Organizers of the Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats and Eats festival in Royal Oak highlighted some of the features of this year’s four-day festival over Labor Day weekend, including the return of the House of Dank cannabis sales and consumption area.
The festival promises to kick off a collaboration between House of Dank and Baker College in an educational certificate program at the college for employment in the legal marijuana industry.
House of Dank and Arts, Beats and Eats gained national news coverage last year during the cannabis company’s first year of marijuana sales and consumption at Arts, Beats and Eats.
“Nobody has done anything like this across the country,” said Mike DiLaura, chief corporate operations officer and general counsel for House of Dank, who said visitors to the secure cannabis area at the event this year will include some celebrities.
“We will work with Baker College on their new cannabis programs,” DiLaura said at a news conference in Royal Oak on Wednesday. “There are all sorts of jobs up and down this industry.”
Recreational and medical marijuana is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Kelley Suggs, public relations manager for Baker College, which has a campus on South Lafayette, said the college will offer three certificate programs in cannabis retail, cultivation and product development.
“As the cannabis industry continues growing at an unprecedented rate,” Suggs said, “the demand for skilled professionals is higher than ever.”
Partnering with the House of Dank allows the college to bridge the gap between education and employment, she added.
Event producer Jon Witz said the city- and state-approved cannabis area was the first of its kind at such a large event.
“You could not smell the (cannabis) smoke,” he said. “People who wanted to enjoy the product could, and those who didn’t, didn’t know it was there.”
House of Dank “brings us one of the most creative activations” of exhibit spaces at the event, Witz said.
Witz recently said that he used cannabis rather prescription narcotic painkillers after a bicycling accident last year in which he suffered 10 broken ribs, a collapsed lung and other injuries.
Headlining musical acts for the event are set to be announced in late July, Witz said, adding that the festival will also feature 150 local bands.
Wednesday’s news conference at Royal Oak Taphouse included county, city officials ,and representatives from the some of many entities that take part in the event.
The Detroit Institute of Arts is increasing its presence at the event to upgrade and expand the Kids’ Stage with a range of cultural and educational activities, featuring acts from Great Lakes Rion Taiko and the String Theory Theatre to The Native American Dance Ho Chunk Nation, and Audra Kubat workshop.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to bring these experiences beyond the walls of the museum and into the community,” said Salvador Salort-Pons, the DIA’s director, in a statement.
A mural will be painted live at an as yet undisclosed location in the downtown.
Kroger is partnering with Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design, the nation’s first historically Black college dedicated to design.
Three students from the college will develop and design the mural at the festival, focusing on themes of culture, diversity and inclusion.
Kroger is contributing funds to cover costs for art supplies, canvas and a scaffold treatment to showcase each student’s work on the mural.
A new logo created for this year’s festival was unveiled Wednesday. It was designed by Kelsey Mendez. The logo has elements that evoke the “guitar-fork” image featured in the original 1998 Arts, Beats and Eats event in 1998, when the festival was in Pontiac. The festival moved to Royal Oak in 2010.
Last year, the festival drew 345,000 people and raised more than $386,000 for local charitable groups.
David Woodward, chairman of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and a Royal Oak resident, said the event has been good for the city, region and charitable groups.
“The county has been a steadfast supporter of Arts, Beats and Eats,” he said. “Arts, Beats and Eats has generated $7.3 million for community and charitable” groups since it began.
Witz would not reveal any of the headliners expected to perform at this year’s festival.
When pressed while being interviewed before a TV news camera, Witz answered cryptically. “One of the (headliner) bands resembles what I’m doing now,” said Witz, looking into the camera.
