2023 Halls of Flowers Toronto

Union Station Toronto 2023

Greetings Puff Community! Dougie here. Today I’ll be highlighting my experience at Toronto’s Hall of Flower’s. This is a B2B event that took place at the Enercare centre on September 19th & 20th. It was full of beautiful smiles, smells and good vibes so let’s jump into it!

Weaponized to Start the day with Dopamine and Lemon Razz @the Entrance of Halls of Flowers

I was really excited to attend this event. I managed to squeeze into the last legacy karma cup in 2022 but since then I’ve been missing out on all the good events and HoF did not disappoint!

Excited to attend 2023 Halls of Flowers

Many great companies were in attendance, some of the big guys (like Puresun Farms) and other dope new guys like Sheeesh! & Primeau which I’ll be showcasing later on.

We walked around for a bit, bought a $5 bottle of water (outraged) before realising there was free water, coffee and sweets provided by “The Wandering Bean”. Big shoutout to them, the coffee was bomb! I still regret not getting another mocha before leaving.

Divvy Gal @Halls of Flowers 2023

The layout was cool. Imagine an office of cubicles but instead of each one having a disgruntled employee, each one is decked out with the company’s swag and product offerings. This gave each booth its own unique vibe. Well done to all.

Exit to Outdoor Coffee & Smoke Area

Attached through a big industrial garage door was the consumption area. It was decent, a few picnic tables and bean bags to facilitate a nice sesh. This is also where the Wandering Bean was.

Free Coffee, Juice and Water from Wandering Bean

After getting our rounds in we were ready to meet some of our favourite brands and some new ones we think you should keep an eye out for!

Truth be told we had scheduled appointments with different Vendors but once we started roaming around it seemed like there was no use for them (Classic wandering Stoner), although it did come in handy when we rolled up to the punctual folks at Rosinstar.

Passionate Sheesh Grower @Halls of Flowers 2023

We started with Sheeesh! The master grower, Steve, has an awesome vibe to him.

Without spilling the beans.. I think they’ll have some absolute fire coming down the pipeline..or should I say up?

Currently they have two strains out – Dia De Los Meurtos & an in-house strain called Slush puppy (Slurricane #7 x Animal Cookies) which is under the Sku “Tranquilo” and is only available in Pre-rolls. I was lucky enough to get a nug of the slush pup and it was proper. Nose & taste of Grapey hops.

If you haven’t tried the Dia it’s also really good. Shout out to Grandiflora because it seems like anything with Proj. 4516 is a winner. Coming out of Becancour QC, Sheeesh! Is definitely a brand to keep on deck. Good weed without the typical price tag is much appreciated! Salute!

Puff meeting Primeau Cannabis for the first time

We then headed over to Primeau. They currently have two strains on the OCS, Lava Cake & The Dough. Both have already been reviewed on Puff, with The Dough earning a spot on our top strains! You know what that means… Fire !

Out of the two I prefer The Dough. It burns really clean and has this great euphoric blast to it that makes any night in enjoyable, so long as you don’t have too many tasks to complete.

Primeau was dope. Wallace seemed like a great guy and I’m stoked I got to meet him. Another brand with good weed at a good price..this is a trend I can get behind.

Stinky Green Team

Lastly I have to mention Stinky Greens! Dam these guys had some HEAT. With no disrespect to any of the other grower’s and brands that attended, these guys definitely had the best Pre-roll there.

I tried their Tangy twilight..which..is also.. Another proj. 4516 cross! It was fantastic. Hella clean burn, flavour translates well, taste all the way to filter and really smooth.

The other strain they have is an in-house breed of a popular strain (GSC x Fire OG).. yup. You guessed it! Animal Cookies! Buuut they’re calling it Animal fire. It’s confusing I know, but they probably didn’t use the exact same donor & receiver Seed Junky did, thus it’s not entirely the same. The world of Phenotypes is deep & extensive.. I’ll leave that to the breeders.

I got a sample of the Animal Fire and while it didn’t burn quite as clean as the Tangy Twilight, it smacked. Super delayed hand-eye coordination had me second guessing chopping veggies for dinner. These guys are a must try when they drop in November!

LOT420 & Dougie @Halls of Flowers 2023

Lot420 has some fresh Atomic Apples ready for the market, if you haven’t tried it and enjoy exotic terps this is definitely a standout to try. Tart apple gas with a strong euphoric blast.

Dougie meets High School friend at Halls of Flowers

For us as retailers an event like this is important. Not only to see what’s to come from these brands but also to finally put a face to the product. Whenever I sell a Sheeesh, or a Primeau product Steve & Wallace’s face now comes to mind. I feel good about supporting them because not only do they have good products, they’re solid dudes.

This in turn reflects how people view me and the shop as we are well known for being heavy smokers and only recommending fire. It’s all one big circle. Meeting the grower’s bring’s all of this together. Not to mention how much these guys have on the line to make a name for themselves in this industry.

Timing crops around the OCS cannot be easy, especially if they don’t even accept it. This is further compacted by the issues that are bound to arise in the growing facility. In layman’s terms, growing weed for the Canadian market is TOUGH.

Selling it is too! You need these types of connections to believe in the product you’re bringing to your store. If you don’t it’s going to sit forever and that’s money tied up for you, sometimes even lost. So the connection between us and the grower’s is important because if we can’t rock with them it impedes our success and theirs. Again, one big circle.

BoxHot@Halls of Flowers 2023

Overall, Hall of Flower’s Toronto was a great experience. There’s so much good weed coming to market this year and there’s some solid people behind it. I loved being able to finally put a face to a few of the brands I’ve seen over the last year.

One thing that was interesting about attending this event was how “high” I actually got. The best highs of the day were before and after the event. This is because I was just too excited to be at HoF. I couldn’t allow myself to relax enough to feel the highs.

Cannabis is unique in that our mental state and environment we smoke in play’s a significant role in the high we experience. Keep this in mind for the next time you think you need a tolerance break.

We did miss a few of our favourite micro producers. Next year I’d love to see more Canadian cannabis processors like BC Black, whom represent a number of craft grower’s. I understand it’s a bit of a travel expenditure but meeting some of the West Coast folk would of been a highlight.