I’d been anticipating attending MJU High Dining’s “Sushi + Doobie Rolling Workshop” on Saturday, September 9th, for almost two months. MJU High Dining is a division of Mary Jane University, and I’d been hearing such wonderful things about the Moonlit Moveable Feast in Joshua Tree (the next one is coming up on 11/4, mark your calendars!) and awesome events like Sushi + Doobie, so I was committed to making it to one of them! My lover, B, mentioned that he was interested in attending. I was stoked—a date night with B combining cannabis, excellent food and rolling techniques that rely heavily on manual dexterity. What more could I want? When I pitched bringing him along to Chief Experience Creator Barbie Sommars (a.k.a. Faerie Jane), she exclaimed, “Sushi is sensual as it is. Add cannabis to the experience and it makes for a wet, shiny, slippery, delicious date night!” I agreed wholeheartedly.

Hump Day High Sushi Date Night
Hump Day High Sushi Date Night

Unfortunately, the morning of our date, B’s pup got super sick and he messaged to say he had to stay home and take care of him. Undeterred, I opted to go solo but with an eye on how this event experience would have been as a date night, even though I would be sans partner.

I arrived just past 4:20pm at the venue in Santa Ana and was greeted by sultry, kimono-clad hostess Keiko Beatie at registration, who handed me a generous gift bag containing samples from the event sponsors. My ticket was for the classroom—I opted not to get the upgraded “Teacher’s Pet” ticket for front row seats. Luckily, one of the front row ticket holders wasn’t comfortable being on camera, and since everyone knows I love the camera, I got to trade places and sit in the front row, anyway. I was situated right next to my friend and colleague, Molly Peckler of Highly Devoted, and her husband, Marc.

Directly in front and to the left of us was DJ Jack Pharaoh, serving up tunes to set the mood—great vibes, and not so loud you couldn’t have conversations with your neighbors. Once I set down my purse and placed my origami crane name tag at my station, I wandered around the sponsor tables to learn about the products. I finally had the opportunity to meet the folks from Pot d’Huile, an infused, flavor-neutral olive oil. I’ve been coveting this oil since I first heard about it, so I was delighted to find a bottle in the gift bag. Next to their table was Foreman Farms, who provided a tobacco-free cannabis blunt in the gift bags. Wrapped in palm leaves and containing flower, wax and a corn husk filter, these massive blunts were utterly luxurious. Foreman Farms also had small pieces of medicated dark chocolate that I imagined my lover B and I would have fed each other, had he been there. I was also excited to see Hummingbird Medicinals, who provided the flower for the doobie rolling portion of the evening.

I also made a stop at the Brite Labs vape lounge to try their PAX vape cartridges, which feature a temperature-controlling Bluetooth app you can set easily with just the touch of your screen. Being able to control temperature while vaping makes it so much easier to discern the terpene flavors!

I will definitely buy the Teacher’s Pet ticket when I attend this workshop in the future. It was worth it to have specialized attention from the instructors, especially Chef Victor Miller, the dreamy sushi chef from Nobu. He taught attendees about the history of sushi rice, how to roll a joint, and even noted, “You gotta make love to the rice” as he instructed students in proper technique.

Admittedly, even with instruction, my joint rolling skills are pitiful. I liken it to driving a stick shift. I know, in theory, how to drive a stick. I understand the mechanics. However, I still stall out in first gear almost every time. Same thing with rolling joints. I get the concept, but in practice, I’m terrible at it. Thankfully, one of the camera operators took pity on me and helped me roll mine, which was useful because the next item on the agenda was Rachel Wolfson, better known as Wolfie. A comedian, she acted as class valedictorian for the evening, teaching all of us how to blow smoke rings from our newly rolled doobies. I’m still working on perfecting that skill, too!

The night was well executed from beginning to end. There were plenty of things to do for all styles of socializing, from interactive stations with sponsors to quiet areas in the vape lounge where you could just chill and ride the vibe. The last thing I did before I left was enjoy a 10-minute chair massage from Mary Jane University’s amazing consultant, Zobeida Chavez.

The best part is, as Experience Creator Lindsey Jones points out, “This event is low-dose and an early night (4:20-9pm), so you won’t find yourself too tired to perform your extracurricular activities in the bedroom.”

Cheers to that! Hope to see you and your sweetie at the next one!

Hump Day High: Sushi + Doobie = The Perfect Date Night