This summer, a first-of-its-kind consumer cannabis brand educational expo will be held in St. Louis, presenting an opportunity for the general public to learn about the region’s medical cannabis products. You do not have to be a registered Missouri medical marijuana patient to attend this event. In fact, it will be a great place to get a new certification or renewal. There will be providers onsite offering a limited number of free certifications as well.
BLAZE is a two-day event that includes celebrity-led cooking demonstrations, educational breakout sessions, live artists with glass blowing on site, and networking opportunities, including a mixer on the expo floor on day two and The Grand Hall After Party, designed for patients and consumers.
A trio of celebrity chefs will star on stage at BLAZE, featuring Chef Derek Upton, Chef Mike Delo, and Chef Chris Martin at the historic Union Station in St. Louis. The celebrity chefs specialize in cooking with cannabis and have won awards and fame through cooking competitions and culinary shows produced by Netflix, The Food Network and ALTRD TV. Each chef will host multiple tantalizing cooking demonstrations, and will make other special appearances on the expo floor.
About BLAZE Celebrity Cannabis Chefs
Left to Right, to Bottom Right: Celebrity cannabis chefs star at Blaze: a consumer cannabis products expo held in St. Louis at Historic Union Station, June 3 and 4. Stars scheduled to appear include left, Chef Chris Martin, right, Chef Derek Upton, and bottom right, Chef Mike Delao.
Chef Derek Upton is a private chef and star of the Netflix original program, Cooked with Cannabis, and The Food Network’s famed foodie competition series, Chopped. Chef Derek advances the cannabis food movement as an in-demand private chef hired to produce award-winning infused dining experiences, and a frequent talent featured on television news programs and in lifestyle magazines. Upton has been named among Phoenix’ best private chefs. www.chefderekaz.com
Chef Chris Martin has been innovating in infused foods for almost 15 years, becoming founder of one of the first edible companies, Zonka Chocolates. He is also the founder and CEO of Hempful Farms–a line of CBD products and multi-store retail and cafe concept in Arizona. Chef Martin is respected for his origin story. As a Kansas youngster, Martin vacillated between living in foster group homes and on the streets. He then became a victim of the war on drugs, arrested and imprisoned for almost a decade. Due to these foundational experiences, the cannabis culinary entrepreneur devotes his efforts to helping end cannabis prohibition. www.hempfulfarms.com
Chef Mike Delao is a two-time winner of Netflix’s cannabis cooking competition, “Cooking on High,” after having been the first chef to cook with cannabis on nationally syndicated television, Cannabis Planet. The weekly cannabis advocacy program debuted in 2009. Chef Mike remains the Cannabis Planet resident chef a decade later, and the executive chef at ChefMike420. Chef Mike’s pioneering work has been featured nationally on CNN, ABC World News, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Chef Mike, whose culinary training began in Southern California, is also a contributor to “The High Times Cannabis Cookbook” and “The Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook.” www.ChefMike420.com
About the Cannabis Company Participants
In addition to featuring edutainment by celebrity chefs, the expo will bring together regional cannabis companies to showcase and educate people on the consumer products being produced locally, and able to be purchased at the region’s licensed cannabis dispensaries. Expo producers expect over 75 cannabis company exhibitors. Cannabis products displayed at the expo will be legally compliant, non-dosed samples and mock examples. The product packaging on display will be exact to the items sold at the region’s dispensaries. Each cannabis company will have trained staff available to orient and educate attendees one-on-one, as well. Some of the cannabis companies and brands confirmed to be at Blaze include:
- C3 Industries’ Cloud Cover consumer brand and High Profile retail shops
- C4 Pharm: Carroll County Cannabis Company
- The Clear Concentrates from COCO Labs
- Double Bear Concentrates from Terrapin
- Float Cannabis, a downtown St. Louis cannabis-infused products company
- Flora Farms Cannabis
- Glaze Cannabis from C4 and Clovr Cannabis
- Illicit Gardens Premium Cannabis brands
- Rove Brands, a California brand now in Oklahoma and Missouri
Workshops specifically designed for patients and consumers will feature topics such as How to Make Edibles, Making Topicals at Home, and an Ask A Nurse session featuring a panel of nurses and other medical professionals who can answer patient questions about cannabis as medicine.
BLAZE Missouri Brand Expo is produced by Imaginarium Enterprises. Imaginarium’s Founder and CEO, Karin Spinks-Chester, said she’s designed the Blaze experience so that attendees will feel comfortable exploring and learning no matter their prior familiarity shopping for cannabis at a retail dispensary.
Attendees must be 18 years old or older to attend, and there will not be any cannabis sold or consumed at the event. Attendee tickets begin at $50 and can be purchased at BlazeMissouri.com. Share this article on Facebook or LinkedIn using #BlazeMissouri22 for a chance to win a FREE Expo Pass to the event.
