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ESSEX JUNCTION — Magic Mann is a cannabis dispensary located east of Burlington in Essex, and to celebrate its fifth birthday on April 20, the store plans on hosting a magical day of celebrations.
Meredith Mann is the CEO, owner and founder of Magic Mann. She opened up her operation five years ago on April 20, symbolically coinciding with the well-known cannabis day. This year’s celebration marks her “fifth birthday.”
For Mann, 4/20 marks not only her store’s birthday but is also a celebratory event to commemorate a special day. She says that she has been throwing 4/20 events for longer than five years, but events have been possible with the state’s legalization of the recreational use of cannabis in recent years.
“This is our fifth birthday. For us and the cannabis community the day is extremely important. We want to bring as many people as we can to celebrate the day. Every year, we try to do things a little bit differently, but as the industry has grown, things have evolved, and so has our event, which is really fun to see,” said Mann.
Mann credits her tight-knit community to her location. She says her plaza is a “heavily interwoven symbiotic relationship.”
“We wanted to put on an event that included everything local to our community. We wanted to involve the other businesses around us as well, not just cultivators. This year we have 12 cultivators who will be in attendance to spend the day with us and show their products on an age-gated section of the green. Everything is in accordance with CCB regulations. We want people to be able to learn about products, see them, and ask questions. We want to support as many people in the community as we can,” said Mann.
“We wanted to create a good, educational, safe space for customers to come and learn and for our cannabis community members to get face time in with their retailers.”
The event will support local charities
Mann says that her event will benefit two charities. One of which is the Magic Mann Global Indigenous Fund.
“The fund is always a huge part of our event. We raise money for our local indigenous communities and local food sustainability issues. We give regularly to Abenaki Helping Abenaki, among other charity groups. What I will say about it is that we have raised $70,000 to date. Last year on 4/20, our cannabis community, cultivators, and manufacturers raised $10,000 to create a grant. We look forward to using the money to support the fund this year, too,” said Mann.
From noon to 4 p.m., the event will feature the 12 cultivators on the “green,” a section of lawn in the plaza at their location at 21 Essex Way, Suite 216, in Essex Junction.
Concerts in the Essex Cinemas
After 4 p.m. the party will move into Essex Cinemas.
“From there, we will have a DJ and be inviting people back into the lounge in The Double E Performance Center. People can bring their takeout in and hang out. There’s all sorts of stuff to do in the plaza. At 7 p.m. the music will start. We have the Pleasant Boys playing they are one of the best in Burlington right now. One of our budtenders, Adam, is a lead singer in the band, too.”
The concert will be held in the “T-Rex” which is the largest movie theater screen in the state. It boasts a 60-foot curved screen, 18 amplifiers, 124 speakers and a 10,400 watt Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound System.
“From there, we will move to the band Dobbs’ Dead. It’s a really funky female Grateful Dead tribute gig. There will be a really cool transition from the two bands, too,” added Mann.
“Our finale, at 10:30 p.m., will be our greatest hit. We are going to be the first ever to livestream an event from The Sphere in Las Vegas. We will be livestreaming Phish, the band’s 4/20 concert. We had to work on this one for a while. It was a big deal to figure out the live stream. Magic Mann will be open until midnight after the show.”
Every event starting after 4 p.m. will benefit the WaterWheel Foundation, a non-profit organization created by the rock band Phish, originally from Burlington.
“The WaterWheel Foundation is the band’s non-profit. They basically support other non-profits, and they do a lot of stuff locally. They support environmental organizations and other non-profits that have missions they align with. They just signed a big grant for an ocean clean-up project. But we like their dedication to our local community even though they are a big band,” said Mann.
For Stacey Steinmetz, Magic Mann’s marketer, the event will be one that helps locals learn about cannabis.
“We are going to make sure there is a relaxed environment. A lot of people are new to cannabis. Some might not want to walk into a dispensary, but this is a great opportunity for people to ask questions and learn,” said Steinmetz. “We take great pride that our budtenders are knowledgeable about cannabis to help people, but there are still people who are uncomfortable coming into a dispensary.”
Steinmetz also said there would be raffles, food, movies, and “a little something for everyone at the event.”
Last year Mann says she saw 1,000 people celebrate the event. She hopes to see similar numbers this year. The theater can accommodate roughly 500 people and inside tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/420-experience-tickets-876103598447?aff=oddtdtcreator. All ticket proceeds will be donated to The WaterWheel Foundation.
