Saturday, September 17 marked the long awaited fifth annual Delaware Cigar Festival, organized and hosted by Gary Griffith, the Premium Cigar Manager of Delaware Cigars and the creator of Emilio and Grimalkin Cigars. The event took place at Delaware Park, which is already one of our favorite places in the area to go and waste some money on the ponies, or drop some pennies in the slots. The event was unique, as it is a big herf disguised as a charity event, although Gary won’t use the charity aspect to promote it. The format is that the manufacturers and reps sell their samples for $3 each, with all of the proceeds going to charity, which this time benefited the family of a slain police officer (news report here), this was just in the last few days and quite tragic.
Photo Courtesy of Charlie Greenbacker
For your entrance price you got a bag with about 20 or 25 cigars (nice stuff too, I looked!) and assorted swag, a nice picnic buffet with burgers, dogs, chicken, ribs and beans, and the opportunity to talk with the assorted cigar makers and reps who were there. Brands represented were: Inked Magazine, Rocky Patel, Arturo Fuente/JC Newman, Emilio Cigars with brand creator Gary Griffith, Drew Estate, Altadis USA, Oliva, Perdomo, La Sirena with Brand Ambassador Arielle Ditkowich, La Flor Dominicana, Cigar Rights of America, EO Brands with Eddie Ortega, Miami Cigar, General Cigar, 262 Cigars, Kristoff Cigars, El Primer Mundo with Sean Williams, Veritas Cigar Co., and The Cigar Agency. Keith Park from Prometheous was also there. All of these companies donated TONS of stuff, either cigars that were sold for $3 each, or stuff to be raffled off (we bought 10 tickets didn’t win a darned thing!). The attendance was capped at 300 people, including staff, press and exhibitors, so it was a nice sized crowd. It was rarely a problem to have a chat with the vendors.
In addition to getting to schmooze with some of my friends on the manufacturers side, I was able to hang out a bit with some fellow blogger types such as Barry from ACigarSmoker.com, Walt from StogieReview.com and Michael from CigarEvents.com. I also had the great pleasure of meeting one of my readers, Charlie, who won big in the raffle give-aways! These events are always about the people, and you just don’t meet nicer folks that those associated with cigars for some reason!
What a wonderful event that I would recommend highly next year if you are within a 3 or 4 hour drive. Gary is a fine gentleman and I appreciate him welcoming myself and my wife for the afternoon. It’s refreshing to see a retailer put on a “not for profit” event, and to have so many people there enjoying cigars and camaraderie. I’d love to see more manufacturers participate in the future as the event is for good causes and shows the cigar business in a positive light. The only downside was that the weather could have been a little nicer, it was overcast and under 70 until we drove off the premises, then the sun came out and it was nice! Hardly anyone’s fault. I managed to win about $4 on the ponies over the course of the day too!
In honor of the event, I’m going to have another quick give-away! I know, I JUST had one that ended this week, but we got a couple Rosie Napravnik Bobbleheads at the park for Racing Fan Appreciation Day and I thought I’d combine it with a beautiful Veritas Connecticut Salamone that I purchased from the Delaware based Veritas Cigar Co. at the event. So leave a comment to enter, and I’ll pick a winner next Sunday, September 25th.
That’s about it for now, until the next time,
CigarCraig
Man! That looks like a good time! We went to the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival last month, but it drew some pretty marginal cigar brands (as well as some very good ones).
I was waching this, hoping i’d have nothing to do. But, alas, lots of kid stuff goin on. Looks like a great time. Shooting for next year.
Hi Craig, sounds like and looks like you had a good time, thanks for the contest.
I would love to win! Would love to attend a festival like that, too!
That looks like it was a blast.
I was there and brought my bro in law and uncle as xmas gifts to them. Was a great time. We too bought tickets for the raffle and didnt win. No biggie casue the bag ‘o cigars at the gate and the super prices on the others made it well worth the trip. THe food and drink for gratis was awesome too. I have exclusivly bought my cigars from Gary since 1998. I now need to hit up his store for a bigger humidor! I was psyched to see Drew Estate and got some of their wares. 262 cigars are a new favorite of mine as well as the Emilio’s. It was my first time to the show and wont be my last. Great crowd, vendors and the ladies were nice to look at too. LOL.
Help me, CigarCraig kenobi. You’re my only hope!
I’m a horse racing bobblehead collector from California and I saw that Delaware Park was having a Rosie Napravnik bobblehead giveaway Saturday. My emails to the track went unheeded so I’ve been scouring the internet in search of one and that’s how I came upon your blog. If you deign to select me for your contest, I will happily pay for shipping and make a donation to the charity of your choice. Thanks! Ted
Hey Craig, it was great talking with you on Saturday.
re: “I also had the great pleasure of meeting one of my readers, Charlie, who won big in the raffle give-aways!”
Indeed, I won three times:
Prize pack #1
La Flor Dominicana gift set:
– Premium Line Mambises (6.875×48)
– Ligero 300 (5.75×50)
– Reserva Especial Robusto (5×48)
– LFD double guillotine cutter
– LFD soft flame lighter
LFD Embroidered V-neck t-shirt
Prize pack #2
Rocky Patel wooden cigar wall art
Rocky Patel ballcap
Prometheus butane
Prize pack #3
Box of 15 Casa Fernandez Copacanana Toro Gordo (6×56)
Drew Estates double guillotine cutter
Prometheus butane
The cigars in the attendee swag bag were worth the cost of admission alone, IMO, and I easily made my money back off the $40 in raffle tickets that I bought. That the money went to a good cause was icing on the cake. A great event, and I’ll definitely be back next year.
By the way, the real Veritas Cigars website (http://veritascigars.com/) is currently under construction, but their temporary site offer some descriptions of their cigars, etc.:
http://veritascigars.squarespace.com/
Here’s the list of cigars included in the entrance fee & shown in the photo:
1. 262 Paradigm Toro (6×54 box-pressed)
2. Angelenos Toro (6×50)
3. Brick House Churchill (7.25×50)
4. CAO OSA Sol Lot 50 (5×50)
5. Casa Magna Colorado Extraordinario (7×58)
6. Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ Selectos (5×50)
7. Emilio Grimalkin Toro (6×50)
8. H. Upmann Sun Grown Magnum (6×54)
9. Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 Alisado (6×52 box-pressed)
10. Corojo Limitada Robusto (5.5×54)
11. La Flor Dominicana Ligero 300 (5.75×50)
12. La Sirena Prince (5×50)
13. León Jimenes Imperiales Churchill (7×50)
14. Murcielago Toro Grande (6.5×54)
15. Perdomo Reserve Champagne Noir Figurado (4.75×56)
16. El Primero Mundo Criollo Maduro Toro (6×52)
17. La Reloba Seleccion Habano Torpedo (6.125×52)
18. Nub Cameroon 460 (4×60)
19. Quesada Tributo Manolin (6.5×60)
20. Rocky Patel Thunder by Nimish Toro (6×52)
Thank You for sharing your, and Charlie’s, experiences at this event!
Nice write up on the event. I received 24 cigars total at the entrance including the Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary, it was an excellent smoke. Another great tasting single was the Kristoff (orange label).
Good morning Craig,
Thanks for running the contest. How about the Brewers vs. Phillies in the playoffs? It could get interesting. Thanks again for your blog. I greatly enjoy reading it.
The cigar festival sounded like a great time. Someday……
Sounds like it was a super event. I do enjoy reading your blog, keep up the great work. Thanks.