The cannabis agency. announces title partners and plans for Soulard Mardi Gras 2025

The cannabis agency., the official cannabis partner of Soulard Mardi Gras, has unveiled its plans for the 2025 Mardi Gras celebration.

This year,  The cannabis agency. will promote cannabis brands at signature events such as the Cajun Cook-off, Taste of Soulard, and the Bud Light Grand Parade.

Leading this year’s sponsorships are Kind Goods Dispensary and Curio Wellness, with additional title partners to be announced in the coming weeks.

Kind Goods will serve as the official dispensary partner, while Curio Wellness takes the title spot for flower, using the opportunity to debut its highly anticipated new flower line.

“Curio Wellness is so glad to be the title cannabis brand sponsor for the 2025 St. Louis Mardi Gras, Missouri’s biggest celebration,” said Rina Ligas, Senior Marketing Manager at Curio Wellness. “We’re gearing up for an unforgettable experience with interactive fun, exclusive merch, and are excited to connect with revelers and celebrate in true Mardi Gras style. See you there—let’s make this the best one yet!”

The partnership between the cannabis agency. and Soulard Mardi Gras has grown significantly since its inception.

“We were initially brought in to produce the activation by Rebecca Reardon and Nirvana Investments,” said Douglas Hall, President of the cannabis agency. “Both Rebecca and I had prior experience working with Mardi Gras Inc., which helped establish trust on both sides.” The partnership expanded in 2024, doubling its visibility and making cannabis a more significant part of the overall celebration. “The big upgrade this year is on parade day as we move from being eight blocks away to directly on the parade route,” Hall added.

“This year, Cannavisor Village will span the entire block of Lafayette from 7th to Broadway—right in the heart of the parade and one of its most popular thoroughfares. This prime location provides our sponsors with unmatched visibility and direct access to tens of thousands of parade-goers,” he said.

Positioned adjacent to Kind Goods’ Soulard dispensary, the site also creates a seamless direct-to-retail opportunity for brands to engage consumers.

“St. Louis Proud, Soulard Strong – Being a locally owned and operated dispensary in Missouri means everything to us at Kind Goods. As the official dispensary partner for this year’s festivities, we’re excited to exhibit our deep commitment to Soulard, to St. Louis, to Missouri, and to the cannabis industry. We are thrilled to showcase our newest dispensary in Soulard as the perfect backdrop for this unforgettable event and humbled to be in the mix with so many good brands,” explained Mike Maurer, Marketing Director at High Fidelity Brands.

   

The title partner selection process for the event prioritizes robust representation and exclusivity, allowing a maximum of four category-exclusive sponsorships. Brand diversity remains a key factor, enabling the agency to feature products catering to a wide variety of use cases across multiple events and activations. Kind Goods and Curio Wellness exemplify this diversity, with Kind Goods serving as the official dispensary partner and Curio Wellness launching its new flower line as the title flower sponsor.

Attendees at Cannavisor Village can look forward to engaging with brands in a variety of ways. Vendor rows will provide product knowledge opportunities, while a private consumption tent will allow for safe cannabis consumption and the chance to experience new products via gifting.  “We’re also working with several brands on fun interactive activities to go on in vendor row throughout the day,” Hall said. “We are positioned right at the entry to the open-air concert, which will start following the parade.”

The cannabis agency. has designed the event to be inclusive for smaller and emerging brands as well. “Parade day offers the lowest barrier to entry and the highest attendance, making it ideal for smaller or emerging cannabis brands. This is a cost-effective way to maximize visibility and consumer engagement while networking with around thirty industry peers,” Hall explained. “It’s a unique blend of B2C and B2B opportunities.”

Compliance and safety remain paramount at such a large-scale event. “Clear guidelines, strict protocols, and effective communication are essential. We maintain compliance and protect our partners’ licenses by prohibiting sponsoring brands from entering the consumption tent or gifting/sampling in vendor row,” Hall noted. “Every attendee is carded, marked, and required to sign a waiver before entering the consumption tent. Those appearing intoxicated are denied entry.”

Feedback from previous years has shaped the agency’s approach to the 2025 event. “Brands love the event for its unparalleled access to consumers, especially those without established brand loyalties,” said Hall. “The most consistent positive feedback, however, is about our team’s white-glove service. From shuttling participants to the site to having their tents and tables prepped for setup, we go the extra mile to represent their brands as our own.”

Integrating cannabis into a mainstream event like Soulard Mardi Gras has not been without challenges. “One memorable challenge involved spending 45 tense minutes explaining compliance to a health inspector at last year’s Cajun Cook-Off. Once she understood our process, everything went smoothly,” Hall recounted. Ensuring that only compliant organizations participate in the event has been another focus, with efforts to exclude non-compliant entities such as D8 and hemp brands. “The bigger ongoing challenge is keeping D8, hemp, and other non-compliant organizations out of the mix,” Hall said. “Thankfully, our strong relationship with Mardi Gras Inc. means we rarely need to over-explain our position.”

Soulard Mardi Gras remains the largest celebration of its kind in Missouri, drawing over 750,000 attendees across its multi-week schedule of events. For cannabis brands, this iconic celebration offers a unique opportunity to connect with consumers, build awareness, and elevate cannabis culture in the state.

We asked Hall what advice he would give to other cannabis companies looking to sponsor or participate in large-scale community events like Mardi Gras. His reply? “Call us.”