Cleo Mirza
Audio By Carbonatix
“If you feel uncomfortable because you’re high, it’s okay. We’re all stoned here,” drag queen Kendra D Crase announces through a veil of smoke. The Blaze N Bingo audience at JAD’s Mile High Smoke smiles and nods in agreement, knowing that they’re free to get weird in this judgment-free zone.
Located about ten minutes north of Denver, the cannabis-friendly bar (no alcohol, though) is the only licensed venue of its kind in the state. The place has the warm ambience of your favorite neighborhood dive bar, minus the smell of spilled beer. A vegan food truck parked outside runs orders in to some tables, while others order pizza and non-infused munchies directly from JAD’s.
It’s the Friday before Denver’s annual PrideFest in late June, and the space is decked out with rainbow streamers for the occasion. But Blaze N Bingo is not just a special event for JAD’s to acknowledge Pride month. The cannabis-fueled drag bingo, hosted by Crase and Minor Misdemeanor, takes place here on the second and fourth Friday of every month, all year-round.
Fifteen minutes before the event is scheduled to start, it’s already pretty full (highly unusual for drag shows, which notoriously never start on time). Most tables are occupied, so I opt for a seat at the bar. Hosts Misdemeanor and Crase, in matching Brownie uniforms emblazoned with weed-themed patches, oversee the room from a small stage platform housing speakers and a gigantic unicorn balloon.
JAD’s is a full-service cannabar (rather than a bring-your-own type of establishment), with a micro sales licenses for all the standard dispensary fare plus unique in-house offerings like THC-infused cotton candy, gravity bong hits, and vape cups. Staff members weave through tables with trays of product for sale, with individual quantities meant to be consumed in a single sitting (flower by the gram, pre-rolls, half-grams of concentrate, single-serving edibles). Delighted to be in a cannabar where I could actually smoke weed (because let’s face it, you can vape in almost any bar in Denver if you’re discreet), I order the budtender’s recommended pre-roll: a distillate-infused Mai Tai joint from Cali Blaze.
Misdemeanor and Crase mingle and toke with the crowd while handing out bingo cards and markers to anyone participating. The event ticket includes one bingo card per round, but you can purchase additional cards for $1 each (depending on how much you’ve consumed, one might be all that you can handle). By the time the game starts, every table in JAD’s is taken by bingo players, plus my fellow barflies and a few patrons in the rear arcade area.
I somehow only get one or two spaces marked from the first twenty-odd numbers, but I’m happy puffing on my joint and watching those who purchased multiple bingo cards fly into a frenzy. Two people shout “Bingo!” at once, and after their cards are checked by a skeptical Crase and Misdemeanor, each winner walks away with a prize.
Between bingo rounds, there are games, a raffle, and, of course, drag performances from the two hosts. If you’ve never seen a drag queen inhale a massive hit from a gravity bong right before her number starts, you are missing out on top-tier entertainment. It’s not easy to remain cool, calm and collected while suppressing an eye-watering coughing fit, but these divas make it happen, much to the amusement of their dollar-waving audience members.
Thankfully, the audience-participation segments are much less intimidating than that. Misdemeanor says she keeps audience games at “an elementary-school level,” like a staring contest, so as not to scare off blazed participants. And yes, watching a staring contest between two very stoned grown adults who are also complete strangers, is as ridiculous as it sounds.
The prizes for the bingo rounds, games, goodie bags and raffle, all sponsored by Star Buds, are fun things a stoner would actually use. My bag included Wana CBD gummies, a bandana, a lighter, stickers, a glass one-hitter, a dab mat, and coupons for a $1 joint or $5 off at Starbuds. The raffle and bingo prizes are bigger items, like a half-ounce of flower, a half-gram of concentrate, or a painting from a local artist. Luckily, Crase is a store director at one of Starbuds’ dispensaries in Aurora, so she’s able to get all the prizes sponsored by various cannabis brands through her day job.
The variety of patrons at JAD’s proves that weed really is the great equalizer; few spaces in Denver attract as diverse a crowd, whether that be the age, race, gender or sexuality of attendees. When asked if this is possibly due to it being a queer event on the eve of Pride weekend, Stacey Davis, who co-owns JAD’s with her husband, Josh, says their clientele is always an eclectic mix no matter what’s on their event schedule.
But Blaze N Bingo in particular has been a big hit, according to Davis, even with customers who just came to consume and had no idea there was a show happening. The show has something of a cult following now, with one couple proudly announcing that they had attended every Blaze N Bingo since the event started earlier this year. In fact, the show has gained such momentum that they recently decided to switch from a monthly schedule to every other week.
This is not your grandma’s bingo hall. It’s a much more relaxed atmosphere, where numbers are called between giggle fits and often repeated several times for the benefit of the spaciest attendees. The game moves at a stoner’s pace, and that’s a good thing (if you want to up the intensity, just get additional bingo cards). You’ll have plenty of time to roll a joint, snack on pizza, sip a cup of vapor, or chat with friends during the game. And while there are some prizes worth fighting for, this is not a competitive arena.
Ultimately, Blaze N Bingo is a social gathering for weed lovers who are searching for a good time, with all the creature comforts a stoner could want.
Blaze N Bingo is held from 7 to 10 p.m. every second and fourth Friday at JAD’s Mile High Smoke, 7667 Washington Street. Tickets are $20 and include entry, bingo cards for each game, a swag bag and a raffle ticket. Follow Minor Midemeanor and Kendra D Crase on social media for more details and ticket discount codes.
