Last Saturday, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the 2012 Delaware Cigar Festival at Delaware Park in Wilmington, DE. This is a terrific event put on each year by the Delaware Cigars chain of brick & mortar retail shops, managed by Gary Griffith from Emilio Cigars. The $125 admission fee included a large assortment of premium cigars, a great buffet lunch, an open beer & wine bar, tons of raffle prizes, and the opportunity to purchase additional cigars at special event prices ($3-$6 charity donation per stick) from well over a dozen top-rated manufacturers. All of this went to support a great cause: the La Musa School of Art in Esteli, Nicaragua.
In addition to being a veritable cornucopia of fun, this event also has some special significance for me personally. At last year’s festival, I was cerebrating the joyous news (only just discovered that very morning) that my wife was pregnant with our first child. It was also at last year’s event that I met Walt in person for the first time, and this crazy journey towards becoming a cigar blogger began in earnest.
In my video coverage of the 2012 Delaware Cigar Festival, I provide a guided virtual tour of the event grounds (including manufacturer tables), brief interviews with a variety of well-known cigar personalities, and a healthy dose of eye candy is sprinkled-in for good measure. Special guest appearances include Jerry Ernst from 262 Cigars, Skip Martin from RoMa Craft Tobac, Enrique Sánchez from 1502 Cigars, A.J. Fernandez from A.J. Fernandez Cigars, Eddie Tarazona from Tarazona Cigars, Eddie Ortega from Ortega Cigars, Craig Vanderslice from CigarCraig.com, and Gary Griffith from Emilio Cigars.
In particular, don’t miss my quick interview with Eddie Ortega in which he reveals some news about his upcoming Wild Bunch series of cigars.
(Video length: 16:50)
Soundtrack: “Fly On” by Zep Hurme (ft. spinningmerkaba)
http://ccmixter.org/files/zep_hurme/38254
is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Awesome footage–though the phrase “lot of great consumers” does make me self-conscious about my waste size.
CONGRATS Charlie and your wife on being parent’s, great review on the Delaware Festival, looks like every one was enjoying themselves.
Charlie – Cheers on your one year anniversary here at Stogie Review. Care to share anything you have learned? Is Mike really such a douche in person? Is Walt a raging gun nut? Is Brian really drunk all the time? Is Jerry really that short? LOL…be interesting to hear your impressions of blogging with SR the past year.