Sensi Magazine - Coachella Valley (March 2020)

I C OAC H E L L A VA L L E Y M A R C H 2020

FEST

FORWARD!

The four-wheeled fun and frenzy of the first 4XFar fest

POT’S FIRST POP-UP BOOK TINY HOUSES

The big deal about small living

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coachella valley | palm springs www.lighthousedispensary.com @shopthelighthouse

COACHELLA VALLEY SENSI MAGAZINE MARCH 2020

sensimediagroup @sensimagazine @sensimag

F E AT U R E S

22

28

34 28

Beauty in Imperfection

The delicate art of wabi-sabi and how difficult it can be to live out the philosophy M E E T T H E P L AY E R S

Plug and Play Promotion

The first installment in our new series profiles Stephen Boyd of Growpacker.

In a New Dimension

Paper engineers create the first pop-up book to explore the world of cannabis.

D E PA R T M E N T S

11 EDITOR’S NOTE 12 THE BUZZ News, tips, and tidbits

to keep you in the loop FESTIVAL FIT The Sensi Seven workout guide GIVE A HOOT The hype around the Night Owls PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

CBD-infused sunscreen TAKE FLIGHT Enjoy butterfly season in the valley

40 THE SCENE Hot happenings and hip

hangouts around town HIGH SOCIETY Recapping the inaugural 4XFar Festival CALENDAR Spring into action with these events.

50 THE END

Stay (first) classy by touching down in the new Desert Jet terminal.

ON THE COVER The inaugural 4XFar Festival was a tropical paradise for music lovers and off-roaders alike.

PHOTO COURTESY OF @ALIVECOVERAGE

16 THE LIFE Contributing to your

health and happiness SIZE MATTERS The wins and woes of tiny homes HOROSCOPE What the stars hold for you

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Accucanna, LLC Desert Hot Springs; Dispensary Americaʼs Best Cannabis Cannabis Derived Terpenes Canna Management Group Cannabis Management Company CBD Living Water CBD Infusions Coachella Labs Manufacturing Coachillinʼ Desert Hot Springs; Cannabis Campus Delta 9 Technologies Automated Extraction Equipment

HUB International Limited Insurance Ikanik Farms Cannabis Distribution The Lighthouse Palm Springs & Coachella; Cannabis Dispensary The Micro Buddery Micro Business Nug Digital Marketing Marketing & Advertising Agency ONIT Sciences Cannabis Investments

Escape Room Palm Springs Team Building & Compliance Training

PNS Ventures Cathedral City; Recreational Dispensary

Five Star Extracts THC Infused Tinctures

Rukli Distribution Company

Genius Products T, Inc. Recreational Cannabis Products

Temeka Group Cannabis Retail Construction

Greenhouse Payment Solutions Payment Processing Green Leaf Biz Solutions Payroll & HR Services

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Highland Oil Co. Premium Vape Cartridges

Dr. Robb Farms Cultivation

Grassroots Staffing Cannabis Staffing Agency

10 COACH EL L A VA LLEY

Green Pearl Organics Desert Hot Springs; Recreational Dispensary

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA FACE BOOK Like Sensi Media Group for the parties, topics, and happenings we’re obsessed with right now.

T W I T TER Follow @sensimag to stay up-to-date on the latest news from Sensi cities.

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Magazine published monthly

by Sensi Media Group LLC. © 2020 Sensi Media Group. All rights reserved.

EXECUTIVE Ron Kolb Founder, CEO ron@sensimag.com Mike Mansbridge President mike@sensimag.com

A

Alex Martinez Chief Operating Officer alex@sensimag.com EDITORIAL

Stephanie Wilson Co-Founder, Editor in Chief stephanie@sensimag.com Doug Schnitzspahn Executive Editor doug.schnitzspahn@sensimag.com Sat Panesar Managing Editor sat.panesar@sensimag.com Leland Rucker Senior Editor leland.rucker@sensimag.com

Robyn Griggs Lawrence Editor at Large robyn.lawrence@sensimag.com Helen Olsson Copy Chief Melissa Howsam Senior Copy Editor Bevin Wallace Copy Editor Leandra Romero, Mona Van Joseph Contributing Writers DESIGN Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director jamie@emagency.com Rheya Tanner Art Director Wendy Mak Designer Kiara Lopez Designer Josh Clark Designer Jason Jones Designer em@sensimag.com PUBLISHING Greg Jelden Co-Publisher greg.jelden@sensimag.com Jason Zahler Co-Publisher jason.zahler@sensimag.com Quentin Dusastre Associate Publisher quentin dusastre@sensimag.com B U S I N E S S /A D M I N Kristan Toth Head of People kristan.toth@sensimag.com Amber Orvik Administrative Director amber.orvik@sensimag.com Andre Velez Marketing Director andre.velez@sensimag.com Neil Willis Production Manager neil.willis@sensimag.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

As I wrote last

month, I believe we

here at Sensi have the opportunity to help bridge the gap between the nascent cannabis industry in the Coachella Valley and mainstream. We plan to do this through our omnichannel approach of print, digital, and real-world experiential.

On paper and on screen, we’ll introduce you to the individuals and organizations helping to shape the industry and share our calendar of cannabis events ranging from intimate CBD workshops to the biggest B2B conferences in the country. And while our writers will also cover the major valley festivals, sports, and cultural events, we’ll hopefully bring you those stories with a 420 angle: CBD-endorsing tennis pros at the BNP, The CBD Village at the ANA, a CBD-infused cooking demo at Food & Wine.

In person, we’ll acquaint you with the brands, manufacturers, and retailers who make up the ecosystem through our own Sensi Connect and Sensi Night get-togethers, in addition to the statewide expos and regional summits. We’ll invite you to learn about the Coachella Valley Cannabis Alliance Network (CVCAN) and the Southern California Cannabis Council (SCCC), two locally led organizations helping to move the industry forward, nudge positive change in Sacramento, and create the next generation of businesses—as well as a trained and educated local workforce.

As you read this, several events will have already taken place in February—CVCAN’s Private Estate Luncheon in La Quinta, Cannabis Supper Club, and Sensi Connect at The Bing Crosby Estate in Rancho Mirage, and several CBD101 workshops at country clubs throughout the Valley, with many more scheduled in the coming weeks: The Cannabis golf tournament in Palm Desert (March 31), Hall of Flowers B2B conference in Cathedral City (April 1–2), and The Hall of Flowers After-Party at the Palm Springs Air Museum (April 1).

So while we’ll do our part to bring you the latest news, trends, and events uniting the two worlds, it would be great if you’d help us in this endeavor by sending us your events and ideas. My email address is below.

While we’ll do our part to bring you the latest news, trends, and events, it would be great if you’d help us in this endeavor by sending us your events and ideas.

Cheers,

Hector Irizarry Distribution distribution@sensimag.com M E D I A PA R T N E R S Marijuana Business Daily Minority Cannabis Business Association National Cannabis Industry Association Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Sat Panesar sat.panesar@sensimag.com M ARCH 2020

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Get fit for festival season with the Sensi Seven Festival Toner workout guide.

It’s that time of year again— music festival season! With Coachella and Stagecoach right around the corner, thousands will be making their way out to the Valley to spend the weekend dancing and celebrating.

