Cigar smoking is the most social of pleasures. And
with bans on public smoking enacted in almost thirty states, covering half the United States
population, cigar smokers must be feeling more and more like an embattled
minority. So what could make more sense than a gathering aimed at, and intended
for, cigar smokers?
How about several?
The calendar year is actually dotted with cigar-related
events, some of them years or even a decade or more old. The modern wave of
cigar conventions and festivals has its nearest origins in the so-called "cigar
boom" of the 1990s - the sudden spiking of interest in cigars that began
in 1992 after decades of declining sales, a (sometimes little) dying customer
base and little new interest.
Fittingly enough, the most famous of these events is
hosted by Cigar Aficionado - the magazine
many credit with crucially supporting, if not downright inaugurating, the cigar
boom itself. The magazine started publishing the same year (1992) that cigar
sales suddenly, sharply increased, and it likely added to that new energy with
its advocacy of cigar smoking as a perfect pastime for the stressed-out, go-go,-no-time-to-pause-and-reflect
1990s (remember the abrupt surge of interest in coffeeshops around the same
time?).
Cigar
Aficionado's "Big Smoke Weekend" was inaugurated in 1993, only a
year after the magazine itself began publication. At first it was a New York-in-November
thing - for its first New York bow, in long-ago 1993, it attracted over a thousand
guests, who flocked to the a hotel in Times Square, to dance, talk, and sample
new cigars, drinks, food, and accessories, among other things. By 1996 Cigar Aficionado had added a second
event in Las Vegas, which included panelists and educational seminars for the
first time. "Big Smokes" have multiplied since then - over a hundred
have been held, in various places, with a total head count of approximately two
hundred fifty thousand, including visitors from as far away as Iceland and
Russia.
Attendees sometimes pick up an empty tote bag near
the door, which is gradually filled with promos from some of the most
prestigious makers of cigars, accessories, and gadgets. The magazine has tended to
promote premium cigar makers, since its inception, and it tends to be the cream
of these that show up: Arturo Fuente, Tarno, CAO, Montecristo, etc. Luxury
automakers tend to be out in force as well, perhaps reflecting the magazine's
well-heeled subscriber base.
The tradition of having twin "Big Smokes"
in Las Vegas and New York city continues, despite those cities' recent
flirtation with anti-smoking laws. (New York
has passed tougher smoking restrictions in the past few years, and so has Las Vegas, though the all-important
smoking venue in that city-the game rooms of casinos-continues to be exempt
from any public-smoking bans.) The "Big Smoke" in Las Vegas will
dominate the weekend of November 9-11, 2008, with two evenings and daytime
seminars. Saturday seminars include taste-tests, cigar-rolling demonstrations,
and what's sure to be a very enlightening look at premium tequilas, among other
things. The "Big Smoke" evenings will include, as usual, sample
tables, fine liquor (included in the price of the ticket), and premium food
(ditto). The New York "Big Smoke" follows on November 20.
But maybe you'd rather visit warmer climes-especially in November. If so,
you're in luck, because Ybor City's
Cigar Heritage Festival goes down November 15, 2008 in Ybor
City, Tampa,
Florida, the neighborhood that was built around
Tampa's great late-nineteenth-century cigar factories. This is more of a
populist celebration, with free admission, but you still have a chance to buy
premium cigars (from Rocky Patel, Arturo Fuente, and Camacho, among others),
enjoy tours of the historic neighborhood (officially a US Historic Site),
sample ethnic food, and learn how a cigar is rolled. Among many other things.
One way or another, then, US cigar fans who love to travel have every reason
to be thankful for November.
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