CHAMPS Comes Back to Austin and the Cannabis Community Shows Out

Stone Slade – Blazed Magazine

When CHAMPS returned to Austin just months after its first visit, it did not ease its way back in.
It arrived to a city ready to treat the moment like something worth celebrating.

This was not just another trade show stop. From downtown Sixth Street to North Austin glass
studios, the cannabis community turned CHAMPS week into a citywide statement. Austin did
not just host the show. Austin showed up.

Before the Lights Came Up, Blazed Set the Tone

Before comedy clubs filled and torches fired up across the city, the week began on a more
intimate note.

Blazed Magazine hosted a winners mixer at Shiner Saloon, bringing together growers, judges,
media, and friends of the community to recognize the winners of the Blazed Flower Challenge.
The night was not about spectacle. It was about acknowledgment.

Conversations flowed easily, introductions turned into reunions, and the tone for the week ahead
was clear. This was going to be local-first, community-driven, and rooted in respect for the
people pushing Texas cannabis forward.
From there, the city took over.

Night One, Comedy, Cannabis, and a Packed Sixth Street

The official kickoff came downtown when Grow House Media hosted the Puffs and Punchlines
CHAMPS Welcome Party at Vulcan Gas Company on historic Sixth Street.

More than 300 people packed the venue for a comedy lineup headlined by Kill Tony regulars
Hans Kim and Matt Edgar. The room was loud, loose, and unmistakably filled with cannabis
smoke right in the heart of downtown Austin.

It was an incredibly funny night, but also a surreal one. Watching a packed Sixth Street crowd
openly celebrate cannabis culture was a reminder of just how far the local scene has come.
After the laughs wrapped up, the night shifted north.

Fire, Glass, and Community at The Glassmith

The Glassmith is more than a venue. It is a living snapshot of cannabis culture in Austin.

The space opens with a dispensary in front, followed by an outdoor courtyard along the side and
behind the building. In the back, a lounge wraps around the bar with comfortable seating. Glass
windows separate the bar from two working studios where artists shape pieces in real time.

Despite the cold night, the place was packed. Eight or nine glass blowers worked behind the
glass, preparing for the Glass Man Standing competition scheduled for the following evening.
Tattoo setups filled corners of the room. Dabs flowed freely thanks to Indux Labs and their
signature briefcase rig.

It felt less like an afterparty and more like a gathering point for the culture itself.

Day Two, Texas Flower Takes Center Stage

If night one was about celebration, day two was about proof.

Grow House Media returned to Sixth Street with the Texas Flower Challenge at Maggie Mae’s,
placing Texas-grown flower front and center in downtown Austin.

Fourteen judges evaluated thirteen strains, all grown by Texas cultivators. The quality spoke for
itself.

Results from the Texas Flower Challenge:

• • Third Place, Geremy Greens, Lava Cake
  • Second Place, EZ Greens, Rainbow Ropes
  • First Place, Raw Gas Club, Animal Mintz

The competition was incredibly close, with the top three separated by less than a single point.

Huge credit goes to Liz and Patrick at Grow House Media for continuing to push the limits of
what is possible in Texas cannabis. Sitting inside Maggie Mae’s, openly smoking and judging a
cannabis contest in downtown Austin, it was impossible not to think about how far things have
come.

Back North, Family Operations and Real Roots

After the awards were announced, the night once again moved north to The Glassmith.

That is where you met Julie, who had traveled from Hawaii with her family operation. She talked
about raising her plants from the earliest stages before handing them off to her husband once
they moved into one-gallon buckets. Her son handled the rosin pressing. A true family effort
built around care and quality rather than hype.

Moments like that do not always make headlines, but they are the backbone of this community.

Final Night, Glass Competition and a Strong Finish

Day three closed out with a bang in North Austin at The Green Room, where the Glass Man
Standing competition reached its finale.

Under strict rules of twenty minutes and only three tools, Fargo Flameworks took the win. The
night blended glass, competition, and comedy one last time, sending CHAMPS out on a high
note.

Bigger, Louder, and More Confident

Compared to the October CHAMPS show, this one felt bigger. Booths inside were larger, setups
more ambitious, and the energy across the city more confident.
More importantly, the afterparties were not side events. They were the event.
Each night was packed with local Austinites alongside visitors from across the country. Growers,
glass artists, media, and fans moved through the city together, turning Austin into a living
extension of the show floor.

CHAMPS did not just come back to Austin. Austin showed why it mattered.
And if this week proved anything, it is that Texas cannabis culture is not waiting for permission.
It is building community in real time, one packed room at a time.