on the agenda, I don’t think, but it was always nice to see her. I’ve got a few products of theirs I’ve bought that I need to review, including their Lavender Rose Spliff. Looking forward to that one. Cheers for talking to me and sorry that my disability aide scared you by eating a habanero gummy. Mea culpa. Also, thank you so much for the hat when we met in…February? It was so cozy during the winter.
Level: I was kind of intrigued by these folks. Offering cannabis as a pill is a bold move but I kinda like it. Truth be told, I’m a pill guy. I take fistfuls of pills morning, noon, and night to deal with my variety of problems…so why not with cannabis too? Sure, it doesn’t have the allure of sparking up a big ol’ doink or ripping a fat vape but sometimes you just CAN’T do that. But with these, I could slip them into a pill container and none would be the wiser. It comes in a variety of therapeutic doses/effects, from sleep to energy, all balanced and tailored to fit your needs. It won’t replace cannabis in it’s other forms for me, but it would be a nice addition for spaces where cannabis consumption is…frowned upon…and I need something to get me through the pain/anxiety.
Revert Cannabis: I’ve talked to Revert a bunch of times and this time was no different. They were debuting a new bar edible at the show, a 10 piece pre-sectioned bar with 10mg in each piece. I tried an uninfused version in Blue Raspberry and it was pretty tasty but I’m partial to Blue Raspberry. I really need to get on trying their flower, though, so this is a good reminder for me to hunt some down.
Nanticoke: (POST AMENDED: 1:50PM) Spoke to Allan at Nanticoke which was awesome. I first ran into him at the first Revelry and he was just doing confectionaries kitchen then. I then ran into him at the SECOND Revelry and he was doing sales then. Apparently he’s good at his job because when I ran into him a third time, he was working in marketing. I love the glow up. They had a few things new and some coming out. The 5 Boro, which I’ve detailed before, has a new blunt coming out that’s a damn cannon. Nanticoke has new edibles, along with pre-ground flower that’s doing gangbusters for them, with concentrates on the way. I like their stuff. Alibi came out with a solventless live-rosin 1g pre-roll in indica, sativa, and hybrid. Anyway, the 5 Boro is solid stuff, Nanticoke is solid stuff, it’s consistent, and it’s got a decent price range. Love seeing them grow and the team grow, too. Also, 5 Boro is one of the few brands that do dimebags and I’m…so into that.
The End
So yeah, that’s what I got for Revelry Spring 2026. It was a doozy of a show and my crippled ass barely made it through the show but I made it and it only made me bedridden for two days so yay! Totally worth it. Again, I cannot say enough good things about Revelry, the clientele, and crowds it brings to whatever space it occupies. They clearly care. They like small growers (I missed out on the Micro Grower Showcase, along with a LOT of other booths because my body just GAVE out at the end). They give a shit about the culture and the product. I love going to them and every single time I’ve been granted press passes I’ve cried just a little bit because it’s so monumental for me. Not monumental in the sense of “I’m a big shot” but it really buoys me and reaffirms what I’m doing with this website. I cannot thank the team at Revelry enough, ESPECIALLY Zoe Wilder who has put up with me three times now and continues to subject herself to my annoyance. Bless you, Zoe, and bless you, Revelry team. Without you, this show wouldn’t exist and your hard work really shows. So hopefully tune in next time for the next Revelry down in NYC in September and, until then, smoke something nice for me, will ya?
-Bacchus
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