The third Soweto Cannabis Fest will take place on 25 October 2026 at Uncle Tom’s Hall, Soweto, next to the famous Hector Pieterson Memorial. The festival will run from 10am until 8pm. It is billed as a full day celebration of cannabis culture, entrepreneurship, business, education, creativity, music, lifestyle and community.
Organisers promise an expanded, highly informative, fun- and heritage-filled event in which local artisans, growers and entrepreneurs will be well represented.
There will be lots of live music and entertainment performances from Soweto-based artists and lots more stalls than seen previously, Tshepo “Mash” Madikoane, one of the organisers, told Cannabiz Africa.
Organisers invited people “from all walks of life and from all over” to experience Soweto’s rich heritage. They want to portray a Soweto that some from the outside world may not be familiar with, one that is vibrant and historical as distinct from the occasionally stereotyped version.
“The festival will also be a vehicle for highlighting the legal and regulatory aspects of the industry for the benefit of stakeholders and the general public. There will be a vinyl stand, biking tours, gaming section and a huge variety of stalls,” said Mash.
He also reminded festival-goers that industry standards and age-restriction norms will apply. The festival will be a no Under 18 event and stalls will be required to label products. Free samples will also not be allowed.
“Exhibitors must inform us of any food that will be infused, for example, pancakes or other edibles. They will have to disclose the ingredients,” stated Mash, emphasising the need to enforce guidelines especially on edibles. Organisers are also leaving nothing to chance with paramedics lined up to be in attendance for the duration of the event.
“The next step for cannabis is industrialisation. We as the Soweto Cannabis Festival believe that it’s time to bring people of colour and those who have been active underground for years to the commercialisation table,” explained Mash. He added that “people who had been doing it in the backrooms are now coming forward,” post-decriminalisation, which explained the eclectic offering the festival is due to present.
South Africa’s recent history and road to freedom pass through Soweto, without which it cannot be complete, noted Mash. It produced struggle luminaries such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. “Soweto is the world’s most famous township and an important chapter in the history of South Africa. Let’s begin the revolution right here in Soweto and add to that rich heritage,” declared Madikoane, who emphasised that Johannesburg’s development from its origins as a gold-mining city in 1886 was equally incomplete without the role Soweto played in shaping the city.
Tickets available from R80, book here at Quicket
