XXIII Habano Festival kicks off in Havana
Habanos, S.A.’s most prestigious brands at the festival are Montecristo, Bolívar and Partagás
Habanos, S.A. is highlighting the kickoff of the Habano Festival in Havana, Cuba. Running February 27 to March 3, the capital city will welcome aficionados, professionals and experts from all over the world to experience live music, gastronomy and the best of Cuban culture, paying tribute to the world of Habanos.
Habanos, S.A.’s most prestigious brands at the festival are Montecristo, Bolívar and Partagás, among others.
For the week-long celebration, a host of activities, workshops, lectures and presentations have been prepared with Habanos as the central theme and with the aim of continuing to convey and share knowledge of both its tradition and its entire value chain.
As in previous editions, attendees from more than 110 countries will get a first-hand look at the novelties Habanos, S.A. will be presenting during the Festival.
The 23rd edition of the Habano Festival kicks off with the opening of the Trade Fair, a meeting point for professionals in the tobacco sector, manufacturers of premium products and artisans. This year’s edition brings together more than 270 exhibitors from 10 countries. That same night, Club Habana will host the first of the special evenings with 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” of this long-awaited Habano Festival will be the Gala evening to be held on Friday, March 3 at Pabexpo. The Gala 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.
Full week of activities
Running at the same time is the International Seminar, which will kick off with the Conference session entitle ‘The Partagás brand as seen through Vitolfilia,’ presented by Fernando González García, President of the Cuban Association of Vitolfilia, and Zoe Nocedo, member of the Association, at the Havana Convention Center. Throughout the week, the same venue will host different masterclasses on the Habanos-making process, as well as tastings and pairings with different products.
There will also be a new edition of the Habanos World Challenge in which participants in pairs of two will 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 to gain first-hand knowledge about the whole Habano-making process.