All that moving and grooving is sure to take a toll on the body, so we asked Jaime Jimenez, owner and trainer at One Eleven Conditioning, to create a program to get you festival fit. If you’re looking to build up your stamina or get that perfect Instagram photo, this workout plan, called the Sensi Seven, will kick your body into gear so you can enjoy 12 COAC H EL L A VA LLEY

making those once-in-a-lifetime festival memories.

The equipment-free, monthlong program, is a combination of seven movements that balances cardio, strength, and recovery. The workouts are completed using an interval timer. Each week the intervals increase while rest time decreases in order to intensify the calorie burn through progression. Beginners can tailor the workouts to their level, while gym junkies can push the movements to maximize muscle definition.

The Sensi Seven can be done at home, at the office, in the gym, or at a park.

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Sensi Seven Workout Guide Daily Exercises

DAY 3: LEG FOCUS

Weekly Intervals

DAY 1: FULL BODY

• Fast feet • Step-up (left side) • Step-up (right side) • Bodyweight squats • Plank with alternate leg raise • Reverse crunch • Jack squats

WEEK 1

• Bodyweight squats • Knee taps (pushup position) • Crunches • Flutter kicks • Shoulder taps (pushup position) • Pushups • Fly-jacks

Work: 45 secs Rest: 30 secs Reps: 3

DAY 4: RECOVERY

WEEK 3

• Walk, yoga (45 mins)

DAY 2: CARDIO

DAY 5: CORE

• Run, bike, swim, etc.

(45 mins)

• Punching strikes • Jumping jacks • Shoulder taps (pushup position) • Up/down planks • Bicycle crunch • Boat pose/ v-sit • Pushups

Work: 1 min Rest: 20 secs Reps: 3

WEEK 2

Work: 50 secs Rest: 25 secs Reps: 3

WEEK 4

Work: 1 min Rest: 15 secs Reps: 4

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EVAN DOHENY

Boogie Down

CONTRIBUTORS

Leandra Romero, Doug Schnitzspahn

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

BRIGHT IDEA Sunblock is mandatory, whether you are Hula-Hooping and grooving at festivals or just taking a hike into the desert. These days CBD—or cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive extract of the cannabis plant with claims on soothing skin and aiding sleep—is in everything, from soda to adult lubricants. Sunblock is one place where it really seems to work, since CBD is proven to hydrate and soothe the skin. This water-resistant lotion merges SPF50 sunscreen with all those rejuvenating effects of CBD. $23 / surfacecorp.com

BY THE NUMBERS

200+ PLANTS The number of flowering plant species that will put on a brilliant display at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in March

$8.7 BILLION The overall cost that marijuana retail sales are projected reach in 2021 SOURCE: Marijuana Business Daily, 2016

29 TENNIS COURTS

The number of courts at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, including the 16,100-seat main stadium

“A desert is a place without expectation.”

—Nadine Gordimer, Telling Times

Hoot Sweet

Giselle Woo and The Night Owls are generating some serious pre-Coachella buzz.

54.21% The percentage of flower marijuana in cannabis sales in the American market

Not a cloud was in sight on a warm winter day at a coffee shop in Palm Springs. The birds were chirping and bees buzzing when a quiet voice from behind me said, “I was lost, but now I am found.” It’s Giselle Woo, singer/ songwriter, whose recent announcement about performing at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival with her band, The Night Owls, has created its own “buzz” around town.

“So many years of going to Coachella and just standing there in the crowd, watching and admiring, and like fuck I can do that, I want to do that, ya know?” said Woo in her naturally laxed tone. The invitation to perform at the giant annual music festival came two years after Woo and her bandmates, Christian Colín, Jose Ceja, and Marco Murrieta, were crowned the winners of the Annual Tachevah Music Showcase. They walked away with career-advancing prizes—leading to the release of their first EP, Gemini. “You have to take all those steps too; it’s not just like I’m just going to perform and that’s it. People want to hear that song that they heard. They want to learn the words,” she said.

With no gimmicks or interest in notoriety, Woo was surprised by the idea that the Coachella Valley is recognizing her as a top musician in the area.

“Despite all the things we’re missing, like an updated website, or someone posting on our Instagram every week, it’s just us. It feels really surreal to me.” The natural progression of her career has grown from singing in her room to open mic nights to, now, standing onstage at one of the world’s largest festivals. She credits her music for ultimately “finding her” as she prepares for the new journey she’s about to take. Her final thoughts before stepping out on the new platform: “This time, I’ll probably pray a little bit because that’s what my grandma would tell me to do.”

Giselle Woo and The Night Owls will be performing Friday, Apr. 10 and 17, kicking off both festival weekends.

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THE BUZZ

BILITIES

BY STEPHANIE WILSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF

1 READING ROOM The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf, $27). Showcasing her signature literary prowess, Mandel explores the infinite ways we search for meaning in this much-hyped new release, expected March 24. Also out this month: It’s Not All Downhill from Here by How Stella Got Her Groove Back author Terry McMillan.

2 STREAM THIS Freeform’s The Bold Type. Now in its third season, this sleeper hit could be your new favorite series. It’s mine, in no small part because it centers on three young women working for a New York mag. But also because it’s witty AF, aspirational, and depicts successful women who are defined not by their relationships but by their careers. It’s empowering, and you should watch it for free on Freeform, or on your favorite streaming platform.

3 LISTEN UP NPR’s Life Kit podcast offers tools to keep it together.

And by you, I mean me; I need all the help I can get. Picking out a lightbulb last fall had me staring mouth agape in a store aisle for a half hour trying to make sense of all the options. After listening to “Picking Out a Lightbulb, Made Easy,” I know which bulb’s for me. Life Kit’s episodes are short, to the point, and offer tips on how to do things like start therapy, start a book club, master your budget, remove stains, and juggle paperwork, appointments, and repairs. Basically how to adult.

4 GROWING TREND Pot in Pots. The Swiss-cheese-leafed Monstera is last year’s “It” plant. Cannabis is the hashtagable houseplant of 2020. Get in on the trend. Depending where you live, you can find clones or seeds at select dispensaries with an easy google—while you’re at it, look up local laws regarding home grows. Cannabis cuttings (a.k.a. clones) are pretty easy to root—check Leafly.com for tips—and you should definitely bring some to your next plant swap.

Spread the word, spread the love.

“I’ve always wanted to live in the ’90s, and no-one says that, because they think it’s cringe.”

—Beabadoobee, who will be playing Coachella in April, in an interview with NME

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THE BUZZ

VOX POPULI

Question: What are you ready to improve, develop, or revamp in your life?

ADRIAN GARCIA

LEIGHTON GINN

ANDREW CABRAL

JEFF MURPHY

KATIE GEIBERGER

___________________

___________________

___________________

___________________

___________________

Sous-Chef Palm Desert

I’ve made it my mission to sleep and wake up early, go to the gym often, and eat healthy.

By giving my body the healthy fuel it needs, I’m more energized and happier than before.

Business Owner, Public Speaker Palm Springs

Life is short and not guaranteed. I want to focus more on the people in my life. I’ve been focused so much on work and goals, but I need to live life and really cherish those who enrich my life.

Photographer Cathedral City

I am going to start shooting and developing with 35mm film.

This will force me to consider the composition of my photos and the message I want to convey with them.

