NILES — Organizers of the Niles Cannabis Music Festival are moving ahead with plans for a limited, initial event on July 31 and now are selling tickets online and selecting the six local bands that would perform.
The city council had approved the festival for that date, as the Lansing-based organizers had pledged to keep the attendance to 500, mostly by invite through cannabis retailers. On Wednesday, organizer Mel Spencley said the crowd will be kept to 500 at a time by selling tickets, at $100 each, for a time slot of either 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 4 to 10 p.m. All-day VIP passes sell for $200. It would be in a large grassy and wooded area along Bond Street next to the French Paper Co. dam at Riverfront Park South.
Spencley is one of four co-owners of the company that’s planning cannabis festivals around Michigan. Marijuana products would be sold and consumed at the 21-and-older event, though alcohol wouldn’t. There will be local food vendors and six local bands. Social distancing and masks would be required.
The event is listed on eventbrite.com. Up to about 600 tickets may be available to the general public and the rest by invite. Organizers had told the city council in late April that, if this festival went well, they may pursue a much larger event in the fall with headliner bands.
