Havana History Society holds 3rd annual Cigar Day at Shade Tobacco Museum

Special to the Tallahassee Democrat
·2 min read

The Havana History & Heritage Society will host its 3rd annual “Cigar Day” celebration on Saturday, April 1, at the Shade Tobacco Museum in Havana, 204 NW 2nd St.

New this year will be a session on “Cigars & Bourbon” featuring Corona Cigars owner and president Jeff Borysiewicz of Orlando discussing the historical relationship between fine cigars and quality bourbon. This is a separate, $25 ticketed event from 3-4:30 p.m. that offers participants a fine cigar, a flight of three bourbon or wine samples and entry in a “Long Ash” contest. Tickets will be available on site.

Master cigar roller Luis Gonzalez will be at Havana Cigar Days celebration.
Master cigar roller Luis Gonzalez will be at Havana Cigar Days celebration.

With the exception of the “Cigars & Bourbon” session, all events are free and begin with a 10 a.m. welcome. That will be followed by a session titled “Making of a Fine Cigar - Then and Now” with Borysiewicz and Bobby Newman, Cristal Lastra and John Oliva of the JC Newman Cigar Company of Tampa taking questions and answers.

At 11 a.m., and again at 2 p.m., a new video, “The Planters Exchange - Havana’s Historic Landmark,” will be presented with local residents narrating and discussing the history of the site.

A presentation featuring local families who were involved in the shade tobacco industry, and how their experiences shaped and influenced the Havana community, will start at 1 p.m.

The final session of the day is “Happy Hour on the Museum Porch.” From 3:30-5 p.m., enjoy live music with the Madison Street Band, refreshments, and raffle drawings for assorted prizes. The “Long Ash” contest winners will also be announced.

Throughout the day, master cigar roller Luis Gonzalez will be demonstrating his trade, docent-led tours of the museum will be available, discussions and a video on tobacco stringing machines will be held, food vendors will be on-site, and cigar aficionados can rub shoulders with cigar company executives.

Many of the activities will be held inside the Museum’s auditorium, so inclement weather will not be a factor.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Havana's Cigar Day celebrates history at Shade Tobacco Museum