Butterflies in the Sky

It’s an explosion of butterflies fluttering around the Coachella Valley. The orange- and brown-painted lady butterflies pass through the desert on a one-way trip up north that will end in a few weeks, after they lay their eggs. Experts say the amount of butterflies we see depends on how much rain we get during the winter months since the insects rely on vegetation during their caterpillar stage to give them energy on their long journey.

IT Specialist Palm Desert

I think developing a new perspective and improving my patience has to be at the top of the list. Patience has always been a trait that I can't seem to grasp.

Photographer, Educator Palm Desert

To continue building my educational program.

I’ve been very blessed, businesswise, so I want to pass on my knowledge and help others create something successful as well.

“I WANT TO DEDICATE THIS TO ALL THE INDIGENOUS KIDS IN THE WORLD WHO WANT TO DO ART AND DANCE AND WRITE STORIES. WE ARE THE ORIGINAL STORYTELLERS, AND WE MAKE IT HERE AS WELL.” —Oscar winner Taika Waititi, at the 2020 Academy Awards

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Tiny homes are an obvious solution to housing and climate issues. Why isn’t it easier to find places for them?

TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

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of McMansion Mania.

Shafer’s 130-square-foot home (yes, you read that right), built for $40,000, was a hard “no” to all that.

It was also cozy and inviting, and Shafer described himself as a claustrophile (someone who loves closed-in spaces).

Shafer won the Philosophy and Innovation Award

in our Natural Home of the Year contest because his adorable house embodied everything the magazine stood for, and he wasn’t afraid to say things. He said that we Americans like our homes like we like our food—big and cheap—and he was the first to figure out that putting a tiny house on

PHOTOS BY POVY KENDAL ATCHISON

Size Matters

I visited Jay Shafer’s meticulous American Gothic–style house in a sun-dappled Iowa City backyard shortly after we launched Natural Home magazine in 1999. The Dow had just surpassed 10,000, mortgage credit requirements were melting into oblivion, and America had a bad case

wheels makes it an RV and therefore not subject to city and county minimum-size standards and codes. He wasn’t shy about his intention to make tiny homes a revolutionary alternative in a housing market headed for disaster.

“I am certainly not proposing that everyone should live in a house as small as mine,” Shafer wrote in the letter accompanying his contest entry. “Such minimalism would be excessive for most people. What I am saying is that the scale of our homes should be as varied as the spatial needs of their inhabitants, and that it is those needs rather than government regulations and conspicuous consumption that should determine house size.”

Shafer’s message was radical, and largely ignored, in the frenzy

leading up to the 2008 crash. But his company, Tumbleweed Tiny Homes, built a following, and he built a name for himself as the godfather of a fledgling tiny house movement (one blogger called him “the George Washington of simple and sustainable living”).

He wrote The Small House Book and was on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Then he lost the company in a business dispute and his house in a divorce, and he was homeless for a while, living in a pigpen inside a shed. Determined never to live that way again, Shafer designed a 50-square-foot home that cost $5,000 in Sebastopol, California. He gives master class workshops at tiny house festivals around the world (including the Tiny House Festival Australia in Bendigo, Victoria, March 21–22).

operating and maintaining them costs a lot less.

When the International Code Commission made changes to its residential code to facilitate tiny house construction in 2018, it reported lifetime conditioning costs as low as 7 percent of conventional homes.

That reality is driving the spike in interest in tiny homes, which are getting a lot of attention as a solution to the affordable housing and homeless crises, with the added bonus of being A Status Symbol for kinder to the planet than Humble Braggers a traditional three-bedThough 82 percent of room/two-bath. Whether renters say they would like to buy a home some- they live in tiny homes for financial reasons day, according to Fannie or not, climate-aware Mae, homeownership is homebuyers get a status at its lowest point since symbol that flaunts their 1965. Ordinary people can’t afford the American honorable choice to reduce their footprint and Dream (median listing live with less—no easy price: $310,000). In the thing to do, even in this Bay Area, homebuyers post-Kondo age. paid twice their annual It doesn’t hurt that tiny income for a house in the homes—generally defined 1960s; today, they shell out nine times their year- as homes with less than ly salary. Only 13 percent 400 square feet—are now readily available in every of millennial renters in style, from your basic the United States will shed to sleek Dwell-worhave enough cash to put thy models. You can buy 20 percent down on a plans and build a tiny house in the next five house yourself or pick out years, according to an one online and have it Apartment List survey. shipped to you. You can Tiny homes are much cheaper, with prices rang- even order one on Aming from $10,000 to more azon. Used tiny homes, along with inspirational than $200,000 (averagstories and information, ing about $65,000), and “The evolution of tiny houses has paralleled the digital revolution, since this whole tiny thing started at the turn of the century,” Shafer told foxnews.com in 2014. “Once it became possible to have a remote little phone instead of a landline and a wall-mounted flat screen instead of a 2-foot-by-1foot chunk on the dresser, folks started seeing the potential for living in what basically amounts to a laptop with a roof.”

LIVE TINY AND FREE More than twice as many tiny homeowners—68 percent compared with 29 percent of all US homeowners—have no mortgage, and 78 percent own their own home.

SOURCE: thetinylife.com

LEFT: The dining table in Jay Shaferʼs 130-squarefoot home can be taken down and stored in a closet when not in use.

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THE LIFE

TRY TINY

Think you might love a tiny house? airbnb.com, vrbo.com, glampinghub. com, and getaway.com all have tiny home listings to sample the lifestyle.

SECTION

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN TINY HOMES

can be found at sites like tinyhousefor.us, tinyhousetalk.com, and tinyhouselistings.com.

Tiny Home Nation: 10K Strong More than half of Americans would consider a tiny home, according to a National Association of Home Builders survey. Potential buyers and just-dreamers flock to check out micro-houses, “schoolies” (converted school buses), and vans at tiny home festivals like the Florida Suncoast Tiny Home Festival in St. Petersburg (March 28–29) and the People’s Tiny House Festival in Golden, Colorado (June 6–7).

But the reality is that only about 10,000 people in North America—the lucky ones who have managed to find parking spots—actually live in tiny homes.

Like anything that disrupts the norm in a conformist capitalist culture, building a tiny home in a world of ticky-tacky boxes is not easy. The good news is that times are changing, as municipalities consider tiny home villages as a way to house the homeless and marginalized communities. Still, most states only allow tiny homes to be parked in rural areas (Massachusetts, California, Florida, and Oregon are somewhat more

lenient). Because most zoning laws in the United States don’t have a classification for tiny houses, most owners have to follow Shafer’s lead and register them as RVs, trailers, or mobile homes.

In most places, zoning ordinances won’t allow you to buy land, park your tiny home/RV, and live happily ever after.

You either have to rely on the kindness of family and friends with backyards or pay a monthly park fee to rent a space in one of the tiny home villages cropping up across the country. Park Delta Bay, an RV resort in Isleton, California, now has a row reserved for tiny homes. At Village Farm, an RV resort that’s turning into a tiny-home community in Austin, Texas, residents pay about $600 to $700 a month to park and use the services.

Slowly, city and state governments are responding to homebuyers’ demands for tiny home

opportunities beyond RV resorts. Portland, Oregon, (but of course) has relaxed its ordinances to allow for everything from tiny house communities to tiny house hotels. In Rockledge, Florida, citizens demanded zoning changes allowing for a pocket neighborhood with homes ranging from 150 to 700 square feet.

