NECANN brings its first Rhode Island Cannabis Convention to Providence on Friday, October 15 and Saturday, October 16, 2027. The two-day business convention takes place at the Rhode Island Convention Center, with doors open 10 AM–3 PM both days. Rhode Island joins the NECANN circuit for the first time in 2027.
A business-to-business show
The convention is strictly B2B. NECANN's rules are clear: B2B attendees only, no consumer sales, and no cannabis of any kind sold, distributed or displayed inside the venue. Expect supplier meetings, business services and education, not a dispensary floor.
Who can attend
Attendees must be 18 or older unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. A medical card is not required. Show badges allow re-entry as often as you like, and the venue is accessible.
Registration and exhibiting
Attendee registration is coming soon, and ticket prices have not been posted. Exhibitor registration is already open through NECANN's floor-plan booking system and sales team.
Workshops are ticketed separately. A convention ticket does not include workshop admission, and a workshop ticket does not include convention access, so buy both if you want the full program.
Who runs NECANN
NECANN launched in 2014 as a regional convention company. Co-founder and president Marc Shepard built it as a professional, accessible platform where growers, patients, advocacy groups, legal educators and ancillary startups could meet face to face. The organizer calls its approach cultivating community commerce.
The company now runs conventions across New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont and Minnesota. At every show, NECANN donates 10% of exhibit hall space to social equity licensees and advocacy groups.
Getting to the convention center
The Rhode Island Convention Center is at 1 Sabin Street in downtown Providence. The North Garage, at 99 West Exchange Street, connects directly to the convention center, the Amica Mutual Pavilion and the Omni Hotel. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You can reserve a spot in advance through ParkWhiz, and pay stations sit inside the convention center, in the Amica Mutual Pavilion lobby and on the main level of each garage. Parking is separate from convention admission, so budget time to park and get your badge before the floor opens at 10 AM.
More NECANN and Northeast dates
Rhode Island is one of several NECANN stops in 2027. NECANN Boston 2027 opens at the Hynes Convention Center in April, and NECANN Minnesota 2027 follows in Minneapolis in May. Two months before Providence, Lucky Leaf Expo Philadelphia 2027 brings another B2B floor to the Philly Expo Center in August.