Habanos is gearing up to celebrate the 23rd edition of its Habano Festival in Havana, Feb. 27 to March 3, the company announced in a press note.
The state-run tobacco firm has prepared a host of activities, workshops, lectures and presentations to share knowledge of its tradition and value chain. It expects guests from more than 110 countries.
The 23rd edition of the Habano Festival kicks off with the opening of the trade fair. This year’s edition brings together more than 270 exhibitors from 10 countries. That same night, Club Habana will host a Welcome Evening, which will revolve around Montecristo and its much-appreciated Línea Open.
The mid-week evening will take place at El Laguito Protocol Room and will feature Bolívar and La Casa del Habano. It will celebrate the brand’s 121 years and the worldwide importance of the international network of franchised specialized stores with the presentation of a new vitola.
The grand finale will be the March 3 gala dinner at Pabexpo. This evening will be dedicated to Partagás. One of the most important moments of the festival will be the Habanos Awards Ceremony and the traditional humidor auction, whose proceeds will go, as is customary, to the Cuban public health system.
In parallel with the festival, Fernando González García, president of the Cuban Association of Vitolfilia, and Zoe Nocedo, member of the association, will present a seminar at the Havana Convention Center, titled “The Partagás brand as seen through Vitolfilia.”
Throughout the week, the same venue will host masterclasses on the Habanos-making process, as well as tastings and pairings with different products.
Visitors will also experience a new edition of the Habanos World Challenge in which contestants demonstrate their knowledge and mastery of the different stages of Habano making and enjoyment.
The program of activities at the 23rd Habano Festival will be rounded out by visits to plantations, which this year will take place in in the Vuelta Abajo zone, in the Pinar del Río region, as well as visits to the Partagás and La Corona factories.