Best of KC 2023: Smokey River Entertainment District offers a permanent venue for cannabis-friendly events

Smokey River Entertainment District. // Courtesy Facebook

This month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can browse the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some of our current favorite things about Kansas City in 2023. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November. 

Now that recreational cannabis is legal in Missouri, there is a need for social gathering places for smokers and substance-free friends alike. It’s important that safe spaces be available where people have the option to partake in a toke or choose not to while they mingle with their stoned friends. Besa Hospitality Group meets this need with its new cannabis-friendly entertainment venue.

Smokey River Entertainment District is located off 291 Highway in River Bend, MO, east of downtown Kansas City, and showcases music, artwork, cuisine, and more at its events.

“[The Smokey River Entertainment District] is progress, not just for us, but for the country as well. We want it to be responsible and safe as we celebrate the end of prohibition,” says Besa Hospitality Group’s President Joey Pintozzi. 

Since their opening event, 420 Fest, in April of this year, they have hosted events for consumers and industry folks alike, such as the Missouri Grower’s Cup, CreepShow, and CannaBrew.