Cigar Companero Premiere Editon 2008 Cigar Heritage Festival

Cigar Heritage Festival Festivities from Tampa, FL November 2007

       The 9th annual Cigar Heritage Festival is beautifully orchestrated in the hands of a dedicated group of volunteers & members of the Ybor City Museum Society, which is located in Ybor City, Florida. Ybor City, Florida (aka Cigar City) is a must for any self-appointed cigar aficionado. Ybor City is a small historic district that is located near the downtown area of Tampa. It is known for its nightclubs, cigar bars, entertainment, restaurants, family activities and shopping. However, what many tourist don't know is that Ybor City was once the "Cigar Capital of the World." Vincente Martinez-Ybor and Ignacio Haya, moved to the Tampa Area approximately in 1885 and bought 40+ acres of land from the City of Tampa and moved their cigar companies to what is now known as Ybor City. Together they developed the area and madehomes and well paying jobs for the immigrants new to country and in need of a new start. In the early 1900's, Ybor City became home to many Mutual Aid Societies (Social Clubs); such as L'Unione Italiana, La Union Marti-Maceo, Circulo Cubano, Centro Espanol, and Centro Asturiano. Ybor City is also home to the Tampa Sweethearts Cigar Company, which is owned by Arturo Fuente Jr., 4th generation from the well-known cigar making Fuente family. His grandfather, Arturo Fuente, started back in 1912 making cigars in Ybor City and the family continues to work from one of its original red brick old factories.

Ybor City has had its struggles during the Great Depression and in the 60's, but today the Ybor City Museum Society has brought life back to this little historic area with its educational museum and its themed events and exhibits throughout the year particularly with the Cigar Heritage Festival.

Every year in November, the museum society hosts a cigar themed
shindig known as "Cigarfest." On November 17th of this year, over
8000 people attended the event and the weather was absolutely
perfect! The festival is held across the street from the museum at
Centennial Park located on 9th Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets.
Admission is free to the festival, but a suggested donation at the gate
to benefit the Ybor City Museum is gratefully appreciated. The festival
was sponsored this year by Camacho Cigars, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars,
Arturo Fuente Cigars, JC Newman Cigars, Oliva Tobacco Company,
Thompson Cigars, and Pilsner Urquell Beer.

           The event had something for every age and gender, and lots of
cigar vendors. The Kids Zone had face painting, coloring activities, and
even cigar box decorating. Only a child would be okay with decorating an
already beautifully designed cigar box. A Fresh Market appealed to all the
women with items such as jewelry and crafts and not to mention the home
grown food at the fresh market. The Tampa area is known for its
outstanding produce and fruit growing, and if you ever tasted it you
would agree it is the best in the country. And for the men there was a
special area where they could watch the NCAA football games on several
TV's from the vantage point of some very comfy leather couches. Just like home, but surrounded by a festival of cigar enthusiasts. Along with all of this going on there was live music all day long with live gaming tables featuring poker and blackjack. Also you could watch or play with some of the best domino players in the area. And to top off everything there was lots of Latin food vendors to go with your beer or wine.

        There was also cigar rolling demonstrations for those who have never seen a cigar made. To roll a cigar is truly an art form to say the least. These cigar artisans are called tabaqueros and most have hand-rolled some of the best cigars known to man. "Cigar Dave" did his live radio broadcast show from the festival's music stage that featured the Don Juceam Orchestra, Col. Ange & Capt. Paul, Mick the Brit, and Tony Fatso. You have to be a loyal listener to the show to get the meaning of these names. The show is broadcast on XM, Sirius, and shortwave radio on Saturday and Sundays.

        The Ybor City Museum provided free tours all day long. If you ever get to Ybor City you have to stop by and see the Ybor City Museum, which consists of the main building that was once the old Ferlita Bakery. The bakery was established in 1896 by the Ferlita family who were Italian immigrants. You can still see the baking brick oven inside the museum. There are several "casitas" (small cottages) surrounding the museum that were restored to show how workers from the cigar era lived as far back as 1895. These casitas are known as some of the oldest in Ybor City. The museum has a garden, which is composed of a Mediterranean style patio. It is decorated in Florida's tropical flora and there stands a statue dedicated to Don Vicente Martinez- Ybor, founder of Ybor City, along with a beautiful fountain.

Now if this is not enough, there is a kick off party the night before called "Cigars and Stars." It is held at this very garden. The event is sponsored every year by Tampa Sweethearts Cigar Co. and Cigar City Magazine. It is a ticketed event. However, the net proceeds go to the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation and the Ybor City Museum Society. What a time to be had! With an open bar for beer and wine and a cash bar for mojitos and cuba libres, and all the Cuban cuisine you could eat, it was like a party made in
heaven for cigar smokers. Your ticket also gave you 4 Fuente made
cigars in a souvenir goodie bag so you had plenty to smoke
throughout the evening. There was a silent auction, charitable
casino games and door prizes to top that off. Live Latin music
rang out and a special guest appearance from Tito Puente Jr.,
some of his band members just happened to be in town and
dropped by to smoke some cigars and happily hopped on stage
and did an impromptu performance for the crowd. A cigar
making demonstration by Wallace Reyes of Gonzalez-Habano
Cigar Company was exciting to watch. Reyes supervised 14
rollers last year at the 2006 cigar festival and made history with
the world's longest smokeable cigar at 101 feet, a new record
beating the old record of 67 feet in the Guiness Book of World
Records.
        The Ybor City's Heritage Festival is a fun filled smoker'
s paradise that caters to the cigar smoker and family. Every cigar
smoker should make plans at some time to attend this festival in
the future if you have never been. Mark your calendars for
November 21st and 22nd to attend in 2008. You too can join
the Fuente Family and the many others in this Cigar Heritage
Festival tradition.

For more information on please visit the following websites,

www.ybormuseum.org

www.cigarfamilycharitablefoundation.org

Thanks to Darlene the Cigar Girl at Tampa Sweethearts for the
report on the Cigar Heritage Festival of 2007.

And Arturo Fuente Jr.

Article exclusive rights, 2007 Copyright Cigar Compañero Cigar Companero.com Photographs property of Tampa Sweetherts
All Rights Reserved no copying permitted without prior written permission of rights owners.