2019 First time checking this out. They say 6000 tickets are sold to this event. 3000 for Friday,…read more3000 for Saturday. And even though the cheap ticket is $190 for one days event, the thing sells out in minutes every year.
We attempted to book a room at the facility but discovered it had sold out, even though we were investigating this the minute we found out the date.
We ended up booking at another resort, ten minutes away.
They had a shuttle bus to get you to the Cigar-fest.
Why a shuttle bus? BECAUSE PARKING SUCKS!
The lots were maxed, we ended up parking halfway up a ski slope. Yah, did I say ski slope? Yes. Which wouldnt be that bad if the lifts were working but having to climb these things to get back to your car can be a workout. Some front wheel drive vehicles were just spinning their tires in the grass trying to get up the hill. " GIT BACK DOWN THAT HILL AND FIND A SHUTTLEBUS!"
Stood in line for an hour, smoking cubans with a bunch of other cigar fans. No, theres no cubans for sale here.
Once the line got moving, it didnt take long to get inside.
What does your $190 get you?
You walk in the door and are handed a duffle bag like some kinda drug mule. Its heavy, its blue, it has the cigarfest logo on it. Inside was a heavy ashtray shaped like a tire, with a drew estate logo on it. There was also a humidor, preloaded with cigars, a bottle opener, and a heavy steel cigar holder. The cigarfest 2019 logo was painted on the top.
You strap on the dufflebay and configure it so that you can add stuff to it on the fly.
You will need it. since they hand you a ticket laden necklace, printed upside down so you can just look down at your chest and read the numbers on the tickets.
Each ticket coincides with the numbers on various booths. Where you submit your ticket to the 'guy in a suit', t-shirt, girl in bikini, Rocky Patel, or whoever, and they hand you a cigar. So now you need to find space in your bag for another 50 cigars.
How are the cigars? Mixed bag! Theres some mediocre whateveh's, but theres also some really tasty stuff. We visited the CI international super store that was about an hour away, and I picked up a $12 AVO, remembering the last one I smoked twenty years ago, but put it down because, well.. it was 12 bucks for a dlnky cigar, well, there was a free one in the cigarfest dufflebag . Sooooo, yah theres some decent stuff.
Is that duffle bag worth $190 bucks? You get a free BBQ. And theres a variety of booze manufacturers giving shot glasses of free beer, meade, whiskey, whatevers. And you get to walk through giant clouds of cigar smoke. Everybody is friendly, and happy to be there. So. Its like paying $190 bucks for a party where you get a lot of free stuff and somebody is gonna win a raffle ticket JEEP.
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