Wiarton Bongspiel 2020 Mixes Cannabis and Curling – Again
Second-Annual Event Shows Cannabis Normalization Growing – LPC
On Saturday, January 18, curlers took to the Wiarton and District Curling Club in Ontario for the “Bongspiel” 2020. Now two years in, it went smoother than last year’s inaugural event, said organizers. They hope it will become the premier event for the cannabis and curling culture.
“I am very proud of what it has become,” said Bongspiel co-organizer Ted Ratcliffe. “We are all trying to make it inclusive and show what we can offer here with our Bruce Peninsula brand of cannabis culture.”
The event is helping normalize cannabis use. Last year, regular club members “flipped out” that the Bongspiel was happening at all. But, after the successful event, members are coming around, Ratcliffe said.
“I really do believe people thought it was ‘demon weed’ still,” he said. “Some of the long-time club members had no exposure to it in the past.” In just one year, club members have become more accepting, he said – a “sign of the times”.
Bongspiel Attracts More Curlers to Sport – LPC
Ratcliffe said another positive of the Bongspiel is that it was helping draw more players to curling.
“It is good to bring people who don’t normally curl out to curl. That is one of the problems with the sport,” he said. “I would say 50 per cent of the people here don’t curl (or) curl very little, and aren’t members of a club. So if we get some members or get them to come to more bonspiels that is good.”
The Bongspiel also attracted curlers from outside of the area drawn to the cannabis aspect.
“One of the things that is really nice this year is because we received so much attention last year we attracted a group of really curling-oriented people from a broader spectrum.”
A women’s team from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) said it just made sense to marry the two lifestyles together.
“It is all legal now, we love to curl, so why not mix it with weed,” Gailer (not her real name), one team member. “I mean, look around, this is not your average bonspiel.”
One hitch at the Bongspiel was actually allowing participants to consume cannabis. This is part of the reason why cannabis tourism hasn’t taken off in Canada – cannabis may be legal, but you can’t smoke just anywhere. Organizers solved the problem by setting up a trailer off of curling club property outfitted with couches and munchies.
So, like other cannabis experiences, the Wiarton Bongspiel has found a way.
“I really like the style of this party,” Ratcliffe said. “I would really just like to make it good and make sure it keeps getting full.”
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