The Midwest’s biggest cannabis festival is back and is leveling up in a major way.
Legacy Cup 2026 is set for Saturday, Sept. 26, at Surly Festival Field in Minneapolis. The celebration of all things green, now in its seventh year, features big-name musical performances, dozens of vendor booths, regulated cannabis sales and consumption, and high-energy activations.
This year’s event could be one of the largest yet. The 2025 Legacy Cup drew 14,000 attendees, cementing the event as the region’s premier cannabis fest and continuing its steady growth.
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Activities returning for 2026 include the popular Ganja Games, where stoners compete in contests like joint rolling and biggest dab. The sesh lounge consumption area lets attendees taste the local Minnesota flavors. Live skateboarding and glassblowing turn up the heat while the custom car show always draws a crowd.
Legacy Cup 2026 headliners include OutKast legend Big Boi, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Nappy Roots, and Sa-Roc. Radio host and media personality Mr. Peter Parker will co-host the main stage alongside Twin Cities DJ D.Mil.
New this year is a vintage gaming lounge presented by local arcade Up-Down and Rimedi Cannabis, along with a BMX show. An expanded sampling experience will feature lower-potency hemp edibles and beverages from Minnesota brands. A separate add-on ticket is required.
Legacy Cup competition gets an upgrade
Josh Wilken-Simon, founder of Legacy Cup and Legacy Cannabis, told GreenState this year’s event coincides with a new chapter for the local scene.
“The seventh annual Legacy Cup comes at a time when the new Minnesota cannabis market is finally rocking,” he said, noting the event and its cannabis competition have grown exponentially year over year, with more entries than ever before.
Wilken-Simon added that the contest is leveling up its judging through a partnership with the Ganjier Guild. A Ganjier is a trained cannabis professional specializing in product quality and sensory evaluation, similar in concept to a sommelier in the wine world.
Adult Use and Lower Potency Hemp entries will be evaluated by judges using a calibrated assessment protocol set by the Guild. Elizabeth Sage, executive director of the Ganjier Guild, told GreenState the nonprofit was thrilled to oversee the competition’s judging for the first time.
“We were excited to bring more structure, consistency, and transparency to the process without losing what makes Legacy special,” she said.
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Sage noted that 40 judges were selected from 120 applicants and trained in the Ganjier methodology. The Guild partnered with Sax Advisory and Bohm Financial Group for independent score tabulation and verification, adding an extra layer of accountability and professionalism to the storied contest.
“Legacy has something you can’t manufacture: real community credibility. Our role was to pair that with a rigorous, repeatable judging methodology that can be explained and taught,” Sage explained.
The Legacy Cup’s Homegrown competition was held Sept. 19 at Hook & Ladder in Minneapolis. Dozens of growers and hash makers evaluated one another’s work to crown winners in categories such as living soil flower and solventless hash.
Tickets for Legacy Cup 2026 are still available. Doors open at noon, and attendees must be 21 or older with valid I.D. to attend. An Industry Night mixer will be held Friday night at Surly Brewing for those interested in networking with their fellow cannabis professionals.
An Industry Night mixer will be held Friday, Sept. 25, from 5-9 p.m. at Surly Brewing for cannabis professionals interested in networking ahead of the main event.
Legacy Cup has evolved alongside Minnesota’s legal cannabis space for seven years. Now, with the state’s adult-use market finally taking off, the festival is entering a new era of its own—with no signs of slowing down.