A tiny home community for low-income residents is under way on Detroit’s west side, and Vail, Arizona, built two dozen 300to 400-square-foot houses for schoolteachers.

Advocacy groups have been paving the way for tiny homes since Shafer and a few friends founded the Small Home Society in 2002, and they’re seeing a resurgence. In 2017, a group of University of California-Berkeley students launched the Tiny House in My Backyard (THIMBY) project to promote research and development and raise awareness of tiny house communities.

Operation Tiny Home is a national nonprofit that helps people “maintain a life of dignity” through high-quality tiny housing and empowerment training programs.

In Canada, activists calling themselves Tiny House Warriors are taking the revolution to the next level, placing “resistance-homes-on-wheels” along the pathway of the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline. “We are asserting our inherent, God-given right to our lands,” says Kanahus Manuel, a leader of Tiny House Warrior.

“We’re defending what’s ours, and tiny homes are how we’re doing it.”

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Interior and exterior of the Letʼs Get Stoked tiny house model from Rocky Mountain Tiny Homes.

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THE LIFE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mona Van Joseph has been an intuitive since 2002. She is an author, columnist, and host of Psychic View Radio. She created dicewisdom.com, which also has a smartphone app. mona.vegas

HOROSCOPE

MARCH HOROSCOPE What do the stars hold for you?

TEXT MONA VAN JOSEPH

you are—and totally step JULY 23–AUG. 22 back from the people Listen to the compliwho are taking advanPeople are about to ment that presents ittage of your good nature. prove to you how much self to you as a critithey love you. March is cism; energies will make MAY 21–JUNE 20 when your gratitude toyou better through jealward people who are ousy and roadblocks. It It’s time to apologize for supporting you will make could be that you realize the things you have done all the difference. it’s time for a change. to hurt people. If your ego won’t let you actual- AUG. 23–SEPT. 22 MAR. 21–APR. 19 ly call them to apologize, write them a “spiritual” There are angels surThere is something to letter telling them you rounding you. Pennies celebrate that presents were unfair to them and and feathers in your path itself to you. To thank the that you are sorry. are likely. This is a month universe for this opporof being aware of how tunity or inspiration, do- JUNE 21–JULY 22 things are lining up for nate to an organization a you. Accept all invitations. few times this month.

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

SEPT. 23–OCT. 22 APR. 20–MAY 20 The door to your future couldn’t open any wider. Coincidence will be your Do not try to impress If you want the job, you best friend this month. anyone who isn’t treating can have it. If you want It’s time to drop (old) you well. Please agree that relationship to go ideas that you can’t have with the vibration that to the next level, you what you want…you toyou are perfect the way can have it. tally can. Pay attention!

FEB. 19–MAR. 20

PISCES

LEO

GEMINI

VIRGO

ARIES

CANCER

TAURUS

LIBRA

OCT. 23–NOV. 21

DEC. 22–JAN. 19

Practice saying nice things about people. Do not take on the bad karma right now of backstabbing those who truly do not deserve it. Ask yourself: “Am I basing my opinion on someone else’s agenda?”

When you focus on one thing at a time, you are a genius. Avoid multitasking this month. Better to spend the time to make sure it’s done right the first time.

SCORPIO

PISCES, ENERGIES WILL USE JEALOUSY AND ROADBLOCKS TO MAKE YOU BETTER THIS MONTH. IT COULD BE THAT IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE.

CAPRICORN

JAN. 20–FEB. 18

AQUARIUS

Embrace the high energy of spinning lots of You are the owner of this plates right now. You are lifetime and acting as the chef who has many though you do have the pots simmering, and it’s power to change things time to admit that you will make all the differlike it this way. Thrive by ence this month. You will making the magic hapget a sign that you are on pen with all the resourcthe right track. es available to you.

NOV. 22–DEC. 21

SAGITTARIUS

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Confessions of a Wabi-Fraudie, or Pay No Attention to Whatʼs Under the Stairs.

TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

I had so much shit.

I got rid of most of it.

Wabi-sabi me?

W

hen I started writing about wabi-sabi, right around 9/11, the Japanese philosophy of finding beauty in imperfection had a serious underground following. But most people still thought wabi-sabi was that spicy green stuff you eat with sushi. Marie Kondo was, like, 10.

Wabi-sabi was a great umbrella for a lot of conversations I was enmeshed in as the editor of a green lifestyle magazine: simplicity, the Slow movement (starting with Slow Food and evolving into Slow Everything), reduction, recycling, reuse. It was still pretty early for a lot of those conversations in 2001, though, and it was early for wabi-sabi in America too.

In those first few months after the planes hit the towers, my agent and I and a handful of people in publishing were pretty certain Americans would retreat and nest, plant Victory gardens, and live more thriftily, as they always had during times of war. I got a fat advance to write The Wabi-Sabi House just as Americans—at the directive of President George W. Bush, who told them it was the patriotic thing to do—embraced easy credit and went shopping. My book wasn’t the runaway bestseller we thought it would be.

Wabi-sabi—if you’re being real about it—is a tough sell for Americans.

An ancient philosophy with roots in Zen, it’s about revering austerity,

nature, and the everyday and accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. A reaction to the prevailing aesthetic of lavishness, ornamentation, and rich materials in 15th-century Japan, wabi-sabi is the art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in earthiness, and revering authenticity above all.

“It’s everything our sleek, mass-produced, technology-saturated culture isn’t,” I wrote in The Wabi-Sabi House.

“It’s flea markets, not warehouse stores (today I would say Amazon); aged wood, not Pergo (today I would say vinyl planks); rice paper, not glass. Wabi-sabi celebrates cracks and crevices and rot, reminding us

that we are all transient beings—that our bodies, as well as the material world around us, are in the process of returning to the dust from which we came.”

Well, this didn’t land all that well in the forever-rich, forever-young early aughts, which launched the Kardashians and eventually crashed into the Great Recession.

A simple, unpretentious oasis in a weary world.

In 2011, while Americans were still smarting from the financial meltdown four years earlier, I wrote a follow-up book, Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House, for a small, progressive Canadian publisher. I didn’t get a fat advance. But it seemed like the time might finally M ARCH 2020

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be right for wabi-sabi, and I wanted to see it have its day. If everyone embraced it, we would have a completely different world.

Wabi-sabi was born from the Japanese Tea Ceremony, a simple Zen ritual for making and sharing a cup of tea that warlords in 15th-century Japan turned into a means of showing off their immense wealth through gaudy Tea houses full of gilded imported goods. The wabi way of Tea (wabichado) grew out of a backlash to that, championed by a master so powerful his style is practiced to this day. Sen no Rikyu’s quiet, simple Tea ceremony, with tea served in locally fired bowls and flowers in fishermen’s baskets, was what everyone wanted. Wood, bamboo, and hospitality were in; porcelain, lacquer, and pretension were out.

Japan had just gone through several centuries of war and extravagant consumerism, and Rikyu’s Tea ceremony provided the simple, unpretentious oasis that society craved. For wealthy merchants and shoguns, it felt like the ultimate luxury, the epitome of high art. For peasants and commoners, it made the art of Tea accessible.

