Hall of Flowers got its start in 2018 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, California. The idea was simple: put licensed cannabis brands in the same room as the dispensary buyers who decide what ends up on shelves, and give those buyers a chance to try the products for themselves. If you’ve ever wondered how a gummy goes from a brand you’ve never heard of to a fixture at your local dispensary, this is where some of those first conversations happen.
When Hall of Flowers made its New York City debut in 2025, it was something of a homecoming. The team behind the show had spent more than a decade producing fashion trade shows in New York before launching Hall of Flowers. HOF is our favorite cannabis trade show, and this year’s NYC edition felt bigger than ever. You can tell the team put a whole lot of intention and care and their love of the plant is palpable.
We went in with the usual plan: catch up with the brands we already love, make a few introductions, and leave enough time to wander. The wandering, as usual, was where the good stuff happened. Here’s some of our favorite highlights from our favorite cannabis trade show.
Peculiar Pastries had us in a chokehold 🍪
We’d love to tell you we approached the Peculiar Pastries booth with the measured restraint of seasoned editors, but who can resist a baked edible? A lot of things compete for your attention at a cannabis trade show. The fact that we were still talking about a cookie after we’d moved on tells you exactly how well Peculiar Pastries played it. If you saw us circling back for seconds, no you didn’t.
Minny Grown gave us more reasons to love its gummies 🌱
Seeing Minny Grown felt like running into a friend you’d hoped would be there. The brand is already a High Herstory favorite, so we were especially happy to get a closer look at its gummies and see just how many flavors there are. There’s a particular kind of indecision that sets in when you’re looking at a full gummy lineup and every new flavor sounds like the one you’d pick. We came over to say hi and were greeted so warmly by their staff, it truly makes such a difference when brands are genuinely excited to talk about their products and treat attendees like buds.
Celestial Cannabis Puts Your Zodiac Sign in the Rotation ✨
Celestial Cannabis Aries Pre-Roll at Hall of Flowers NYC
One of us is a Libra, the other’s a Scorpio, and Hall of Flowers NYC fell right at the tail end of Libra season, with Scorpio season practically at the door. So naturally, a New York City cannabis collective making zodiac-inspired blends caught our eye. We’ll spare you the full birth chart, but we did get the Aries strain pre-roll to try and we have to say that since it’s both of our north nodes we were delighted and knew the stars were aligning.
The outdoor space was worth stepping away from the show floor ☀️
Bong Water + Tacos = Happy Stoners
The outdoor setup might have been our favorite thing Hall of Flowers did this year. There were gorgeous spaces to sit and enjoy the plant, plenty of food trucks, and free coffee from Deploy Coffee. Having a place to step outside and settle in made the whole day feel less like a sprint. You could pick up a conversation that started in a crowded aisle, get something to eat, and actually hear the person you were talking to. Whoever decided to put good coffee within reach of a room full of people on their fourth hour of networking understood the assignment.
It changed the rhythm of the day, too. A conversation that starts in a crowded aisle can actually go somewhere when there’s a place to sit, eat, and hear each other. And free coffee when your social battery is at 12 percent? Excellent event planning.
Vacation and Jungle Gurl are new on our radar 🏝️
Vacation and Jungle Gurl were two of our favorite introductions. There’s only so much you can tell about a brand from seeing it pop up on your phone. Meeting people on the floor gives you a chance to ask what they’re excited about and hear how they talk about what they’re building. We left curious about what both brands will do next, which is about the highest compliment we can give after a day that introduced us to more names than we could possibly remember.
Jungle Girl was one of our favorite new cannabis brands to meet at Hall of Flowers NYC, and the brand is already making its way onto New York dispensary menus. We spotted its Harmonious pre-roll five-pack on a city menu and the brand listed at Say Less in the Bronx. They also offer 1G pre-rolls that give you the effects rather than just the kind of strain. We loved meeting the powerhouse woman behind the brand as well. This is one cannabis brand that has obvious staying power.
Vacation 10MG Strawberry Gummies
Vacation was another new-to-us name at Hall of Flowers NYC, and we left curious to see what the brand does next in New York. We first met them on the show floor, and their products are already turning up on New York dispensary menus. In a room full of brands vying for our attention, Vacation was one we remembered after the coffee wore off. They are new to the NY recreational cannabis market so be sure to keep an eye out, but we did find them in Massachusetts if you are there.
The merch was good enough to wear home 👚
Vangst Cannabis Staffing “Proud to Work in Cannabis” T-Shirt
The brands also stepped it up with clothes we’d actually wear. Anyone who’s ever quietly reassigned a trade show tee to pajama duty knows that’s saying something. We appreciated how many booths offered non-infused samples, too. Getting to taste our way around the show without having to do edible math made it easier to try more things and pay attention to how they actually tasted.
Visine Queen and the editors of High Herstory at Hall of Flowers
And yes, running into Visine Queen, Miss Grass’s brand ambassador, was a huge highlight for us. There’s always a point at Hall of Flowers when you turn a corner and see someone you’re genuinely delighted to run into. This was ours. If you’ve been in the NY and NJ cannabis space for awhile you know there is no substitute for authenticity. The city thrives on true community and connection and we hope that brands and trade shows alike will keep that in mind as the cannabis industry moves forward.
A little side-eye, a lot to love 🗽
And of course, there was a little drama. One media sponsorship choice got some side-eye from the New York crowd, if you know, you know. But all in all we spent a lot more of the day talking about what people were making, what they were excited to share, and where we were all headed for the after parties.
That mix of familiar faces and new discoveries is what keeps us coming back to Hall of Flowers NYC. If this year’s show is any indication, we’ll be leaving even more room in the schedule to wander next time. We already have a feeling next year will be even better. In the meantime, if you need us, we’re thinking about those cookies.
Be sure to be added to Hall of Flower’s Email list to get the invite to their future events.