Pubdate: Sat, 02 Aug 2014
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press
Page: A1

POT GOES FOR BLUE RIBBONS AT GOOD OLD COUNTY FAIR

Denver Adds Pavilion for Marijuana, Goods

Joint-Rolling Competition

DENVER (AP) - Marijuana joined roses and dahlias Friday in blueribbon
events at the nation's first county fair to allow pot
competitions.

This weekend's Denver County Fair includes a 21-and-over "Pot
Pavilion" where winning entries for plants, bongs, edible treats and
clothes made from hemp are on display.

There is no real pot at the fairgrounds. Instead, fairgoers see photos
of the competing pot plants and marijuana-infused foods. A sign near
the entry warns patrons not to consume pot at the fair.

A speed joint-rolling contest uses oregano, not pot. The only real
stuff allowed at the event? Doritos, to be used in the munchie-eating
contest.

Organizers say the marijuana categories this year - which come with
the debut of legal recreational marijuana in Colorado - add a fun
twist to Denver's already quirky county fair, which includes a
drag-queen pageant and a contest for dioramas made with Peeps candies.

"We've been selling tickets to people from all over the world, and we
keep hearing they want to come see the pot," said Dana Cain, who
helped organize Denver County's first fair three years ago. This
year's event is expected to draw 20,000 people.

Judges considered only the quality of individual marijuana plants, not
potency or the merits of drugs produced by the plants.

"It's more like a rose competition than anything," said Russel Wise, a
pot grower who entered three plants and a marijuana-infused baklava
treat.

Other Colorado contests - patterned after Amsterdam's famed Cannabis
Cup - gauge drug quality and flavor.

Edible products did require tasting. A secret panel of judges sampled
brownies and other treats earlier at an undisclosed location.

"At first the judges were eating them all, but by the end they were
really feeling it, so they just tasted them and spit them out," Cain
said. "We offered them cabs home."

The winning brownie was made with walnuts and dark chocolate. Top
prize was $20 and a blue ribbon. The fair already has a green ribbon -
awarded for using environmentally conscious methods.

For the handmade-bong contest, three industry insiders judged 17
entries for craftsmanship, creativity - and functionality.

"It has to be something special, something you'd want to use," said
judge Robert Folse, who works at a pot dispensary as a "budtender,"
sort of a sommelier for marijuana.

It's too soon to say whether marijuana contests will spread to other
state fairs. Officials in Routt County, in western Colorado, voted
last year to ban marijuana from the county fair. Colorado State Fair
organizers have expressed no interest in marijuana
competition.

California holds an Emerald Cup at the fairgrounds in Sonoma County,
where guests with medical clearance are able to sample the drug. That
contest is held at the fairgrounds but isn't a part of the county fair.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt