Organizers of the third annual Royal Oak Taco Fest are expecting a bump in attendance this summer with more taco trucks, expanded family activities, and the event’s first cannabis sales and consumption area.
Event producer Jon Witz, who also runs the Arts, Beats and Eats festival in town, said JARS Cannabis will set up its offerings for adults in the parking lot behind the Rock on Third bar at Third and Williams streets.
“It’s an 1,800-square-foot area,” said Witz, who had the state’s largest event with marijuana use and sales at last year’s Arts, Beats and Eats. “There will be a limit of 200 people at a time. It’s a small, nice, tasteful touch that’s not going to overwhelm the event.”
With two days of rain at last year’s Taco Fest, attendance was 50,000 over the four days of the festival, which starts July 4. With some better weather and new attractions, attendance may climb to 60,000 or 65,000, Witz said.
Though there have been other events with cannabis use on site, they have been smaller and focused chiefly on marijuana use.
Taco Fest, following Arts, Beats and Eats, is only the second event statewide to blend cannabis use for adults into a large festival for all demographics, including families.
JARS Cannabis is spending an amount in the six figures to address issues such as ambient smoke and smells from marijuana smoke with large fans and filtration systems, Witz said.
“We are just showing again that you can safely integrate a family event with activities for adults into a mainstream special event, he said.”
Royal Oak’s City Commission voted 5-2 about two months in favor of allowing a controlled marijuana area at the Taco Fest.
The vote followed a review of the cannabis proposal by the city police department, JARS Cannabis has about 35 outlets in Michigan, Colorado and Arizona.
Raymond Abro, JARS Cannabis COO, said in a statement that the company’s exclusive cannabis retail sponsorship with Royal Oak Taco Fest proves “that the future of public events can safely … integrate with cannabis, setting a new standard for social events and gatherings everywhere.”
The sales and consumption area will be surrounded by fencing blocking any views at street level, and have a designated entrance and exit areas with security workers.
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