HOLY SH*T WE FREAKING WON 420! At least that’s what it feels like after our last attempt at celebrating 4/20 was crushed by a global pandemic. We also learned this time around that events were getting shut down across the state and we managed to prevail. Wow. What started as a humble way to honor growers, soon escalated to a full on EPIC 420!
THE OG INVITATIONAL Flower Cup was started when the OG Empire trade group approached us with a concept to bring craft growers together to help share resources and gain influence through solidarity. We came up with a cup concept that would get cash into the growers’ hands and provide market feedback from buyers as a first step. Jim Davis, founder of OG Empire and myself have about 60 years of combined experience in the cannabis space. We know folks, we’ve shared good meals and hard times with the best of the best. So we compiled a list of 30 Oregon Rec farms that we noticed throughout the years who work hard and give back. Most were chosen by us and a few were nominated by dispensary partners to invite to compete. Only a third were brave enough to compete in this exclusive cup’s inaugural year.
ALL ABOUT THE FLOWER, the OG Invitational Flower Cup is a no category, flower only, run what you’ve got in the vault right now because you’re only as good as your last harvest kind of contest. No show ponies. No BS ego. In a space that has been overrun with buying for THC percentage and bag appeal instead of the terpene profile and how true the effects are to the genetics, we wanted to level the playing field. It didn’t matter if you were indoor or outdoor, if you used salts or living soil, every sample was judged blind by intake managers across the state of Oregon. The judges didn’t know the strains, farm names, or any details about the grow or lab results.
The competitors were in the running for some cold hard cash, $1000 for the winner, $500 for second place, and $250 for third. Plus the winner took home A CUP WITH SOME F*CKING VALOR. We designed a legacy trophy featuring Godzilla gripping the OG Empire crest topping an epic ceramic base that will collect the names of whoever holds the title. This is a true honor, not only representing that you’ve grown the best flower in a class above the rest, it shows your dedication to the plant, sustainability in business, and impact in the community at large. A bonus detail is that everyone who competed was given their score card with their strain evaluations and market feedback on the flower sample and grow. Initially we were shocked that this isn’t provided at every cup and then we realized that not very many cups are transparent and a lot are a corrupt popularity contest. In an effort to bring more transparency and higher quality to this industry, we encourage folks who compete in cups to DEMAND YOUR SCORE CARD. This should just be the norm for competitions.
We felt so much love and support at the OG INVITATIONAL AWARDS & EPIC 420 PARTY! Seriously. Thank you everyone who was involved in making this event happen and help us support growers who operate with integrity and constantly strive to improve quality in their process and products. Congratulations to the winners, Trichome Farms with Super Boof 3rd, Stash Mountain with Obama Runtz 2nd, and the grand prize winner and legacy trophy holder State 3 with White Truffle. This competition was neck and neck between 16 strain entries, literally the best of the best were in this group and fought every day for a month for the title. Congratulations to all who participated! Get ready for next year!
Subscribe and tune into Cheechable LIVN May 18th to watch the OG Invitational Cup award show! Shout out Apis Labs, Zero Hour Grafix, and Cannabuzz Social who help keep our events compliant and super fun! Thank you to DFO, Rome Wood, Bio365, SnJ Group, The Caputo Group, GLOW, DeMarco's Sandwiches, Chip Brokaw, Melody Wright, Rupert Wild, and EPIC glass blowers, vendors and volunteers for making this a night to remember. Pictures by Ian Cogley and CC Chambliss can be found here. Please tag @cheechable_world @jimsbigdream @theoginvitationalcup #TheOGInvitationalCup2024 if you share and credit our photographers.
Strains listed by blind judging number, not placement in competition.