Best in Grass New Jersey crowns its 2026 winners on Thursday, November 12 at Starland Ballroom, 570 Jernee Mill Road in Sayreville. Doors open at 6:00 PM for red carpet arrivals and a cocktail hour, the awards show and winners' speeches start at 7:30 PM, and a DJ takes over at 8:30 PM before the night wraps at 10:00 PM. The dress code is cocktail attire or black tie.
Judged by shoppers, not a panel
Best in Grass is built to find the top licensed products in each state it runs in, and the scorecards come from everyday consumers. Cultivators and processors submit products, the Best in Grass team packs them into anonymous judge kits distributed through dispensaries, and judges rate everything at home on visual appeal, aroma, taste and effects. Every bit of that feedback goes back to the brands that entered.
How the season ran
New Jersey's calendar started with product submissions on August 3 and 4 at Valley Wellness in Raritan, the competition's intake partner. Judge kits launched on Saturday, August 22, and judging closes on Sunday, October 18. The November 12 show is where it all gets announced live.
Categories in play
The New Jersey judge kits cover indica, sativa and hybrid flower, pre-rolls, infused pre-rolls and solventless infused pre-rolls, concentrates and solventless concentrates, vape pens and rosin vapes, plus edibles split into rosin gummies, non-rosin gummies and non-gummies. Extraction method and format each get their own shot at a trophy instead of being lumped together.
Who's behind it
General Hydroponics is the silver sponsor and Cultivate is a general sponsor, and the retail partner list runs deep across the state, from Valley Wellness, Zen Leaf and Nova Farms to Unity Rd, BLOC, Queen City, Hashery, Milligrams, URB'N and Shore House Canna. The competition is produced by Verita Viva Inc.
Tickets and entry
General tickets are on sale through AXS and Eventbrite, with no refunds on Eventbrite orders. Any cultivator, producer or dispensary partner of Best in Grass New Jersey gets free entry, and so does any judge who completed 100% of their judging by the deadline, so finish your scorecard and the show is on the house. Paid parking is available at the venue.
This is a 21+ event, so leave the kids at home. Cannabis use is strictly for adults 21 and over; follow the venue's rules and plan a safe ride home.
The Best in Grass California Awards Show runs the same consumer-judged format on the West Coast, and New Jersey's industry also gathers for the NECANN New Jersey Cannabis Convention in Atlantic City. Find more on the High Rise events calendar.