Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/699960
tobaccoasia 23 (Photo: Åke Hultqvist) Dates of the 19th Habano Festival have not been announced yet, but it is usually held in Feb- ruary-March. Dominican Republic's ProCigar: the most entertaining Organized by the Association of Dominican Ci- gar Manufacturers and usually held just before the Habanos Festival, ProCigar's 2016 edition was its ninth. It is a unique opportunity to discover the beautiful Dominican Republic, both leisurely and with a focus on one of its most famous industries. The first portion of the festival focuses on leisure activities in Punta Cana, one of the Carib- bean's top tourism destinations, with beach ac- tivities, golf, snorkelling, and horse riding by the ocean. This year, it was followed by a tour of the Tabacalera de García in La Romana, one of the eastern region's top tobacco factories and the big- gest cigar factory in the world. Participants then headed to Santiago, the heart of the "cigar country" for three days, where they enjoyed guided tours of Quesada, La Aurora, General Cigar, Tabacalera La Palma, Cigar Fam- ily Charitable Foundation, De Los Reyes Cigars, Tabacalera La Alianza, La Flor Dominicana, and Davidoff factories and tobacco fields. ProCigar's white party ProCigar - Manuel Quesada shaving his mustache In addition to the cigar-themed activities, Pro Cigar also offered the opportunity to participate in its 6th Annual ProCigar Poker Tournament and its first "long ash" contest. Cigar festivals wouldn't be the same without their formal dinners and this is no exception: a wel- come dinner in the gardens of the Teatro del Ci- bao where all ProCigar members presented either a new, limited, or special cigar to all the guests; a white attire dinner at Santiago's Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración to the sounds of Bossa Nova; and a gala dinner and live auction of one- of-a-kind humidors or limited edition cigars, their proceeds benefiting non-profit organizations. This year, the auction concluded with Manuel Quesada being challenged to shave his moustache. The bidding began at $4,700 ($100 per year that the moustache had been on Quesada), and a group ef- fort of contributions brought in a total of $15,000 to the evening's total to remove Quesada's mous- tache. Overall the auction raised a record-breaking US$201,000, more than double the amount raised the previous year. The 10th Annual ProCigar Festival will be held during February 19-24, 2017. Habanos Festival - PCC VIP group visiting Havana Club rum factory Habanos Festival - Gala Dinner