Father Fred Cigar Dinner returns in May

Feb. 27—TRAVERSE CITY — One of the region's most unique — and impactful — fundraising events is coming back this spring with the return of the 23rd Father Fred Cigar Dinner.

After a four-year hiatus due, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic and the organizational work involved in re-starting the event, the Father Fred Cigar Dinner will return on May 16 at Brengman Brothers winery at 9720 S. Center Highway in southern Leelanau County.

Organizers will add to the more than $1.4 million raised for the Traverse City-based Father Fred Foundation over the years, building on the cigar dinner's modest beginnings to an event that generated more than $150,000 for the foundation at the last event held in 2019.

"It's been such a great event over the years," said Mike Nolan, the former owner of Nolan's Tobacco and Cigar Bar in downtown Traverse City that runs the event. "It's something I'm extremely proud of."

The first Cigar Dinner took place in 1996. But the brainstorming for event began a couple years earlier when members of the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians — a fraternal organization for Irish Catholics that leads the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Traverse City — were looking to establish an event to support the then-fledgling foundation launched by Father Edwin Frederick.

Father Fred, as he was was widely known, was a Catholic priest and 31-year chaplain at the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Center that was closed by the state in 1989. Father Fred established his foundation a year later, in part to help area residents who had "fallen through the cracks" because of the state's hospital closure. Father Fred was also the chaplain for the local Hibernians — and a cigar smoker — so his small local foundation was a perfect fit for the charitable efforts of the organization.

Nolan, along with area real estate agent Mike Shirley, attorney Tim Smith and radio personality Rick Coates were among the earlier organizers of the cigar dinner. Smith said the Hibernians in the early '90s had supported the Father Fred Foundation through a "Lucky Leprechaun" promotion involving local gas stations and retail stores that raised $3,000 — $5,000 a year — but wanted to set their sights higher.

"I remember Mike Shirley said, 'I think we can do more'," Smith recalls. "Why don't we do a cigar dinner?"

Cigars were gaining in popularity and the group had the idea to pair them with gourmet food created by local chefs combined with the area's top wines, along with premium liquor and spirits. The first Cigar Dinner took place at the Park Place Dome and sold 128 tickets. The event quickly grew in popularity and, within a few years, was raising more than $30,000 a year for the foundation.

Both Smith and Nolan agreed that the Cigar Dinner's popularity was spurred by the involvement of the region's top culinary personalities — noted local chefs like Dave Denison, Phil Murray, Jim Milliman and others — combined with unique auction items that generated major donations for the event. One year, the dinner auctioned off playoff tickets for the Detroit Red Wings, combined with private jet service to the game. Another year it offered a 100-person backyard barbecue with entertainment from Traverse City's own Joshua Davis, a finalist on NBC's The Voice. Fishing trips, whiskey tours in Kentucky, art pieces, golf outings — numerous businesses and individuals stepped up with prizes and donations to be part of the Father Fred Cigar Dinner.

"There were a lot of very cool relationships that developed as part of the event," Smith said.

The dinner grew steadily over the the next decade as it moved to other locations to accommodate the growing attendance, including the former Waterfront Inn on East Bay, the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa and the Williamsburg Dinner Theatre.

It drew the movers and shakers from the Grand Traverse area and beyond, Smith said, including former Michigan Gov. John Engler who attended one of the dinners.

But the event hit a major roadblock when Michigan lawmakers passed the smoke-free air law in late 2009, which banned smoking in bars and restaurants and left the event without options that would comply with the smoking ban.

The law eventually included an exemption for a handful of cigar bars around the state — including Nolan's — but more work was needed to create an avenue for the Cigar Dinner to return. Nolan worked with local legislators to create an exemption where they are able to close his business for a day and shift the operational license off-site — specifically for charity events — and allowed the Cigar Dinner to resume.

"It's been a hard fight," Nolan said.

Nolan retired in 2018 and sold the business to his two longtime employees Andy Hyde and Ben Wycoff. They continued the Cigar Dinner and raised more than $150,000 for the foundation in 2019. That was the last year it was held before it and other charitable activities across the country were shut down by the COVID pandemic.

"We were set to go in 2020," recalled Hyde, who said they had already started to sell items for that year's event. "But everything started to close in April, so we had to cancel because we didn't know what was going to happen."

Nolan's Tobacco and Cigar Bar continued to sponsor fund-raisers to help the foundation during the dinner's hiatus, Hyde said, but they didn't have the financial impact of the Cigar Dinner. Wyckoff said he's excited about the event's return and that volunteers and donors are again lining up to help support the event.

"It's still very well-supported by the community," Wyckoff said. Tickets are available at the cigar bar on East Front Street downtown, and sales will be limited to 216 attendees.

Nolan said Father Fred, who died in 2000, was a "very forward-thinking kind of guy" who would be pleased with how the event has evolved from its humble beginnings, and the large cross-section of business and civic leaders it's connected with the Father Fred Foundation.

"He always said the impact of the dinner went far beyond the money we raised," Nolan said.