Kush.com- KushCon Tampa Florida- a Florida First! Hear from KushCon Organizers
Tampa Bay sits on the west coast of Florida, along the Gulf Coast, which is shared with Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico. Tampa Bay metro includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater; towns and villages include Brandon, Largo, and New Port Richey, to name a few. And this year, Kush.com is bringing KushCon to the area!
On August 6 and 7, the Tampa Convention Center will be full of cannabis/hemp businesses, educators, and people who want to learn all about the Florida cannabis industry, and cannabis in general. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to browse over 150 booths, network with the industry, and learn from the pros.
Not only that, I’ll be in the building covering the event and featuring various business owners with the Flavors of Florida, an all-black/brown woman media team put together by me- to help capture and feature the diversity of Florida. Catch us at booth 330 and walking the expo floor. Biz owners, please make the stop to register for a chance to win a cannabis business owner care package.
I had a chat with KushCon organizers/ marketing team about this Florida first. Learn more from them below.
This is the first Kushcon in Florida; why this year?
“This is the first-ever KushCon, but not our first trade show. We are building on the last nine years hosting the Oregon Hemp Convention and the last two hosting the Texas Hemp Convention.
Coming out of COVID, we wanted to rethink our events, their priorities, and how to create the most accessible educational conference possible. With that in mind, we branded our events as KushCon and saw Florida as an obvious place to launch for a couple of reasons.
For one, Florida is a state where medical cannabis is legal and where there is a lack of education and resources for the general public. On top of that, growth of the industry in Florida is exploding, and we saw it as a great opportunity to help accelerate the growth of the industry.”
Why Tampa?
“Kush.com recently acquired Trade Craft Origin and opened a second headquarters in Tampa, Florida! This made it a logical choice after deciding on Florida.”
Unlike many cannabis events- the speaker list is diverse- was this intentional?
“Yes! As the CMO of Kush.com and a longtime advocate of the plant, I am all too familiar with how white-washed and male-driven our industry is. While Kush.com is working to increase the diversity of our team, I saw it as our responsibility to amplify the voices of women and people of color.
We’ve partnered with a number of nonprofits and industry leaders to further this reach and hope to welcome all those interested in cannabis and hemp to our event!”
The future is cannabis, are children welcomed?
“Unfortunately, the Tampa Convention Center has asked that we limit attendance to only those who are 21+. That said, Kush.com has previously always welcomed attendees of all ages as we believe that the benefits of this plant reach much further than the psychoactive substances that are highlighted in pop culture.”
See you all at the Tampa Bay Convention Center Aug 6 and 7! Don’t forget to visit the Traveling Vegan Cannabis Writer booth- 330 to say hi to the Flavors of Florida, to tell us about your company/brand, and to sign up for the business owner care package giveaway.
For businesses considering sponsorship opportunities, we have them! Reach out to hear about them today.
Veronica Castillo is known as the Traveling Cannabis Writer. Her body of work includes educational and informative insights on cannabis and various plant medicines, and she travels the country to provide insight on cannabis friendly travel. She is a collaborator, connector, content creator, and traveler that specialized in bringing to light the hidden gems in the plant space. Follow her journey: #travelingcannabiswriter.