Preparing and serving the bitter green tea

Being a wabibito means living modestly, satisfied with things as they are, owning only what’s necessary for its beauty or utility.

became a means for everyday samurai, who had few material comforts, to escape for a moment and share a ritual. Ichigo, ichie, or “once in a lifetime,” is perhaps the most important tenet when learning the art of Tea. We never know what might happen tomorrow, or even later today, but right now we can stop for a cup of tea.

Wabi, the name for Rikyu’s style of Tea, was often used by poets to evoke melancholy. One of my favorite descriptions of it is “the feeling you have when you’re waiting for your lover.”

It evokes a little monk in his torn robe, enjoying a night by the fire, content in poverty. No one’s quite sure how or when the word sabi got hooked up with wabi, but conjoined it takes on an entourage effect. Meaning “the bloom of time,” sabi connotes tarnish and rust; the enchantment of old things; appreciation for dignified, graceful aging. Wabi-sabi, then, is a philosophy that reveres age, imperfection, and natural order.

We don’t practice Tea in this culture, though, and it can be hard to see how it translates for 21st-century Westerners who drink lots of coffee.

Like all good philosophies, wabi-sabi gives us

a launching point toward thinking about what matters. To practice it, or to become what is called a wabibito, means living modestly, satisfied with things as they are, owning only what’s necessary for its utility or beauty (ideally, both).

But what’s under those stairs?

Both of my books have entire chapters on the importance of uncluttering and how to do it. I’m something of an expert.

Unfortunately, they both have chapters on decorating with salvage and flea market finds and how to find them, so I’m something of an expert on that as well. These areas of expertise don’t play nice together, as you can imagine.

I wrote Simply Imperfect post-divorce, after I’d moved into a townhouse and left most everything behind. Looking back, I’m hilarious. “Living in a small space keeps me from acquiring things,” I wrote.

“Except for storage, my little house has just enough of everything.”

I was so smug and such a wabi-fraudie, hiding everything under the stairs in the basement.

My townhome had a terrible little crawl space, far too deep and narrow, that encouraged layers upon layers of crap to M ARCH 2020

5 COMMONSENSE STEPS TO DECLUTTERING YOUR HOME 1. Donʼt try to do your entire house at once. Move to larger areas once youʼve had smaller success.

2. Spend a few minutes per day cleaning so it doesnʼt get overwhelming.

3. If in doubt, throw it out (or give it to a charitable organization like Goodwill).

4. Get rid of two items every time you buy a new one.

5. If you canʼt get rid of it, hide it well.

Storage should make up 10 percent of your homeʼs square footage.

Based on an excerpt from Simply Imperfect

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build up. When the space became impenetrable, I would stand in the doorway and throw stuff in. The woman I bought the house from warned me about it during the closing. She’d thought she could show the house furnished until she looked in there. When it came time for me to sell the place 10 years later, I felt her pain.

“Where the hell has all this stuff been?” everybody asked as I unearthed bins and boxes of my memorabilia, my kids’ art projects, photo albums, toys, sports equipment, appliances, file cabinets, record albums, CDs, books, dishes, phones (four of them!),

textiles, dog beds, jars, tools, old paint, door, light fixtures, screws, nails (so many screws and nails), and assorted other crap I had tucked in there and forgotten about over a decade.

“In hell,” I would say.

Clutter smudges clarity.

I spent a solid three months clearing out that townhouse, mostly under the stairs. I dumped a camper truck and several carloads of stuff at Goodwill and left weekly loads for the Vietnam Veterans Association. I had a garage sale and got depressed watching no one want my coffee table books and pink midcentury nesting ashtrays,

even for a dollar. I got tired of being rejected by my son when I texted, “Sure you don’t want those red dishes from your childhood?”

Some people did want my junk. It felt good to give away an Eastlake chair I tripped over in my bedroom for nine years to a furniture refinisher who understood its value and could give it the love and attention it deserved. I sold my daughter’s bed to a woman who had gotten rid of everything to hit the road in her van 10 years earlier and was starting over again.

I gave her all the bedding too. When it was all over, I felt like I’d had an ayahuasca-strength purging.

“Clutter smudges clarity, both physically and metaphorically,” I wrote in Simply Imperfect.

“Things you’re holding onto because they were expensive, because they were from your mother-inlaw, or because you might need them someday are all getting in your way. In a wabi-sabi home, space and light are the most desirable ornaments.”

I bought an Airstream with brilliant space and light, limited but efficient storage, no room for furniture, and no basement.

After all these years and all these words, I might finally be a wabibito.

If not, I can always find a bed on Craigslist.

Live Wabi-Sabi without buying anything.

Everyone from NBC News to Rachael Ray is talking about wabi-sabi. It doesnʼt seem like most media get the philosophy at its core, though, since they use it as a basis for featuring new products that consumers should buy to get the wabi-sabi “look.” Here are a few tips on getting to wabi-sabi without buying a bunch of shit.

• Pay attention to your daily bread. Is the food youʼre eating in season, and is it available locally? The meals you choose and prepare connect you with the earthʼs cycles and where you live, and youʼll live a healthier life. Buy food from your local farmersʼ markets and ask your grocer where different items came from.

• Bring a small gift when invited to someoneʼs house or even to a meeting—nothing extravagant, just a small gesture (homemade jam, apples from your tree, or a luxurious bar of soap) that lets them know theyʼre appreciated.

• Next time you sweep the floor, consider it a meditation. Opt for the broom when possible.

• Offer every visitor a cup of tea. Serve it with something sweet. If no one comes by, enjoy a cup of tea by yourself in the late afternoon.

• Keep one vase filled with seasonal flowers, ideally picked within a mile of your home.

• Take a walk every day.

• Learn to knit or crochet.

Partially excerpted from Simply Imperfect

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NEW SERIES Our Meet the Players series profiles the major companies, organizations, and individuals helping shape the cannabis industry in the Coachella Valley. This month, we introduce you to Stephen Boyd, founder & CEO of Growpacker.

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LEARN MORE

Growpacker is a licensed manufacturing, co-packing, and distribution platform in Desert Hot Springs. growpacker.com

M E E T

T H E

P L A Y E R S

PLUG & PLAY

Stephen Boyd of Growpacker gives major brands a streamlined entry into the California market.

TEXT SAT PANESAR

PHOTO COURTESY OF GROWPACKER

J

ust last summer, two of my favorite entrepreneur pals and I drove up to a nondescript warehouse on Little Morongo Road in Desert Hot Springs and parked in the dirt next to a couple of construction trailers. We were greeted by a couple of hard hats on a golf cart and introduced to Stephen Boyd, founder and CEO of Growpacker. For the next two hours, Boyd spoke nonstop about his vision for the Amazon of cannabis while he showed us around the unfinished two-story concrete and steel building.

Truth be told, while I was thrilled at the prospect, I was having a tough time envisioning the processing, bottling, labeling, packaging, paletting, and delivery of finished goods coming out of the empty four walls. Fast-forward six months, and here we are: Growpacker is one of the most sought-after end-to-end manufacturing and co-packing facilities in Southern California, bringing new products to market exponentially faster, cheaper, and better.

As a seasoned tech entrepreneur, Boyd credits the accomplishments of his startup to a great team; a deep understanding of the market; a clear vision of the opportunity; and a heads-down, 20-hours-perday, “let’s get this done” team attitude that has obviously worked.

Growpacker now formulates, manufactures, and distributes products for industry-leading brands in a state-of-art facility and is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar Series A fundraising effort.

