Event Recap: Garcia Hand Picked Tour
Garcia Hand Picked returned to California this summer with a four-city Homecoming Tour that brought together music, legacy cultivation, guided tastings, and the community that has long surrounded Jerry Garcia’s enduring influence. Produced by Budist, the month-long tour transformed four of California’s premier cannabis retail and consumption lounges—Chapel of the Flowers in Berkeley, Urbana Geary in San Francisco, The Woods in West Hollywood, and Sessions by the Bay in San Diego—into immersive experiences celebrating California craft cannabis and Garcia’s legacy.
Rather than unveiling the collection through a traditional product launch, each stop invited guests to experience it firsthand. Guided flower tastings, conversations with the farmers behind every cultivar, Garcia-inspired live music, and a traveling exhibition of original photography from Ricki and Jay Blakesberg’s Retro Photo Archive gave consumers an opportunity to connect with the flower through the people, stories, and traditions that shaped it.
Over the course of four events, hundreds of consumers, retailers, cultivators, and longtime Garcia fans came together to explore the collection in a setting designed to encourage curiosity, conversation, and a deeper appreciation for craft cannabis. By the final stop in San Diego, the tour had become far more than a product launch—it had become a memorable expression of the culture, craftsmanship, and community that continue to define California cannabis.
The Guided Tasting Experience
At the center of every stop was a guided flower tasting led by Budist cannabis sommeliers. Guests moved through the Garcia Hand Picked collection one cultivar at a time, learning how to evaluate aroma, flavor, and overall experience while hearing directly from the farmers who grew each expression.
To create a consistent tasting experience, every sample was prepared using PAX FOUR dry herb vaporizers. Unlike combustion, vaporization allowed guests to experience each cultivar at its fullest expression, making it easier to recognize the subtle aromas, flavors, and terpene profiles that made every flower unique. With every participant tasting under the same conditions, conversations naturally focused on what made each cultivar different.
The growers played just as important a role in the experience. Between tastings, they shared the stories behind their farms and the cultivation practices that shaped each harvest. Guests asked questions, compared tasting notes, and discovered how genetics, climate, soil, and farming decisions all contribute to the character of the finished flower.
For many attendees, it was their first guided cannabis tasting. By the end of the session, they weren’t just familiar with the Garcia Hand Picked lineup. They had a new appreciation for the people, places, and craftsmanship behind every cultivar.
Music, Photography & Special Guests
Beyond the tastings, each event offered its own interpretation of Jerry Garcia’s legacy through music and art. A traveling exhibition from Retro Photo Archive, curated by Ricki and Jay Blakesberg, featured original photographs spanning Garcia’s life on and off the stage. As guests moved through the exhibit between tastings, the photographs provided a deeper connection to the inspiration behind the collection.
Live music brought a distinct energy to each stop on the tour. Jonny Mojo & Friends opened the series in Berkeley, DJ Dark Star Dan kept the crowd moving in San Francisco, three-time Grammy Award winner Eric Krasno delivered an intimate acoustic performance in West Hollywood, and Electric Waste Band closed the tour in San Diego with a performance that celebrated decades of Grateful Dead music.
Two of the tour’s most memorable moments came in San Francisco and West Hollywood, where Trixie Garcia joined the events to meet guests and celebrate the California homecoming of Garcia Hand Picked. Her presence added a personal connection to the experience and underscored the enduring relationship between Jerry Garcia’s legacy, music, and the community that continues to celebrate it.
Meet the Farms Behind the Collection
One of the highlights of the tour was the opportunity to meet the farmers behind every cultivar in the Garcia Hand Picked collection. Throughout the month, guests spent time speaking directly with the people responsible for growing the flower, asking questions about genetics, cultivation techniques, terroir, and the decisions that shape each harvest. Those conversations offered a deeper appreciation for the craftsmanship behind every expression and reminded guests that exceptional cannabis begins long before it reaches the shelf.
The Garcia Hand Picked collection brings together five legacy sungrown farms from Northern California, each with its own approach to cultivation and its own distinct sense of place. Together, they represent the diversity, agricultural heritage, and craftsmanship that continue to define California cannabis.
Every cultivar featured in the collection has also been independently reviewed by a Budist critic using our standardized 100-point evaluation methodology. Continue reading to learn more about each farm, then explore the full Budist reviews to hear directly from the critics who evaluated each cultivar.
