We love the holidays here at CAFE! The vibrant energy of the season is everywhere, from the hustle and bustle in preparing for time off and holiday parties, to the joy and excitement that so many people feel. We love to get in the spirit of things, so we were extra excited to present the holiday edition of our Laughing Loud Market! This exciting event features a full marketplace where guests can visit booths from some of the hottest cannabis brands in town, scoring tons of freebies and great deals. Laughing Loud also hosts a comedy show, with a hilarious lineup of Toronto’s top comedians, and a mocktail bar and food counter serving up delicious, cannabis-infused bites and drinks.
Our first Laughing Loud event took place in September, 2023. We made all the plans for an exciting event, with no idea of how it would go. We opened our doors that night on Saturday, Sept 23 – and were humbled to see a massive lineup snaking its way around the block! By the end of the night, over 800 people had passed through our doors. Laughing Loud met and surpassed our wildest expectations – so much so that we knew we had to bring it back again for all the cannabis lovers in the city.
Our holiday edition of Laughing Loud took place on Saturday, December 16. It was a cold night, but that did not stop event attendees from steadily streaming in through our doors!
Laughing Loud is truly a cannabis lover’s delight. Wandering the marketplace is a lot of fun, with almost every vendor offering up free samples in the form of edibles and pre-rolls. Meeting brand reps and cannabis vendors allows for real conversation and valuable feedback on their products, which in turn helps with the development of the next generation of products. As well, many vendors offer special deals for that night only.
The night began at 6pm, with vendors all set up and ready to welcome the crowds. There was a wide range of everything cannabis available, from every kind of pre-roll, fresh flower, vapes, concentrates and all kinds of edibles. There was even a concentrates bar for those who wanted to get right into the goods, presented by Honey Badger. From the moment doors opened, people began to stream in, excited to wander the market and check out what was on offer by some of the best names in cannabis in Toronto.
Of course, CAFE was there with a big booth featuring our top flower and lots of merch and accessories! Our team had a fun “spin the wheel” game set up – guests were able to spin our wheel and collect a prize from the wide selection we had set up! With high-value items like special, collectible bongs, electronic rolling machines and more, guests were lining up in eager anticipation wanting to spin the wheel!
Euphoria was on hand with their ever-popular shatter-infused chocolate fondue fountain! Event attendees flocked to their booth, eager to grab a plate and dip a spear of fresh fruit into the smooth flow of delicious Belgian chocolate.
In addition to cannabis vendors, Laughing Loud also features live painting by the talented Ashante, who runs our Puff & Paint nights! Ashante had a mini class set up, and while she painted her own masterpiece, she also guided a small group of students through a mini painting of their own! Anyone was welcome to join the class, and by the end of the night many people went home with their own little canvas to remember the night by.
The night featured another live artist – Duro the 3rd! Duro is an amazing street artist who has created unforgettable pieces of art for us over the years. He had a booth at the show, selling merch featuring his unique artwork, and also exhibited his skills live for all to see – by creating a painting on a large canvas set up at the front of the room. As the night went on, Duro worked on his piece while guests watched in fascination.
Laughing Loud is a multi-floor experience, with something fun to be discovered around every corner. Upstairs, the mocktail bar and food service area was busy, with a steady lineup of guests excited to try our selection of infused drinks and bites. All drinks were prepared by CAFE’s own very talented barista team! Each one was completely unique and very much holiday themed.
On the other side, the food service team was serving up dish after infused dish prepared by the very talented Chef Pat Newton! His menu of quick bites had guests coming back again and again, making sure they tried all of the items available. Every dish could be served infused or not, to each individual’s preference. Chet Pat is a delight to work with, and a huge advocate of cannabis. We cannot say enough good things about him and his team, and are so happy to have them as part of our Laughing Loud experience.
Another big part of Laughing Loud is our comedy show! We invite the best of the best when it comes to comedians on our stage, from Toronto or anywhere else. We were thrilled to have such a great lineup for our show! Our MC was Lianne Malaudin, and the show featured acts by Jarrett Campbell, Nitish Sakhuja, Danish Anwar, Allie Pearce, Patrick Hakeem, Ronen Geisler, Luke Lynndale, and Quinn C. Martin.
The comedy portion of the show was full of laughs! The seating area was full of guests laughing at the jokes and antics of all our comedians. They did a wonderful job keeping the crowd in stitches all night! From a guest perspective, the comedy show is a great place to get lit – you can order your infused snacks and mocktails in the adjoining room and bring these right to your seat for the show! Anyone with a case of the munchies would appreciate this ability to eat, drink and also consume cannabis while taking in some hilarious live comedy! Here at CAFE, we love cannabis-centric activities and events, and we are proud to be the only cannabis dispensary that offers a regular schedule of fun, unique and exciting cannabis-focused events and entertainment in Toronto.
Our Holiday Market featured one special celebrity guest, one who is making his debut into the world of cannabis. American rapper Dave East has recently launched his own weed company called East Co, and was in attendance at Laughing Loud alongside Golden Grams, a wildly popular Toronto cannabis brand. Dave East and Golden Grams have collaborated on a limited series of special flower in 3.5g bags, packaged in their classic cereal box design. With several fire strains to choose from, this release was highly anticipated by the cannabis community – and available for purchase at a special price for Laughing Loud. To shop this collection, click HERE. We are very excited about this new launch, and look forward to more from Golden Grams x East Co.
All in all, the night was a huge success! A big thanks to all our CAFE staff who worked at our booth and barista counter! From being excellent at serving our customers, engaging people with our fun games and making unbelievably delicious mocktails all night, our team went all out and shone like stars. We would also like to thank all of our vendors and artists for bringing so much energy, creativity and fun to our show. A special thanks to Chef Pat Newton, who kept our guests fed with his lineup of irresistibly tasty snacks! We had so much fun with you all, and can’t wait to do it all over again this spring!
