The second annual Dank & Dinks Industry Pickleball Tournament will bring Missouri cannabis professionals together for competition, camaraderie, product discovery, and charitable giving on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at Apex Sports Hub in Independence, MO.

Presented by Illicit, From the Earth Dispensaries, and CLOVR, the event will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 19310 E. 50th Terrace. Proceeds will be divided among three Kansas City-area organizations: Newhouse, Charity Fund KC, and Down Syndrome Innovations.

The round-robin tournament will feature social and competitive leagues, food and beverages, prizes, and a consumption tent featuring samples from participating cannabis brands. The social league is designed for casual players, while the competitive league offers a more serious format for teams looking to win.

For David Craig and the team behind Illicit and From the Earth, Dank & Dinks offers industry professionals something increasingly difficult to find as Missouri’s marijuana market matures: time together outside the routines of business.

“We really wanted to do something that brought the team and the industry together for a fun little thing,” Craig said. “I don’t get to see all these people all the time, and if you do, it’s a phone call.”

Industry camaraderie

The inaugural Dank & Dinks tournament drew approximately 40 to 50 teams, with several companies entering multiple groups and creating friendly rivalries among coworkers and competitors.

“The first one was really fun,” Craig said. “It was a lot of teams from the same companies, so it was cool to have some intercompany rivalries going on.”

Participating cannabis brands and companies also hosted pop-ups, giving attendees an opportunity to learn about products in a setting that felt less like a conventional trade show and more like a day of summer camp for the industry.

“We had a consumption area, and we featured tons of new products from those brands, which was a super fun experience,” Craig said.

The event concluded with an awards ceremony, prizes, and recognition for the tournament’s top performers. Local vendors provided food, while the indoor venue gave participants room to compete, socialize, and occasionally raise the stakes through friendly side bets.

“It got pretty rowdy,” Craig said. “It was a lot of fun.”

For the second year, participating brands will be able to feature products inside the consumption tent. Organizers said attendees may have an opportunity to sample products that have not yet reached dispensary shelves.

Craig said the event can also help attendees better understand the relationships among vertically integrated cannabis companies and the brands they produce.

“I think what’s cool about doing something like that, where you get a lot of verticals involved, is a lot of people may not realize, ‘Oh, this is their brand,’ or, ‘This is their company,’” Craig said. “It’s the ability to put that together and deepen your relationship with a brand or company.”

That interaction can lead budtenders and other industry professionals to discover products, recognize connections between brands, and build stronger relationships with companies they already know.

The value extends beyond product education. Craig said Dank & Dinks was designed to restore some of the camaraderie that characterized Missouri’s cannabis industry during its earliest years.

   

“It’s not the way it was in the beginning,” Craig said. “There aren’t as many hangouts, and it’s a lot more business as usual as everyone has gotten into the rhythm of things.”

Illicit and From the Earth have regularly used concerts, pop-ups, budtender gatherings, and other events to connect with consumers and industry professionals.

Craig said the companies currently host monthly budtender events, primarily in the Kansas City area, as part of an effort to make their brands feel more personal.

“We wanted people who consume or use Illicit and our brands to not just connect with them as something you pick up at the store,” Craig said. “We wanted it to be a little more personalized, to be able to put a face to a name.”

Dank & Dinks grew from that approach and from a genuine interest in pickleball among members of the Illicit, From the Earth, and Clovr teams.

The event also challenges the stereotype that cannabis consumption and physical activity are incompatible.

“We’re all potheads,” Craig said. “No one here has a problem with couch-lock culture. But personally, we like to go outside. We like to hear things, talk to people, meet people, learn new places, and look at trees.”

Craig said the approach centers on creating tangible experiences that cannot be replicated through online ordering, social media, or phone calls.

“That can’t really be solved without actually experiencing things in person,” Craig said.

That community focus is also reflected in the structure of S1 Enterprises, the parent company of Illicit and From the Earth. Craig said S1 became the country’s largest employee-owned cannabis company, creating a more direct connection between employees and the company’s future.

“We’ve all worked for those companies where the CEO is the guy in an ivory tower who never comes in and just dictates and barks orders,” Craig said. “We never wanted that. We wanted to sit down and hang out with our people, shake hands, and actually talk to people at all levels.”

“We wanted everyone to feel like they mattered because we’ve all been in those positions where your voice didn’t matter or nobody cared about you,” Craig continued. “We never wanted that for this company.”

For Dank & Dinks, that same philosophy extends beyond the company. Missouri cannabis businesses may compete for customers and market share, but the tournament gives employees from across the industry an opportunity to play together, build relationships, and support three local organizations.

Team registration is $150 for two players. Sponsorship packages range from $650 to $1,650 and may include tournament entries, promotional placement, vendor space, and access to the consumption tent. Sponsorship inquiries are due by Aug. 30.

Registration and additional information are available at danksanddinks.com.