I caught up with Boyd recently to talk about supply chain, sustainable business models, and MedMen. HOW BIG IS YOUR FACILITY? Twenty-eight thousand square feet up and running, with another 12,000 on its way.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DESERT HOT SPRINGS? Let’s put this into a little context with a brief history of the industry. A lot of brands went from quote-unquote, being vertically

integrated to realizing that getting licensing and zoning wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be— which is the reason why I knew the co-packing model would be great. So look at what’s happened; many brands have lost their licenses, so they’ve had to find partners or relationships in the industry to make their products, and moving from an illegal market into the legal markets means they’re now getting hit with astronomical tax rates. So, now you have to play the tax-rate game as strategically as possible.

Currently, at the grow level, cultivators are kind of doing this pricing “collusion”—trying to keep the price of the flower up to avoid cratering their own markets. At the retail level, all the excise taxes are being passed directly onto the customer, and the retailers know their advantage. I mean they know there’s only so many outlets to legally get cannabis products into consumer’s hands. They then create a huge downward pressure on wholesale pricing.

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This results in a huge squeezing in the middle, where you’re feeling the biggest pain. So, depending on what zone you’re in, the manufacturing tax rate could be 10 percent, like in LA or Long Beach, which is a massive increase on cost of goods sold. Because of that, a lot of brands are forced to move to areas that have lower tax rates, and Desert Hot Springs was smart and early enough to offer a 0 percent tax rate.

YOU MENTION PURGE AND CHURN. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY? I think where the purge and churn really comes from is archaic business models. I’ve never heard the term ‘vertically integrated’ more times in my life. And when brands we’re considering partnering with say ‘we’re vertically integrated,’ to me, that’s a red flag.

Most businesses are not vertically integrated. They operate; they stay in their lane; they beDO YOU THINK THE 0 PERCENT come very efficient and effective TAX INCENTIVE IS A SUSTAINABLE at what they do—and that allows MODEL FOR THE CITY? them to be unique. Take GrowIt’s actually very sustainable because distribution is where they’re packer, for example. We know our lane: we are high-speed manugoing to make their money. And cultivation is where they’re going facturers. We will not have our to make their money. Indoor grow own brands; all we do is crank may be expensive because of elec- out products and materials at the lowest cost through innovation, tricity, etc., but indoor in Long the introduction of new machinBeach or in LA is a lot more expensive because of property costs, ery, new methodologies [while] continuously streamlining the taxes, labor, and parking spots. process and pricing. That’s our business model.

PARKING SPOTS? Here’s the reality; the industry AND MEDMEN? is being bottlenecked by parking because, to get a permit, you have I mean, I sat down with Adam [Bito have so many parking spots per erman, ex-CEO of MedMen], and we kind of hashed through their thousand square feet or for the entire business model, and I said capacity of your building, which manufacturing is gonna run the drives up startup costs. Cultivating near the cities results in high- market, and he said, absolutely not; retail is going to run the market. er costs, so choosing the desert I think MedMen was set up to to cultivate is a financially smart fail from the beginning because move, and that’s again where the they’re looking at this as if people city makes money.

Overall, I think it’s a transition- want to go in and have an experience. What we see time and time ing of the industry and a purge again is people purchase products, and churn of different brands, companies, and concepts. As they not necessarily an experience.

What we see time and time again mature, they start to realize the is there is absolutely zero brand strategic benefits of being elseloyalty. And what we see time where. And, by and large, that elsewhere has become the desert. and time again is price. People try

“AS [BRANDS] MATURE, THEY START TO REALIZE THE STRATEGIC BENEFITS OF BEING ELSEWHERE. AND,

BY AND LARGE, THAT ELSEWHERE HAS BECOME THE DESERT.” —Stephen Boyd, Growpacker

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something for the first time, and maybe they like it, maybe they don’t. But in this business, they always want to try something new.

And, sooner or later, it comes down to price. It’s the No. 1 thing that drives everything in this industry: price point.

So they built these stores, these high-end stores like Apple. But they’re offering products that a block down are going for 10 to 20 percent lower. A block down, they don’t have nearly the overhead.

Ultimately, the price point will drop, and that’s what we already see in the market. And, hence, why they’re not able to drive the revenues they were expecting because the margins are not there in the volume they expected them.

PLUS THEIR WELL-PUBLICIZED MISMANAGEMENT CUES? Yeah, they had some mismanagement cues (like pre-profit Ferrari’s, multimillion-dollar mansions, self-anointed $4 million bonuses), and the overall capital crunch certainly didn’t help (nor did their stock price losing almost 90 percent of its value in 2019).

Going back to Adam’s idea that retail’s in the driver’s seat, I imagine that would be true if you had 500 locations serving 40 million consumers. But that’s not what’s happening. It’s also easy to imagine a scenario where a high-speed manufacturer comes along, creates products for brands, gives them their own storefronts, and the entire center offers products 20 percent cheaper than traditional retail. The brand’s sole responsibility would be to promote and market, similar to an outlet mall.

A CANNABIS OUTLET MALL? IS THAT DOABLE? Possibly. Someone will make it happen.

“THERE’S OPPORTUNITY IN RETAIL THROUGH INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODELS AND TO MEET THE CONSUMER WHERE THEY ARE. WE’LL SEE AN ALIGNMENT, A MATURING OF THE INDUSTRY IN 2020, AND I THINK GROWPACKER IS WELL POSITIONED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.” —Stephen Boyd, Growpacker

WHERE DO YOU THINK CANNABIS IN THE COACHELLA VALLEY IS HEADED? Well, I don’t think Coachella Valley will be known for cultivation.

When you think of where to grow, you think of Humboldt as the leader; you think Mendocino, Eureka, Emerald Triangle. It’s just too hot out here. We don’t have the right microclimates. You’ll start to see areas like Santa Barbara, Carpenteria as the next hot spots for cultivation, as they have the microclimates, similar to what the wineries need. I mean, if Temecula were to legalize, it would be a huge get.

Going back to Santa Barbara and Capenteria, they’re going to pull 50,000 to 100,000 pounds of A GROWING BUSINESS harvest, but they’ll have nowhere Cannabis consumer to package it. If we were to handle spending in California is forecast to reach $7.2 bilthe packaging for those compalion in 2024, a 19 pernies, the valley will make revenues cent compound annual growth rate over the next from the distribution. So we’re few years. pushing for that.

ANYTHING ELSE? I think extraction has a lot of promise. There’s opportunity in retail through innovative business models and to meet the consumer where they are. We’ll see an alignment, a maturing of the industry in 2020, and I think Growpacker is well positioned to take advantage of that.

SO MANUFACTURING’S GONNA RUN THE MARKET? Maybe. Manufacturing, distribution, sustainable brands, and retail innovation.

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Paper-engineering obsessives create the first pop-up book to explore the world of cannabis.

In a New TEXT LELAND RUCKER

DIMENSION 34 COACH ELLA VA LLEY

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GET YOUR OWN

Dimensional Cannabis: The Pop-Up Book of Marijuana Poposition Press, $50 marijuanapopup.com

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF POPOSITION PRESS

C

ollaboration is a wonderful thing. When my friend Rosston Meyer told me a few years ago that he was planning a pop-up cannabis book, I thought it sounded like a great idea. I knew Meyer ran an independent publishing house designing popup books in collaboration with artists. Meyer is a designer with a passion for art and pop culture, so I imagined his books were a modern upgrade of the old-school pop-up books I played with as a child—3-D elements and foldouts, tabs to pull and wheels to spin— but with a modern aesthetic that appeals to adults. “A pop-up on pot would be cool to flip through and play with,” I remember thinking. “I hope he does it.”

A few years later, Meyer came around to show me a physical mock-up of his pot-themed popup, which he’d titled Dimensional Cannabis. What he showed me was a modern art form I wasn’t aware existed. Yes, the book featured 3-D elements and foldouts, with tabs to pull and wheels to spin, but what I had pictured was similar only in concept. These were intricate and elaborate kinetic paper sculptures that painted a picture and brought it to life. I was blown away. So, when he asked if I’d be interested in writing the words to go on the pages before me, I signed on immediately.

Altogether, Dimensional Cannabis took more than three years to complete, with a total of nine people contributing to the final product published by Poposition Press, Meyer’s independent publishing house. A small press, Poposition designs, publishes,

and distributes limited-edition pop-up books that feature artists or subjects that Meyer finds of deep personal interest. He got started in the genre in 2013, when he started working on a collaboration with Jim Mahfood, a comic book creator known as Food One. The resulting Pop-Up Funk features Mahfood’s diverse designs transformed into interactive three-dimensional pop-ups. The limited-edition run of 100 copies were all constructed by hand.

Since then, Poposition has worked with a number of contemporary artists to publish titles like Triad by cute-culture artist Junko Mizuno and Necronomicon by macabre master Skinner.

Meyer has been fascinated by pop-up books since he was a kid, and in 2013, he began concentrating on paper engineering and book production. “After making a couple books focused on just artists, I thought that creating a popup book about cannabis would be a good idea,” he says. “There’s nothing else like it in the market, and there’s an audience for adultthemed pop-up books.”

For Dimensional Cannabis, Meyer collaborated with Mike Giant, a renowned American illustrator, graffiti writer, tattooer, and artist. Giant’s medium of choice is a Sharpie, and Giant’s detailed line work is instantly recognizable.

An avid proponent of cannabis, Giant illustrated the entire Dimensional Cannabis book.

Giant and Meyer met at a weekly open studio Giant hosted in Boulder. “When the idea of doing a pop-up book about cannabis came up, he asked if I would illustrate it,” Giant says. “I’ve been an

advocate for cannabis use for decades, so it didn’t take long for me to agree to work on the project.”

Meyer began by sending Giant reference materials to visualize. “I’d get it drawn out, hand it off, and get some more stuff to illustrate,” Giant says. “He’d send me previews of the finished pages as we went.

It was really cool to see my line drawings colored and cut to shape.

That process went on for months and months until everything for the book was accounted for.”

The process of making pop-up books is called “paper engineering.” I love obsessives, and the engineers who put this book together, make no mistake, are the ones who spend endless hours figuring out the tiniest details of the folds and materials necessary so that water pipe emerges every time you open the paraphernalia page.

“David Carter and I started talking about the idea a couple years prior to actually starting on the book,” Meyer says. “The initial concepts for each spread were figured out, and a different paper-engineer peer was asked to design each spread so that the book had variation throughout.”

Dimensional Cannabis is divided into six pages, or spreads, covering the cannabis plant’s biology, medical properties, cultivation, history, and influence on popular culture. The paraphernalia page features many items we associate with cannabis consumption over the years in America, from rolling papers and pipes to vaporizers, dabs, and concentrates—and that foot-long bong that miraculously appears as you turn the page.

One spread opens to the full plant, with information on its M ARCH 2020

LEFT: Dimensional Cannabis includes six pop-up pages, including this colorful, meditating figure that dominates the medical spread. It was designed by Isabel Uria.

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Left: The paraphernalia spread shows the many ways people consume cannabis, and includes many items, including a clear, acetate bong, rolling papers, and a vaporizer. It was produced by Ray Marshall, who, Meyer says, “basically knocked it out of the park on his first version.”

Below: Well-known illustrator Mike Giant provided the cover, with Kevin Steele providing the coloring for the bookʼs six pop-up spreads

unique and fascinating properties. Another opens to a colorful, meditating figure with text about the healing properties of cannabis. One page is dedicated to its cultivation possibilities, basic genetics, and the differences between indoor and outdoor growing.

The history spread takes us back to the beginnings of the curious and long-standing connection between humans and cannabis. Engineer Simon Arizpe had worked with Meyer before and jumped at the chance to work on that one. “I wanted it to be Eurasian-centric as the viewer opens the page, showing the early uses

of cannabis in ancient Vietnam and China,” Arizpe says. “As the viewer engages with the pop-up, cannabis’s use in the new world spreads across the page,” he adds.

“We decided [to focus] on moments in time that were either politically relevant, like weed legalization, or culturally significant, like Reefer Madness.”

Arizpe feels like the entire project is an example of what can be done working with talented people outside the traditional publishing engine. “Rosston came up with an idea that has a big following and made it happen,” he says.

“It is pretty exciting when people can do that out of nothing.”

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For Meyer, who says he likes a good sativa when he’s working, the project was a labor of love that spans all his areas of interest. “Not only was this a great experience putting together such a unique book, but having different paper

engineers work on each spread made this a real collaboration,” he says. “There have only been a couple pop-up books produced with a roster of engineers. Dimensional Cannabis is for cannabis lovers and pop-up book collectors alike.”

POP-UPGRADE If the book alone isnʼt enough to decorate your coffee table, Poposition Press offers two more ordering tiers, complete with extra merch to maximize your enjoyment.

The Collectorʼs Edition ($240) includes an enhanced pop-up book with gold-foil case wrap, a foil-stamped slipcase, The Good Stuff enamel pin, and a Hemp art print on hemp paper.

The Connoisseur Edition ($420) comes with a wooden laser-etched slipcover, two sets of enamel pins, a Dope art print, and a Gramps art print, both on hemp paper.

Meyer originally conceived a scene showing people looking at the book, which morphed into a celebration of the universality of the plant in many cultures and people throughout history.

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Party in Paradise The 4XFar Festival rocked (and rolled) the Empire Grand Oasis.

TEXT LEANDRA ROMERO

Alex Haagen III is no stranger to music festivals.

The longtime owner of the Polo Grounds in Indio already hosts Coachella and Stagecoach. Now, the successful real estate developer is adding another property to his list.

Presenting the Empire Grand Oasis in Thermal, Haagen’s new estate and recent venue for the 4XFar lifestyle festival that took place this January.

“We wanted something a little different, so we 40 COACH ELLA VA LLEY

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went with a tropical feel out here with the palapa and the Tiki huts and the water elements, as well as [with] the backdrop of the Santa Rosa Mountains.

So it was a good mix that highlighted the desert and our area in the east end of the valley,” says Haagen.

The adventure festival featured fly-fishing workshops, rock climbing, mountain biking, campsite mixology, and a dirt-road course to test out Land Rover’s 2020

Defender—which was one of Haagen’s favorite features—not to mention musical performances by Anderson Paak & the Free Nationals, Mark Ronson, Q-Tip, Young the Giant, and many more.

With another successful festival under his belt, Haagen has more plans in mind for his latest desert wonderland: “We’re looking to put in a Latin Coachella with all Spanish speaking countries and have all their stars come

and have this a Coachella-type concert in the Valley—except with all Latin bands,” he adds. He shared his views on incorporating cannabis into his new business ventures: “When all the rules are in place and everything’s done and we work with the county and the sheriff ’s department, as well as [with] the fire department, and it can be done safe and legally, then I think this can be a better place to come back and kick back and enjoy.”

4XFAR FESTIVAL WHERE: EMPIRE GRAND OASIS, COACHELLA VALLEY WHEN: JAN. 18–19 PHOTOS: @ALIVECOVERAGE

“It was a good mix that highlighted… our area at the east end of the Valley.”

—Alex Haagen III

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On the Calendar

Plan for a busy schedule when it’s springtime in the desert.

TEXT LEANDRA ROMERO

Springtime really shows us what the desert is all about. The valley begins to come to life, with blooming flowers bringing bright colors to our mountains and fields. It’s also the beginning of one of the busiest months of the season, as tourists travel from all around to experience concerts, celebrations, and the annual BNP Paribas Tennis tournament. Here are all of the hot spots you need to know about.

La Quinta Art Celebration Mar. 5–8 Civic Center Park, La Quinta laquintaca.gov

Tribute Concert— Wildflower Queen Nation: A Festival Tribute to Queen Mar. 7 Mar. 6 Spotlight 29 Casino, Coachella spotlight29.com

Civic Center Park, Palm Desert desertmountains.org/wildflower

The best place to celebrate the

beautiful wildflower bloom is at the Coachella Valley Wildflower Festival. Learn firsthand about the different species of flowers in our desert at the City of Palm Desert Civic Center Park.

Celebrations will also include a 5K run, food vendors, a kids’ zone, live music, and a beer and wine garden to add to all the fun.

CVCAN’s March Networking Dinner Mar. 2 Woodhaven Country Club, Palm Desert coachellavalleycan.org

BNP Paribas Open Mar. 9–22 Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Indian Wells bnpparibasopen.com

Tribute Concert— One Gunn: A Tribute to Bob Marley Mar. 13 Spotlight 29 Casino, Coachella spotlight29.com

Pitbull Mar. 14, 8 p.m.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio fantasyspringsresort.com

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Mar. 14, 8 p.m.

Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa, Rancho Mirage hotwatercasino.com

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THE SCENE CA L E N DA R

TOP: PITBULL BELOW: PALM DESERT FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL

Queens of the Coachella Valley: The History and Culture of Drag Mar. 18 Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory, Rancho Mirage ranchomiragelibrary.org

be sure to check the website for tickets to all of the fun festivities.

HWCX 2020— Holistic Wellness Conference & Expo

Mar. 19 McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert mccallumtheatre.com

Mar. 21, 10 a.m.

Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa, Rancho Mirage hotwatercasino.com

Fashion Week El Paseo

Daryl Hall and John Oates

Mar. 20–27 The Gardens on El Paseo, Palm Desert fashionweekelpaseo.com

Mar. 21, 8 p.m.

Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio fantasyspringsresort.com

The Texas Tenors

Channel your inner fashionista for one of the West Coast’s largest consumer fashion shows. It’s a weeklong interactive experience featuring fashion, cocktail parties, trunk shows, and celebrity meetand-greets. Events sell out quickly, so

Palms to Pines Hike: Life Zones of Coachella Valley and the San Jacinto Mountains Mar. 21 Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument palmspringslife.com/events

Coachella Valley Symphony Mar. 22 Palm Springs Art Museum psmuseum.org

American Documentary Film Festival Mar. 27–31 Various locations, Palm Springs amdocfilmfest.com

Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival Mar. 27–29 The Gardens on El Paseo, Palm Desert palmdesertfoodandwine.com

Dancing with The Stars Live Tour Mar. 28 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio fantasyspringsresort.com

10-Time Grammy Award-Winner Chaka Khan Mar. 27 Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio fantasyspringsresort.com

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SOMETIMES BIGGER ISN'T BETTER

SPARX MINI PRE ROLLS

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P R O M O T I O N A L F E AT U R E C OAC H I L L I N ’

Innovation Goes Big Time A massive one-of-a-kind canna-business park offers an original but repeatable model for saving operational costs for cannabis businesses.

I

magine: A 160-acre canna-business campus uniquely designed to optimize cultivation, manufacturing, extraction, and ancillary business operations that will become more than 4 million square feet of cannabis-related businesses at total buildout. It’s surrounded by a beautiful $2 million custom decorative wall, secured by armed US military veterans. The main entry showcases Coachillin’ Brewhouse—a full-production and touring brewery on the left and a touring and educational dispensary to the right. On the parcel next-door, a four-story, 420-friendly health-and-wellness hotel will overlook a 5,000-seat amphitheater.

Dickerson, a UCLA graduate serving as the CIO/CTO. “We are working to develop a scalable version of the park, specifically for potential project locations in states where the size of available land has proven to be a limiting factor,” Kenny says. “Although this is a replicable model in theory, every aspect of this first park is unique, from our 9.5pH water well to the sunny ‘wind tunnel’ location, which allows us to capitalize on wind and solar power.”

Coachillin’ helps businesses in the park achieve operational efficiency and compliance by implementing innovative technologies and eco-friendly construction products, empowering operators in the park by reducing their cost of goods sold, as well as encouraging pioneering business practices for the betterment of the cannabis industry.

“We at Coachillin’ are the industry’s biggest cheerleaders,” says Katherine Dickerson, COO of Coachillin’. “We believe this plant has the potential to change society as we know it, and we are going to do everything in our power ensure businesses and consumers alike experience the positive impacts of cannabis.”

The campus will also be a model of eco-friendly construction and innovation. In total, the project will generate approximately 70 megawatts of its own renewable solar and wind energy.

This vision has come to life in the Coachillin’ Industrial Cultivation and Ancillary Canna-Business Park, located in Desert Hot Springs, California. The cost-sharing, or cooperative, farming model and resource allocation being implemented within this facility is unlike anything the cannabis industry has ever seen.

The project started in 2016 by Coachillin’ engineer and general contractor Kenny Industrial Cultivation and Dickerson, the CEO and visionary Canna-Business Park of Coachillin’, and his son, Michael coachillin.com

“We at Coachillin’ are the industry’s biggest cheerleaders.”

—Katherine Dickerson, COO

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THE END

Touch Down

New jet-set options in East Valley deliver snowbirds closer to the action.

Desert Jet center is the newest full-service executive terminal and hangar facility in Southern California, featuring a 10,000-square-foot terminal with floor-to-ceiling windows, an observation deck, and a full slate of luxuries. In addition to 50 COACH ELLA VA LLEY

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offering five-star service and amenities at the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport (KTRM) in Thermal Airport (that’s in the Coachella Valley), Desert Jet provides jet owners with turnkey management of their aircraft, including repair,

charter, and maintenance.

Bonus: the 32,500-square-foot facility is the closest airport to the Empire Polo Club, which means a short 15-minute Uber or Lyft ride to the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals. Wheels up.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DESERT JET

TEXT SAT PANESAR

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Open Monday-Sunday 10 AM - 8 PM (888) 994-2726 | 66205 Paul Rd Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240 shopharborside.com LIC# C10-0000396-LIC