2015 UP Growers Conference and Growers Cup

Cloverland Provisioning Center wins first-ever UPGC Cup with Cindy 99

The first annual Upper Peninsula Growers Conference and Growers Cup was held in Daggett, MI on the June 20, 2015. General Admission tickets cost ten dollars and VIP passes were sold for a hundred bucks. The overall winner of the event was a Cindy 99 entry by the Cloverland Provisioning Center.

Mike from UPGC Labs kindly flew me out to act as Master of Ceremonies for the event. While I have had the pleasure of visiting the folks down in the Detroit area a handful a times, and I have even taught a class in Flint, this was my first visit 'above the bridge.' I found the people to be friendly, the pasties tasty and the scenery beautiful (I also found the mosquitoes annoying, but I am not one to complain too much).

The event was held at Hooligan Bob's and was sponsored by UPGC Labs. Four main areas comprised the event: the conference tent, the vendor tents, Uncle Bob's (no relation to Hooligan Bob) Pigs R Us food truck and the music stage.

The ticket price included access to a three-hour gardening class taught by Grassroots University. Also in attendance were Detroit Nutrients and Organibliss, who each gave a later seminar on organics. Yours truly helped to fill in empty spaces - such as when the starting speaker showed up a half-hour late - by answering growing questions from the audience.

Vendors included representatives for smoking supplies, seeds, a dispensary, a masseur and others, and a glassware and lampworking demo was also on offer.

A friendly, citizen-owned drone soared overhead, taking pictures and video, before being grounded by a light drizzle and equipment issues.

The emphasis of the event was on traditional buds, rather than concentrates. Overall, I found the local weed to be excellent, with flavors in the area tending more towards earthy and spicy than rocket fuel-ish or sharp citrus. One nice side-effect of the emphasis on flowers was the conspicuous lack of medical personnel treating overindulgent dabbers, a sight that is unfortunately seen at so many contemporary events. While there was plenty of Cannabis consumed, the crowd was by-and-large well behaved and mellow (and became even mellower as the day went on).

Sometimes, when you judge for a competition, you have days to leisurely decide which sample is your favorite; however, I have found more often that it is safer to assume that you will be tasting the day of the event.

When faced with a large number of samples, it is best to pace yourself. I have seen many first-time judges smoke an entire sample, take copious notes about that sample, and then move on to the next sample. They usually make it though a handful of samples and then end up taking a nap. By the time they make it to the last sample - if they make it that far - they cannot remember the first one from the last, and their judgment is clouded by trying to power through multiple samples.

Instead, I suggest that you taste all the samples first, but just take a small hit or two of each. Some people actually roll up each sample but delay lighting them in lieu of observing the flavor of the weed by inhaling through each unlit joint. Do not be picky about the nuances of judging, just have enough to get a first impression. From that impression, put the rest of the sample into one of three categories: 'I like it,' 'it is okay' or 'I don't like it.' Try all the samples and do your best to keep the three categories roughly even, placing a third of the samples into each.

Eliminate the samples in the 'I don't like it' pile. Trade it, give it away, put it aside or whatever; you are done with them. This may sound harsh, but on a short deadline you cannot afford to use up valuable tolerance and time on anything that you cannot immediately identify as at least being average to the group.

Put aside the 'okay' pile. You may want to dip back into this pile later, if time allows.

Concentrate on the 'I like it pile' which should comprise a third or less of the original set, and offer a more reasonable number to work with.

Then try a couple hits from each sample in the 'like' pile. Try to identify them again by thirds or so, and begin watching for your top three or four. Make an 'I like it' pile, an 'I really like it pile' and an 'I really, really like it and it should at least place' pile.

From this point, take a close look at the latter, best-quality selections, make your choices and take detailed notes - hopefully with enough tolerance left to make intelligent choices.

Awards were given for the top three in each of the following categories:
THC lab results, supplied by UPGC Labs
Judges' Choice, awarded by the judges' votes
People's Choice, chosen by the VIPs

Then, the results from each were combined to select the overall winners.

The highest THC awards went to Chicago Sour, El Alquimista and Cindy 99. The judges preferred El Alquimista, Cindy 99 and Headband (my favorites were El Alquimista, Headband and a Super Lemon Haze that wound up not placing in the judges' section). The VIPs liked Cindy 99, Headband and the Super Lemon Haze the best.

The overall winners were Cindy 99 in first place, Headband in second and El Alquimista in third. The judging was very close, with only a point or two separating some of the scores (I know, as I helped to add them up).

The event's band Anything Under the Sun was not only good, but post-twenties-friendly, which I appreciated. Rumor has it they may be back next year.

During cleanup, I was impressed with how little litter was strewn about after the event. I think that that not only speaks highly of the quality of attendees, but absolutely deserves a shout out in this article.

This was the first installment of a new annual event, and presented a couple of opportunities for learning experiences (a.k.a., mishaps), but overall the 2015 UP Growers Conference and Growers Cup seemed to go smoothly, at least from my perspective. I have been to bigger expos, but to be honest I usually have more fun at the smaller, local events with hundreds of people than I do attending the huge, crowded mega shows with their thousands of attendees. I have already agreed to be at this Michigan event again next year, and I am looking forward to it.