Green Street threw its first-ever Green Street Festival May 13-14th. Since last year, Green Street Agency has been building the hype for this one-of-a-kind festival that was originally meant to be a block party. Despite zoning issues, Green Street did a phenomenal job at securing another beautiful venue and keeping the energy flowing.
The festival took place in the Green Street Building, the Majestic Theatre, and the parking lot next to the Green Street Building. There were food trucks parked out front of the Green Street Building as well as food available inside the building. Whether it was on the rooftop of their building or in the astroturf-covered parking lot next door, there was always somewhere you could smoke.
Respect My Region had the pleasure of being a media partner for this inaugural event in the heart of Downtown LA. Alongside us were sponsors such as Beard Bros, High Rise, and even No Jumper. Combining their usual festivities within the Green Street Building with some incredible panels and live performances at the Majestic made for a memorable occasion. On both nights of the festival, we were able to see and speak with Gary Vaynerchuk and Harry Mack. We’ll dive into the full experience and how Green Street literally turned downtown LA into a stoner playground for two fun-filled days. Visit our YouTube to watch our festival vlog recap.
Day 1: An Evening With Gary Vee & Harry Mack
The first night of the Green Street Festival felt like a private affair, as guests were brought into their building downtown to smoke, eat, drink, network, and more. This felt like one of their many other gatherings at their home base with slightly bigger energy in the air. The penthouse floor was full of attendees blowing tree, chopping it up, and enjoying the ambiance of the live DJ. Eventually, Gary Vee came out to host the evening alongside rapper Harry Mack. Gary and Harry exchanged questions for a while about the music industry, entrepreneurialism, and the future of social media marketing.
Harry Mack eventually took over to freestyle rap using three random words chosen from the audience. Harry gave us an extended and intimate performance, unleashing a steady slew of flashy bars off the dome. Gary Vee then went over to the bubble hockey table (sponsored by Originals) to take on several challengers, only to remain undefeated. The Highest Host Adam Ill even tried his luck only to be met with defeat at the hands of Mr. Vaynerchuk.
Day 2: The Festival
On Saturday, the official Green Street Festival began. We came down an hour or two into the festivities to find a plethora of activities before us. We took the time to check out multiple floors of the Green Street building. Here we ran into some of our favorite brands with their booths set up. These included Rove, Kalya, Cam, and more. It’s also worth mentioning the creative activations that The Cure Company, Jungle Boys, and Originals have within the building. Originals definitely had a solid presence within the building on both days. Eventually, we had to go check out some of the entertainment at the Majestic Theatre. Here we ran into our good friends at Dulzé edibles, who had a charming booth on the enchanting mezzanine of the theatre. From this location, you had a birds-eye-view of the stage below.
In the Majestic, there were conversations between Gary Vee and Adam22 from No Jumper, as well as a Q&A with Gary where we were able to speak with him again. Later on, the creator of Super Troopers and Beerfest, Jay Chandrasekhar, took the stage for a panel highlighting his incredible career and relationship with weed. DāM-FunK and Harry Mack then took the stage a little bit later with Juicy J capping off the evening.
Photo by @capturecannabis IG
Takeaways
This was a very ambitious undertaking for the Green Street team, and many were skeptical that they could pull it off. We believe they did a great job with changing their venue situation around and rolling with the punches. There’s never been anything else like this in Downtown LA. They were able to bring in a diverse crowd of both cannabis industry members, consumers, and music fans.
The accessibility of Gary Vee during both days of the festival felt exclusive and intimate. Many attendees could be seen having their moment to speak with him. That felt special. The only drawback, it seemed, was having to maneuver between both locations. In coming years, we’re confident that they’ll hammer out the flow of attendees, activations, and performances from each location to the next.
Conclusion
For everything that it set out to be, the first Green Street Festival came across as something truly unique that you could only do in LA. We felt a kindred joy puffing J’s in the heart of DTLA (at our own risk) while walking between the Green Street Building and the Majestic. Our team got to get up close and personal with some key figures and serious legends in their own rites. It was an unforgettable experience and we can’t wait to see what Green Street might do next year. Thank you to their team for inviting us out and giving us free rein to take in the full scope of their first-ever festival.
