Pubdate: Fri, 02 May 2014
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Press
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388

ORCHESTRA TEAMS WITH POT INDUSTRY FOR SERIES

DENVER (AP) - The Colorado Symphony Orchestra said this week it will 
play a series of "cannabis-friendly" fundraising concerts sponsored 
by the state's burgeoning pot industry.

The state's only fulltime professional orchestra hopes the unusual 
shows dubbed "Classically Cannabis: The High Note Series" will boost 
its audience as it struggles with dwindling attendance and shrinking budgets.

"The cannabis industry obviously opens the door even further to a 
younger, more diverse audience," symphony CEO Jerome Kern told the 
Associated Press.

In return for sponsorship, marijuana-related companies get "the 
legitimacy of being associated with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra." he said.

The event, however, is strictly BYOC - bring your own cannabis, 
according to an events listing on the symphony website that says pot 
will not be sold.

Richard Yost of Ideal 420 Soil, a New Hampshire company that sells 
soil and other cultivation products to marijuana growers, sees 
sponsoring the concerts as a chance to link his company to one of the 
best orchestras in the nation and to make the point that pot 
consumers can be clean-cut and sophisticated.

"You can be intelligent and savvy and enjoy cannabis as well," said 
Yost, adding that he plays Mozart while he works on business plans.

Another sponsor, Jan Cole, said her Boulder-based pot retailer the 
Farm has helped fund arts events in her hometown and a concert by 
Ziggy Marley in Denver. She said she hoped for a long-term 
association with the symphony, because its audience was "our crowd .. 
people who like art and music and alternative products."

Judith Inman, a member of a volunteer guild that has organized balls 
and other more traditional classical music fundraisers in Denver, has 
reservations about the marijuana mash-up.

"I know that the symphony needs new sponsors, and they are trying to 
go after a younger group," she said. "I just don't think this is the 
way to go about it."

Retail marijuana sales have been legal in Colorado since January, but 
there have been concerns about the safety and packaging of edible 
marijuana products.

Still, poll results released Monday showed 52 percent of Coloradans 
think marijuana legalization has been beneficial, and 67 percent 
disagree with the sentiment that it has eroded the moral fiber of 
people in the state.

Kern said he has heard complaints from at least one musician and from 
symphony supporters about the upcoming concerts.

The first three shows will feature small ensembles of symphony 
players at a downtown Denver gallery. The series culminates with a 
concert at Red Rocks, an amphitheater outside Denver where the 
symphony and pop and rock groups play.

Jane West, whose Edible Events Co. is organizing the series, said 
concertgoers will be able to smoke pot in a separate area at the 
gallery. Guests must be at least 21 and purchase $75 tickets in advance.

"We try to create upscale events where people can come and enjoy some 
cannabis just like they would a glass of wine," West said.

For the final show at Red Rocks, which is owned by the city and 
county of Denver, organizers intend to follow rules dictated by 
police, West said.

Smoking pot at the famed venue is officially banned, though that was 
flouted long before recreational marijuana became legal.

Another series of symphony events restricted to the 21-and-up crowd 
is "Beethoven and Brews," which brings musicians to a trendy downtown 
hotel bar to play as local breweries offer tastings.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom