Empire State Cannabis Cup: An OG Strain Community Walkthrough

Written by OG Strain
Strain’s Strain Reviews (Talk Cannabis)

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The Empire State Cannabis Cup went exactly how I expected it to go — beautifully.

From the moment I walked into the building, every single face was friendly. Not “industry polite,” not fake smiles — genuinely friendly. The kind of crowd where you immediately feel like you’re in the right place. While everyone was welcoming, the first familiar face I personally recognized was John Gilboy, a local 518 craft grower who works in the same building and collaborates with the event organizer, Robert Tambasco.

And speaking of Robert — he was the second person we saw, and the man was in full host mode from the jump. Robert helped carry our chairs and guided us straight to the VIP smoking room, which also had a separate private room inside it with a door that fully closed. He told me we could use that space to do interviews and have privacy. He genuinely tried to make it work for me, and I appreciate that.

Now, full transparency — the interviews didn’t happen the way I planned. The music was loud (in a good way), the energy was moving fast, and a couple times when I went down to the interview room, the chairs had been borrowed and were being used elsewhere. No problem at all — that’s how live events go. I could’ve grabbed them back if I had someone ready to sit down, but the day just flowed differently. I ran into people who said, “Yeah, let’s do it later,” and later just never lined up. I stayed until about 6:30 PM, and by then vendors were packing up and the crowd was thinning, so I ended up bouncing.

And honestly? I still covered the event — just in a more organic, walk-through, community-first way. I’ll be putting together a video showing what I saw when I walked in, the vibe, the people, and the movement, and that’ll be up on my YouTube channel Strain’s Strain Reviews (Talk Cannabis).

Early on, I ran into Kevin from Higher Beings, powered by Hudson Valley Green. I don’t even need to say much about Kevin — solid, trustworthy, good people, and yeah, that’s my boy. He also hooked me up with some Higher Beings clothing, as always keeping me styled and repping right.

Upstairs, the first person I recognized immediately was Frank Falvo, who had a vendor table almost directly across from the main entrance to the third-floor general admission room. That third floor was packed — around 50 vendors, the main stage, the entertainment, the award ceremony — everything was happening up there.

Somewhere between upstairs and downstairs, I’m pretty sure I was dabbing with Jay Dee Hashisin. There were a lot of dabs that day, so if my timeline gets fuzzy, that’s why.

Then I ran into the big dog himself — Danni Burns, owner of Hudson Valley Green. And yes, Danni was there working, in the flesh, boots on the ground. He also gifted me an indica-leaning hybrid, which I’m definitely looking forward to using tonight to get some sleep after all that excitement.

I also linked up with Tok from Tokalotapot Seeds and CannaFaded — my partners, my people, and hands down my most adored cannabis couple. They gifted me some of their concentrated coffee, which I’ll be reviewing.

I ran into Kiley Thompson, owner of Lazy Day Farms, and Melissa Dopp from the community. I saw Mafia, Fetti, a rapper I’ve seen perform with my son in the past, along with his mother — who is officially one of the hippest moms in the cannabis community.

Another name I absolutely want to mention is Johnny Applekush, who came up and said hi. Those moments matter more than people realize — that recognition and mutual respect is what keeps this community real.

Big thanks as well to the blonde woman from Buddha Bros, who gifted me a goodie bag and a pre-roll. To be clear: I’m keeping the pre-roll, but I will be adding items from the goodie bag — including a keychain, bracelet, and other goodies — into my OG Strain Tical Bag Giveaway, which is already stacked but can always use more love.

And then there was one of the purest moments of the entire day.

A woman I had never met before — a complete stranger — noticed I had ketchup on my face and wiped it off with her thumb. Her name is Emily Harper, and I think she is a total sweetheart. I don’t know if she’s married or who she’s married to, but she’s definitely a keeper — whoever her husband is, he’s a lucky guy. That moment alone sums up the Empire State Cannabis Cup for me.

I also need to give major love to my ride and longtime friend of 25 years, Ted Zeglin from Schenectady, NY. Ted helped my disabled ass all day — driving me there and home, rolling my joints, and carrying around interview chairs that I never ended up using. Like me, Ted is Green and Sober, meaning we don’t drink or use drugs outside of cannabis. Having someone like that in your corner makes everything easier.

As for the music — it was still going strong when I left. The band killed it, and The Basement Chronicles — the rap brothers from Syracuse — put on another great show. This was the second time I’ve seen them, the first being when they opened for Afroman in Syracuse a year ago. They are truly an underrated duo and always deliver.

Unfortunately, my son Jake arrived too late to perform at this event. If he had made it half an hour earlier, he would’ve been on stage. He had a lot going on that day — including heading to Stage One Dispensary in Rensselaer, NY, which doesn’t just sell cannabis but hosts legit concerts and runs a podcast that’s blowing up, with guests like Styles P, Cassidy, and now Afroman, who Jake brought in to be featured.

Before I wrap this up, I want to put this out there clearly:

👉 Any grower who entered the Empire State Cannabis Cup — indoor or outdoor — can reach out to me.
• If you placed, officially or on my personal top 5, in either outdoor or indoor, you’re eligible for a free public review on Strain’s Strain Reviews (Talk Cannabis).
• If you entered but didn’t place, you’re still eligible for a private one-on-one review through Messenger. It won’t be on YouTube, but you’ll get honest feedback.
• If you already used up your entry flower, you can swap it with another strain you grew. This is meant to be a reward, not a punishment.

These were my personal OG Strain Top 5 picks:

Outdoor – OG Strain Picks

5️⃣ Purple Ghost Candy
4️⃣ Permanent Marker
3️⃣ GG1
2️⃣ Blueberry Muffin
1️⃣ Banana Melt

Indoor – OG Strain Picks

5️⃣ GMO
4️⃣ Event Horizon
3️⃣ Papaya Bang Bang
2️⃣ Platinum Sour
1️⃣ Crazy Runtz (OG Strain’s personal indoor winner — not the official Cup winner)

To everyone who came up and said hi — thank you. To everyone whose name I remembered and everyone whose name I didn’t — thank you. It was an honor to meet so many supporters, creators, growers, and genuinely good people.

That’s the Empire State Cannabis Cup through OG Strain’s eyes — and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything 🌿