Scents of cannabis and sounds of hip-hop will fill Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park this weekend with the arrival of the first Spark in the Park music festival.
Staples of 90′s and 2000s hip-hop including Method Man and Redman and B-Real are slated to headline the festival, which takes place from 1 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11 in Riverside Park, located at 2 E. Cross St.
The lineup is rounded out with a range of hip-hop and rap artists, including the Ying Yang Twins, Detroiters Trick Trick and Good Money G100 and Ypsilanti native Kid Jay.
The event’s website boasts Spark in the Park is a two-day event serving as Michigan’s first major music festival under licensed adult-use sales and consumption, with extensive cannabis products available for sale, sample and tasting. Entrance to the event is limited to attendees 21 years of age or older.
As the festival is licensed as a cannabis temporary event, there will be no sales or consumption of alcohol allowed at the event.
The cannabis-friendly festival comes to Ypsilanti this summer after plans to launch it in metro Detroit’s Green Acres Park last summer were shut down by The Hazel Park City Council. Both the City of Ypsilanti and the State of Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency have granted organizers approval to host the event this year.
“Riverside Park has been absolutely tremendous with helping us get organized. They’ve had events of this size and caliber before,” festival organizer Andrew Wright said.
In addition to their mainstage, Wright has led efforts to set up a second, electronic dance music stage sponsored by his cannabis company Flash Flippin’.
Organizers have integrated electronic music in the lineup in hopes that it will attract the younger demographic, Wright said.
“This is really the first time any of these sorts of (cannabis-specific) festivals have had any sort of electronic music presence.”
Spark in the Park also will feature more than 30 cannabis vendors, with Michigan-based dispensary Doja as the main presenting sponsor and plenty of opportunities for festival attendees to meet those in Michigan’s cannabis industry.
“We wanted to bring back a ‘farmers market’ style of event sales where you can buy directly from the brand,” Wright said. “We have a Doja employee at every booth, so the brands that are able to sell directly to the consumers get feedback, talk to consumers without there being some sort of intermediary step.”
Ultimately, Spark in the Park is about joining cannabis aficionados with music aficionados in a laid back environment, Wright said.
“We want to give people a place to… kick back, relax, enjoy good music and smoke weed without being bothered or told ‘no’ or worrying there’s kids around. We wanted to give those people a chance. And there hasn’t been an event like this in the Detroit area yet…so we’re really excited to bring something like this to the greater Ann Arbor, Detroit area”
Each attendee is permitted to bring one blanket and one folding lawn chair to the festival. Coolers and outside food and drink are not permitted. A variety of food and drink vendors will be available inside the festival.
Ticket packages ranging from $35 to $340 are available online and will be available at the door. (Full Story)