The second staging of Rastafari Rootzfest™ will be held once again at the Long Bay Beach Park in global ganja capital Negril from December 9-11, 2016. The three day and night festival which opens at noon daily, will feature over 75 exhibitors and food vendors in the Ganja Expo and Rastafari Village, 12 ganja seminars including two growers workshops, Rastafari reasonings, acoustic performances, yoga, two nights of Reggae concerts and ending with the awards ceremony to announce the winners of the inaugural Ganjamaica Cup™.
Rastafari Rootzfest™ is the first, legally exempt ganja event in Jamaica and the festival’s management team, led by veteran ganja advocate Ras Iyah V, is working with a wide circle of strategic partners in the Rastafari, grassroots and cannabis fraternities to ensure the sustainable success of Rastafari Rootzfest as a strategic annual calendar event for Jamaica’s cannabis, tourism, wellness and entertainment industries.
Rastafari Rootzfest™ is approved by the Ministry of Justice and endorsed by the Negril Chamber of Commerce and the Westmoreland Hemp & Ganja Farmers Association (WHGFA). VIP travel packages go on sale September 23rd via the festival’s website and travel partner It’s420now with general tickets going on sale island-wide November 9th.
With only 8 weeks to plan and promote following the government’s amendment to Jamaica’s law and receipt of the Cabinet approved event license last year, the festival welcomed thousands of overseas and Jamaican patrons to Negril. The festival successfully hosted over 75 ganja and lifestyle exhibits, educational seminars, Rastafari reasonings and Reggae beach concerts as well as the ‘High Times Cannabis Cup™’ as part of the immersion experience.
This year the festival will launch its own ganja competition, the Ganjamaica Cup™, with island-wide submissions featuring the country’s best growers and indigenous plant strains to be judged by an expert panel, in an effort to support the building of Jamaica’s competitive advantage in the global cannabis economy. All Jamaican growers are invited to enter the Ganjamaica Cup™ by submitting a completed entry form available on the festival’s website www. rastafarirootzfest.com, paying the $10,000 entry fee per submission by December 2, 2016. The competition will judge submissions in ten categories with the top three winners for | Best Sativa | Best Indica | Best Hash | Best Hybrid | Best Oil | Best Innovation | Best Product. Three categories – People’s Choice | Best Booth | Best International Collaboration – are open to overseas growers who partner with Jamaican growers.
The annual festival platform has been established to assist in the development of Jamaica’s new green economy. The brand is focused on the mobilization, education and connection of Jamaica’s emerging legitimate Cannabis Industry, including the Rastafari, indigenous and grassroots communities, by providing networking opportunities to share best practices and increase access to the latest research as well as investment and educational opportunities. Strategic brand partners for Rastafari Rootzfest™ includes the festival’s International Education Partner and America’s first cannabis college, Oaksterdam University. Founded in 2007 to provide students with the highest quality training for the cannabis industry, the institution has an active faculty of over 150 professors and instructors who are recognized names in the cannabis industry.
Rastafari Rootzfest™ 2016 is positioned as a rallying call for individuals, organizations and communities from around the world who, like Rastafari, have been denied the free exercise of their rights, including sacramental rights and provides a harmonious platform for bridging that historical and contemporary gap. The lifestyle immersion festival was designed as an authentic cultural experience for Jamaicans and visitors to gain a deeper appreciation of indigenous Rastafari culture and Jamaica’s ganja and wellness legacy.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Bloom PR
Caroline Rustigian-Bruderer
caroline@bloomcannabisgroup.co m
Gaynell Rogers
gaynell@bloomcannabisgroup.com
