Page 30 - BusinessWest April 14, 2021

Budding Connections
Turning Leaf Centers Plants Itself Firmly in the Community
IBy Joseph Bednar
t’s called Budstock.
As the first major community event staged
at Turning Leaf Centers in Northampton, Stephanie McNair believes the three-day event — slated for April 16-18 and boasting the cheeky tagline ‘stock up on your favorite bud before 4/20’ — will help raise the new dispensary’s pro- file in a city that has rolled out the welcome mat for numerous cannabis enterprises.
“We wanted to create a
place where everyone can feel comfortable and have a good time and stay a while.”
Saturday will feature several music artists,
as well as a food truck, in the large parking lot behind the King Street building, while inside, local artist Rodney Madison will display his works, and at the dispensary’s ‘craft bar,’ a series of workshops over the three days will teach visi- tors the finer points of concentrates, edibles, vapes, joint rolling, and more.
In short, it’s about education, entertainment,
and community, said McNair, who opened Turn- ing Leaf along with co-owner Mary Anne Gonza- lez last month with the goal of not only inviting customers in, but asking them to stay a while.
“The cannabis industry in Western Mass. is evolving at a record pace, and with more and more cannabis retailers entering the market, it’s time to ‘turn the leaf’ to more of an experience,
Stephanie McNair (left) and Nicole Desjardins say they want customers to stay, learn something, and enjoy the experience
of buying cannabis.
instead of the cattle-in, cattle-out type of doing business,” McNair told BusinessWest. “That’s why we have the craft bar, which is a place where customers can take time to educate themselves about our ever-changing products, gather with their friends, attend demonstrations, have rolling parties, and so on.”
As more dispensaries and other cannabis-
77,300 NEW
JOBS CREATED
IN US IN 2020* *2021 Leafly Jobs Report
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CANNABIS SCIENCE
AND COMMERCE
30 CREDIT PROGRAM
-
FULLY ONLINE OR HYBRID FORMAT -
1 OR 2 YEAR COMPLETION
Apply today at aic.edu/cannabis
30 APRIL 14, 2021
CANNABIS
Staff Photo
BusinessWest