An Edmonton festival welcomed its first official cannabis consumption space at this year’s Edmonton Fringe Festival from August 15-25th.

The fenced and age-gated space provides a place for festival attendees to purchase and consume cannabis edibles and beverages, along with alcohol-free mocktails in an exclusive space.

Positive Intent Events (PIE) recently launched the adults-only, alcohol-free cannabis consumption garden space as a way to encourage safe, responsible cannabis consumption at festivals and other events.

The PIE Experience Garden Event has been located inside the gates of the Edmonton Fringe Fest since the first day of the ten day event located across the street from the Strathcona Farmers Market. PIE operates an age-check for entry and a second age-check to order and receives delivery of cannabis products on-site.

Cannabis deliveries are in partnership with Edmonton retailer NUMO Cannabis. Guests can also order in advance by visiting NUMO’s online store for pickup at the PIE Garden.

“Our vision for Positive Intent Events is to create event spaces for adults who want a fun, responsible cannabis consumption experience while enjoying music, art, and entertainment,” said Daffyd Roderick, Managing Partner, PIE. “The Fringe Festival’s courage to be the first top-level event organizer to support an exclusively adults-only cannabis garden event demonstrates their commitment to creating amazing guest experiences and perfectly aligns with our goals for PIE.”

The updates to the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Regulation that allow licensed cannabis retailers to set up temporary sales at adults-only events, like trade shows and festivals, were announced by the provincial government in December 2023 and took effect in January 2024. A statement from the province says the aim is to reduce barriers for businesses and “better combat the illegal market.”

Earlier this year, Alberta began allowing cannabis retailers to apply for a licence extension for the purposes of selling cannabis at a minors-prohibited entertainment event or cannabis industry trade show. However, municipal licensing for on-site sales has remained an issue for other cannabis consumption spaces at Alberta events this year.

The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is in its 43rd iteration this year, highlighting hundreds of theatre productions across dozens of venues in the city for 11 days.

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