The 16th Stepping High Ganja and Music Festival takes place in Negril, Jamaica from March 1-2. Once again, emphasis will be on educating and promoting the benefits of marijuana, as well as Jamaican pop culture.
Khimaja Connell, a director of organizers Stepping High Promotions, says this year’s theme is ‘Be Free’. She notes that the festival focuses on four aspects: education, entertainment, exhibition and experiential.
“Every year Stepping High adds something new to the whole experience. This year, we will introduce the cannabis in technology exhibition space, for people and organizations with technological innovations from soil-testing mechanisms, indoor and outdoor lighting systems to applications with mapping technology,” Connell explained. “The cannabis-related technology exhibition will be an exciting area to check out.”
Connell’s parents started the Stepping High event at their Negril home in 2003. She is among the speakers for this year’s seminars and workshops, which takes place on both days.
Closing day features a strong musical lineup led by Capleton, I Wayne and Addis Pablo. Connell stressed that Stepping High more than reggae and fans smoking weed.
“Artists are very important. However, we want to focus more on education and vibes or feel of the event. Whereas we can see a musical concert anytime, a Rasta cannabis music event is a very unique experience,” she said.
Her father, Lyndon Connell, has been a ganja farmer for over 35 years. Negril is the chief town of Westmoreland, his home parish, which has been Jamaica’s unofficial marijuana capital for decades.
The Connells believe the 2018 Stepping High Ganja and Music Festival was their strongest to date. It attracted speakers from the University of the West Indies, private research agencies and tourists from South America.
The festival has grown in stature since Jamaica’s government began decriminalizing marijuana in late 2015. Ganja, as the plant is commonly known in the Caribbean country, is synonymous with reggae and the Jamaican Rasta community.
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