Procigar Opens Registration For 2017 Festival
The dates have been set, the cigar itineraries unveiled and now registration is open for the 10th annual Procigar Festival, the Dominican Republic's premier celebration of cigars.
The festival—which will take place from February 19 to 24—combines cigar tours and tobacco education with a mix of leisurely activities like golf, poker, pool-side cocktail parties and, of course, grand cigar gala dinners. The festival also gives cigar fans the opportunity to meet the creators of their favorite Dominican cigars and speak one-on-one in a casual, convivial setting.
Procigar is divided into two parts: The first leg will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana and the second, more cigar-centric leg, in the city of Santiago.
After ing in Punta Cana, festival-goers will spend Sunday and Monday relaxing at the Hard Rock Hotel, a vacation resort and beachfront property. Golf will be offered to those who wish to play, as will a number of free activities at the hotel. Cocktail parties, lunches and dinner events are included.
On Tuesday, guests are slated to pay a visit to Altadis U.S.A.'s massive Tabacalera de García factory in La Romana. After a tour and lunch at the factory, Procigar will make the four-hour trip to Santiago, where guests at the Hodelpa Gran Almirante hotel and attend a welcoming cocktail party by the pool, which officially kicks off the second leg of the festival.
On the first full day in Santiago, Procigar will offer five different tours for the guests to choose from: the De Los Reyes factory and tobacco field in Bonao; the General Cigar tobacco field in Mao; Altadis U.S.A.'s Tabacalera De Garcia field and processing facility; or the Tabacalera Palma field and factory. In the afternoon, all attendees will be invited to an international press meeting followed by a traditional Dominican pig roast and dinner party.
Thursday's tour options will be the Davidoff tobacco field in Jicomé; La Flor Dominicana's field and factory in La Canela; the Fuente and Newman Cigar Family Charitable Foundation headquarters in Bonao; La Aurora's Cigar Institute and factory; or the PDR Cigars factory. Festival-goers who don't want to attend a cigar-related activity on this day can opt for a beach trip on a catamaran cruise. That evening, the festival will together for the White Party, a night of dinner, dancing and cigars, at Santiago's Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration.
On Friday, the final day of the festival, attendees will have the option of visiting four factories: EP Carrillo's Tabacalera La Alianza; the General Cigar Factory (which will include a roll-your-own seminar): the Quesada Cigars factory or the Davidoff factory. La Aurora will also open up its facilities to those who did not attend the previous day. After the conclusion of the factory tours there will be a charity poker tournament at the hotel, followed a tobacco seminar and a formal evening gala and charity auction at the Centro Español.
The deadline for registration and payment is February 6. Visit Procigar.org for more information.
