Bagel Bash at Hall of Flowers 2026 — the photo recap

How did the morning in Ventura unfold?

The first guests walked onto the White House Beach Club patio a little after 8 AM, on the opening morning of Hall of Flowers. The light was already bright, the black shade sails were up, and the coffee bar was the first stop for nearly everyone. Within half an hour the patio had filled with California operators, brand founders, bankers, marketers and a few people who had flown in for the show and wanted a friendly room before the floor opened.

Breakfast was the kind of spread that makes people forget they have somewhere to be: trays of everything bagels piled with lox, cream cheese, tomato and red onion, chafing dishes kept full inside the clubhouse, and a steady supply of coffee in striped cups. People drifted between the patio and the lounge, and conversations kept spilling from one into the other.

By about 9:30, everyone crowded onto the patio for the group photo. It is the shot at the top of this page, and it is also the one on our homepage, because it captures what a Bash is supposed to feel like: a crowd of people who mostly did not know each other at 8 AM, standing shoulder to shoulder an hour and a half later.

What was on the tables?

A Bash is not a trade show, but a handful of friends of the community set up tables, and they gave the morning its texture. The Grassfed team held court at a long wooden bar. Hamsa Kosher laid out shirts and hats. There was a rack of embroidered and vintage clothing, a jewelry display, and copies of The Other magazine. The surprise hit was a stack of vintage cannabis counterculture magazines. Strangers ended up reading decades-old ads out loud to each other, which turned out to be a better icebreaker than anything we could have planned.

Who came out?

The Hall of Flowers crowd skews toward the people who make and sell the product, and this Bash reflected that. Growers and hash makers, dispensary buyers, bankers, payment people and marketers all shared the same coffee line, which is exactly the mix that makes a Bash useful. At least two dogs attended, and both worked the room better than most of us.

Who made the Ventura Bash possible?

Thank you to Luna Stower for hosting the California edition and to Hefestus Technologies and Safe Harbor Financial, our Big Macher sponsors, for presenting it. Thanks also to Jojo Snaps for the photos, to White House Beach Club for the patio, and to every exhibitor who set up a table before most of Ventura was awake. See how sponsorship works.

See yourself in a photo?

If you would like a full-resolution copy for LinkedIn, or you would rather a photo of you come down, write to high@jewsinweed.com and tell us which shot. We will take care of it either way.

When is the next Bagel Bash?

The Bash keeps moving with the conference calendar. After Ventura it went to NECANN in Boston and IgniteIt in Chicago. The fastest way to hear about the next one is the newsletter, and the full calendar lives on the events page.