Canna Country Farms
Located in Southern Humboldt, Canna Country Farms is a multigenerational family-operated farm recognized for its sun-grown cultivation, proprietary genetics, and terpene-forward breeding program. Rather than selecting cultivars for production volume, the farm focuses on flavor, aromatic expression, and the overall smoking experience.
The collection featured Lavender Sunrise, a sativa bred from Birthday Cake × Burmese that expresses layered notes of coffee, sweet cream, and lavender, reflecting the farm's commitment to distinctive terpene expression.
Read the Budist Review: Lavender Sunrise
Galactic Farms
Tucked along the Eel River in Humboldt County, Galactic Farms is a second-generation regenerative homestead where cannabis exists as part of a larger living ecosystem. Living soils, pollinator habitats, bees, and seasonal crops all contribute to the farm's habitat-first approach to cultivation.
Guests experienced Under the Stars, an indica descended from Sister of OG Kush with earthy notes of forest floor, molasses, and pine. Throughout the tour, the team also shared honey harvested from bees on the farm, illustrating how regenerative cannabis cultivation supports an entire ecosystem beyond the cannabis plant.
Read the Budist Review: Under the Stars
Greenshock Farms
For more than two decades, Greenshock Farms has cultivated organic, sun-grown cannabis in the mountains of Northern California. The farm has earned recognition at both the Emerald Cup and California State Fair through its continued focus on terpene-rich genetics and thoughtful cultivation practices.
Its featured cultivar, Skunk Gas, is an indica bred from Green Lantern × Double OG Chem × Long Valley Royal Kush Skunk, delivering bold notes of skunk, diesel, and menthol that showcase the farm's terpene-forward approach.
Read the Budist Review: Skunk Gas
Rebel Grown
Operating off-grid within Southern Humboldt's Palo Verde Appellation, Rebel Grown has become one of California's most respected names in craft cannabis through its commitment to organic cultivation, biodiversity, and in-house breeding.
Garcia Hand Picked featured two cultivars from the farm: Rebel Sour, a sativa with notes of kerosene, black pepper, and lemon, and Double OG Chem, a hybrid expressing musk, cedar, and fuel. Together, they showcase the depth and diversity of Rebel Grown's breeding program.
Read the Budist Reviews:
Sunrise Gardens
Sunrise Gardens approaches cultivation with equal attention to quality and environmental stewardship. Operating as a solar-powered farm, the team relies on homemade compost, compost teas, and hands-on farming practices to produce expressive sungrown cannabis while treading lightly on the land.
The farm contributed Tropicanna Cherry, a sativa bred from Tropicanna Cookies × Cherry Cookies with vibrant notes of sour cherry, sweet citrus, and nutmeg that exemplify the farm's thoughtful approach to cultivation.
Together, these five farms represent the diversity, craftsmanship, and agricultural heritage that continue to define Northern California cannabis.
Education in Action
One of the most rewarding parts of the tour was watching the conversations continue long after the guided tastings had ended. Guests stayed behind to revisit their favorite cultivars, compare tasting notes with one another, ask follow-up questions, and spend more time with the Budist staff and farmers. Many left with a new appreciation for how genetics, terroir, and cultivation practices shape the character of every flower.
Those conversations reflect what Budist has always believed: when consumers are given the opportunity to slow down, ask questions, and experience cannabis in a thoughtful setting, product appreciation naturally follows. By the end of the tour, guests walked away with more than a favorite cultivar. They left with a deeper understanding of the people, places, music, and cultural traditions that inspired the Garcia Hand Picked collection.
Continuing the Journey
Thank you to Garcia Hand Picked for trusting Budist to produce the California Homecoming Tour, and to Trixie Garcia, Canna Country Farms, Galactic Farms, Greenshock Farms, Rebel Grown, Sunrise Gardens, Ricki and Jay Blakesberg, our retail partners, the musicians who brought each stop to life, and everyone who joined us along the way. Together, you helped create an experience that celebrated the people, places, and traditions at the heart of California cannabis.
If you weren’t able to attend the tour, or if you’d like to revisit the collection, Garcia Hand Picked is now available at select retailers throughout California. Explore the Budist reviews to learn more about each featured cultivar, hear directly from the critics who evaluated them, and use the Store Locator to find the collection near you.
