Hollywood just approved its first open-air cannabis cafe. Los Angeles is also all set to unveil the Museum of Weed. The legalization and decriminalization of marijuana usage is becoming more widespread, and dispensaries are sprouting in cities around the United States of America. Weed is slowly losing its stigma.
The Museum of Weed is set to open today in LA. It is steered by the people behind the marijuana delivery service, Weedmaps. It will be a 30,000-square-feet space filled with interactive exhibits describing the story of “growers, stoners, and activists who expanded knowledge of the plant and kept the cannabis movement alive despite decades of government prohibition and propaganda”. It will have exhibits and areas highlighting the role played by marijuana in several eras, from the pre-prohibition period, to the “age of madness”, the counterculture revolution, the war on drugs and more.
It will also explore the cultural issues surrounding weed and how its medicinal use helped change its reputation in the US.
“Our goal with the Weedmaps Museum of Weed is to demystify cannabis and its role in society, and to draw attention to the impact prohibition of cannabis has had on various social groups in the US and beyond,” said the chief executive officer of Weedmaps, Chris Beals. “[It] will combine all the immersive elements you’d expect to find in the world’s finest museums across multiple categories, including cultural, fine art, and natural history.” For now, it is just a temporary pop-up museum.
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Diverse show
Yet another outdoor music festival had to deal with tough weather. On July 19, the Pitchfork Music Festival returned to Chicago for its 14th year. The 95-degree-Fahrenheit heat did not keep people away on the first day. But by the third day, an impending storm forced people to leave the park.
This year, the festival had a lot to show for itself in terms of diversity. It was the first time since the festival’s launch in 2006 that none of its headliners were white men. Two of the three headliners — Haim and Robyn — were women. In comparison, Coachella only had one female headliner — Ariana Grande — out of three. This weekend, Chicago’s Lollapalooza lineup only features one female headliner out of four.
Stereolab returned for its first US performance in 11 years. Following last Saturday’s thunderstorm, the band was the first to get back up on the main stage. The festival included other diverse artists such as Belle and Sebastian, Jeremih, and The Isley Brothers.
Even though Illinois’s legalization of marijuana is set to take place on January 1, 2020, the Modern Cannabis booth was thriving on the festival grounds. A marijuana dispensary, MOCA, has been a Pitchfork staple for at least two years.
Top secret
The highly secret, posh, all-white attired picnic of the year returned. The ninth annual ‘Diner En Blanc’ took place recently in New York, with over 5,000 attendees. The main draw for the event is the undisclosed location, not revealed until the very last minute. The attendees meet at predetermined locations around the city, such as the fountain across the street from The Plaza hotel. From there, volunteers lead them to their final destination. This year it was held in Battery Park.
However, a massive thunderstorm swept through the city, causing many frustrated guests to evacuate. But some braved the storm. This was not surprising, considering the fact that they paid $53 for a ticket and also had to haul their own tables, chairs, food and tableware with them. The outfits are meant to be white, but some get creative as well. Guests have dressed up as Marie Antoinette. One person created a miniature carousel centrepiece, with each horse carrying a white or silver cupcake. The event was founded by François Pasquier in Paris around 30 years ago. He saw it as an unusual way for people to meet. The event has now expanded to a yearly experience in 70 cities worldwide. It launched in Manhattan in 2011, and every year the wait lists grow longer.
Easy meals
The number of start-ups invested in creating meal kits seems to be rising. Amazon also launched its own meal kit, now being sold at Whole Foods. The idea is for the average consumer to skip the trip to the grocery store, and the added time and effort for preparing a meal. Some brands offer a healthy prepared meal to heat up and eat, while others provide the ingredients pre-portioned and you follow a recipe leaflet and prepare it yourself. The grocery chain, Peapod, partnered with the cookbook author, Mark Bittman, on an exclusive Vietnamese-inspired meal kit, Fast Pho. According to Peapod’s meal-planning forecast, more than 40 per cent of Americans value meal kits as a tool to make cooking at home easier.
Hello Fresh and Blue Apron were some of the earliest contenders in the market. They offered pre-measured ingredients to cook a meal, which consumers loved. Initially grocery stores saw them as a threat, but many supermarket chains started offering their own meal kits. Newer companies came up with specializations as well. Veestro offers prepared meals for vegans. Factor 75 features paleo and keto-friendly meals. Prepared meals usually come in single serving sizes, so they are convenient for solo diners, since meal kit dishes usually serve at least two.
Suhashini Sarkar
Poster of FRIENDS Twitter
Footnote
Much to everyone’s dissatisfaction, the classic sitcom, Friends, is leaving Netflix soon. But a new Friends-themed pop-up exhibition is opening in Manhattan in late fall to commemorate the show’s 25th anniversary. Visitors will be able to relive some iconic scenes, stick a turkey on their head, play foosball in Chandler and Joey’s apartment and sit on the classic couch in a re-created Central Perk. The experience will run from September 7 to October 6.
