Holyoke company becomes first dispensary to sponsor St. Patrick’s road race, race

HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - There’s a first for the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race and Parade this year. A local marijuana dispensary is a sponsor.

Canna Provisions in Holyoke is ready for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Western Mass News stopped by the store on Dwight Street and spoke with chief operating officer Erik Williams. He told us they are happy to be the first cannabis business to be a sponsor of the city’s parade and road race.

“We have been an integral part of this community since before we opened. We are members of the Young Professional Society and the Chamber of Commerce and we are very involved across the board and supporting a lot of charities, so I think that us, in particular, doing the work beforehand and then going to the parade committee and seeing if we could sponsor, that’s the way we worked out,” Williams said.

This is the second year Canna Provisions has been part of the parade, but it’s the first year they are sponsoring and have a CEO on the committee.

“Our CEO, Meg Sanders, who is on the parade committee, so if you see her on the parade route with her ‘highrish’ sash on, please say hello to her,” Williams added.

They plan to have spots set up all over Holyoke this weekend: the start and finish lines of the road race on Saturday and along the parade route at Brennan’s Place, on Sunday.

“You will also find our ‘Runners High’ shirt out there, as well as the hats,” Williams explained.

As the first legal dispensary in Holyoke, Williams told us they have a strong commitment to the community and with their merchandise, “it’s our little take on Irish, you know. We really think the smoking of the green goes really well with the green holiday.”

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