It Started With a Shirt

The Story of Michigan’s Cannabis Bridge Walk

Every Labor Day, tens of thousands of people gather at the Mackinac Bridge for one of Michigan’s favorite traditions: the annual Bridge Walk.

For Michigan’s cannabis community, though, the walk became something a little different.

It started with a simple idea: What if we printed Michigan NORML shirts, showed up early and walked right behind the governor?

According to longtime organizer Ryan Bringold, that was the thinking behind what became Michigan’s cannabis community Bridge Walk.

The NORML Years

The tradition began in 2012 when members of the Michigan NORML board were looking for an affordable way to get their name—and their message—in front of the public.

The plan was pretty simple. Everyone would meet early at the flagpole on the north side of the bridge wearing Michigan NORML shirts. At that time, the Bridge Walk started from the north side, and organizers hoped that by getting there early enough, they could fall in behind the governor.

The governor always attracted attention from the media, so walking behind them was a creative way to get Michigan NORML seen.

It didn’t take a huge budget. Just some shirts, a good idea and enough people willing to show up.

And show up they did.

The shirts themselves help tell the story. A surviving shirt identifies the 2016 walk as the 5th Annual, followed by the 6th Annual in 2017, both carrying the Michigan NORML name and the message: “To End Hemp & Cannabis Prohibition.”

What started as a clever way to get noticed slowly became a tradition.

Then Came Prop 1

By 2018, Michigan’s cannabis movement was heading toward one of the biggest moments in its history: the vote on Proposal 1 to legalize adult-use cannabis.

That year’s Bridge Walk shirt said it all:

VOTE YES ON PROP #1

The shirt was covered with sponsors from across Michigan’s cannabis community, showing just how much the movement had grown.

The small group that once hoped to get noticed behind the governor had become part of a much bigger movement.

A New Name, But the Same Community

By 2021, the walk entered a new chapter. A shirt from that year documents the event as the Michigan Caregivers United Mackinac Bridge Walk.

According to Ryan, Michigan NORML was no longer organized enough to directly support the event in the same way it had during the earlier years. But the people—and the tradition—kept going.

And that’s where Zahra Abbas becomes such an important part of the story.

Zahra Never Did Anything Halfway

If you knew Zahra Abbas, you probably understand why this part of the story fits her so well.

According to Ryan, during her first Mackinac Bridge Walk, Zahra walked across the bridge—and then turned around and walked back.

The whole thing.

Ryan remembers her as the only Michigan NORML participant he knew who completed the roughly 10-mile round trip that way.

But Zahra was never someone who did things halfway.

A patient living with epilepsy, Zahra knew firsthand how much cannabis could change someone’s life. She became one of Michigan’s strongest voices for patients and cannabis reform, and she wasn’t afraid to stand out, speak up or push for change.

She was passionate about people. She believed in the community. And she believed that sharing our stories could change hearts and minds.

When Zahra passed away in 2022, Michigan’s cannabis community lost someone special.

The Bridge Walk gained a new purpose.

The Zahra Abbas Memorial Bridge Walk

The event became the Zahra Abbas Memorial Mackinac Bridge Walk, carrying Zahra’s name forward across the bridge every year.

But it also became a way to remember others from Michigan’s cannabis community who are no longer here.

The shirts themselves have become part of that history. The 2023 memorial shirt honored Zahra Abbas and Hoss Plourde. In the years that followed, the walk continued remembering other members of the community, including Renee Emry Wolfe and Steve Sharpe in 2024, and Rick Thompson and Brad Lemke in 2025.

That may be one of the most meaningful parts of the walk today.

What started as a group of advocates wearing NORML shirts and hoping to get noticed has become a reunion, a tradition and a memorial.

The 2026 Bridge Walk

This year’s Zahra Abbas Memorial Bridge Walk will continue that tradition by honoring two more members of Michigan’s cannabis community:

Susan Fischer and Rev. Steve Thompson.

The weekend begins on Sunday, September 6, 2026, with a picnic at 4:20 p.m. at Colonial Michilimackinac Park.

Then, on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, participants will meet at 7 a.m. at the Trailhead Pavilion in Mackinaw City. That’s where attendees can pick up their annual T-shirt before the walk. Afterward, everyone is invited to return for refreshments and time together.

It’s a chance to walk, remember, reconnect and celebrate the people who helped build this community.

More Than Just a Walk

Nobody standing at that north-side flagpole in 2012 could have known where the idea would lead.

They probably weren’t thinking about history. They were thinking about shirts, the governor, television cameras and making sure Michigan NORML got noticed.

But year after year, people kept walking.

The movement changed. The names changed. Michigan changed.

And eventually, the walk became about remembering the people who helped make those changes possible.

Today, the Zahra Abbas Memorial Mackinac Bridge Walk carries forward the memory of activists, patients, caregivers and friends who helped build Michigan’s cannabis community—including Zahra Abbas, Hoss Plourde, Renee Emry Wolfe, Steve Sharpe, Rick Thompson, Brad Lemke, and now Susan Fischer and Rev. Steven Thompson.

It has come a long way from that original idea.

Not bad for something that started with a shirt.

2026 Event Information

Zahra Abbas Memorial Bridge Walk
Honoring: Susan Fischer & Rev. Steven Thompson

Sunday, September 6, 2026
Picnic at 4:20 p.m.
Colonial Michilimackinac Park

Monday, September 7, 2026 — Labor Day
Meet at 7 a.m.
Trailhead Pavilion, Mackinaw City

Pick up your annual T-shirt before the walk. Return after the walk for refreshments.

Honoring her. Building community. Keeping her legacy alive.

Historical Sources & Materials

• Oral history interview with Ryan Bringold, longtime organizer and participant

• Michigan NORML Mackinac Bridge Walk shirts from 2016 and 2017

• 2018 “Vote Yes on Prop #1” Mackinac Bridge Walk shirt and historical social media material

• 2021 Michigan Caregivers United Mackinac Bridge Walk shirt

• Zahra Abbas Memorial Mackinac Bridge Walk shirts and memorial materials from 2023–2025

• 2026 Zahra Abbas Memorial Bridge Walk event information and promotional materials

• Historical photographs and materials preserved by members of Michigan’s cannabis community