Colo. Symphony Links With Marijuana Groups for Fundraisers

The Colorado Symphony Orchestra has announced a series of spring and summer performances to be put on in partnership with the cannabis industry in the state, one of two to have broadly legalized marijuana use, reports The Denver Post.

The concerts are being organized by pro-marijuana promoter Edible Events and sponsored by pot dispensaries and related companies. They are billed as fundraisers for the orchestra, which has struggled financially in recent years.

The series begins May 23 with the first of three bring-your-own-pot events at a venue in Denver’s Santa Fe arts district featuring small ensembles of symphony musicians and will culminate with a large outdoor performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside the city in September.

“We see ourselves as connecting classical music with all of Colorado,” said Jerry Kern, the symphony’s executive director. “Part of our goal is to bring in a younger audience and a more diverse audience, and I would suggest that the patrons of the cannabis industry are both younger and more diverse than the patrons of the symphony orchestra.”