Dispensaries hosted more events in the first six months of 2026 than in all of 2025. What works, what flops and what gets a brand rep sent home before the doors open.
Kings House of Fire celebrated two years in business by taking over its own parking lot. The New York dispensary partnered with the town and brought in local food trucks and small businesses like banks and pizzerias. There was a free pig roast, inflatables, and unique cars for photo opportunities. They even put vendors in dunk tanks, which chief operating officer Capri King said was a big hit. The event attracted 1,500 people and resulted in an increase in new customers.
Dispensary owners love events. They draw people to their stores, increase sales, and otherwise liven up a typical retail sales floor. Consumers like them because they get to snag some free merch or learn about a brand that maybe they only know by the looks of the packaging. So these events are becoming very popular. Plus, culturally, “in real life” or IRL is making a comeback and dispensaries are leading the way.
“While 2026 isn’t yet a full year of data, one trend has already stood out: we’ve seen approximately a 10% increase in dispensaries and lounges hosting events compared to the entire year of 2025,” said Event-Hi co-founder and CMO Adelia Fakhri. Event-Hi is a platform that promotes cannabis-related events, including dispensary events, and it supplied the data in this story.
Their data points to 679 events in the first six months of 2026 versus 617 in all of 2025. Half the calendar, more events. Going back a year further, the state-by-state picture looks like this.
Events hosted by state
2024 in gray, 2025 in green. Total volume rose from 456 to 617.
California223 +33%
New York63 +19%
Michigan48 +17%
New Jersey45 +80%
Colorado43 +13%
Illinois35 +84%
Minnesota35 NEW
Arizona25 +67%
Minnesota opened licensed adult-use …
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Author: Debra Borchardt / High Times
