Day 2 of IPCPR 2018 Delayed Due to Fire, Opening at 1 P.M., Exhibitors Allowed in at 12:30 (Update)
The second day of the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show will get a delayed start as an electrical fire hit the A.J. Fernández booth overnight, and while there was no fire damage to the booth, it did set off a portion of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s sprinkler system, which has resulted in limited water damage to the aisles and several other booths.
As a result, the show will get a delayed start today, beginning at 1 p.m. and going until 7 p.m., two hours later than the originally scheduled closing time of 5 p.m. The show floor was scheduled to open at 10 a.m.
Update: Associate members will get in at 12:30 p.m., a half hour before the show opens to attendees.
Video from halfwheel’s office on the trade show floor shows smoke appearing right around 5 a.m.
The IPCPR is currently working with the LVCC to replace carpet and other damaged items, as well as with the handful of manufacturers whose booths suffered water damage as a result of the sprinklers going off. It’s a list that includes Rocky Patel, Perdomo, Arango, Bags of Bags, Drew Estate, Costello Pipe, Benchmade, Nat Sherman, La Palina, Cigar Oasis and Tommy Bahama. Only key representatives from those companies are being allowed onto the floor at this time.
Images via Michael Herklots.
Additionally, the IPCPR is working to get the word to hotels to keep people from going to the LVCC this morning and will set up a staging area for anyone who does arrive for the show’s originally scheduled opening time. However, scheduled state association meetings will continue at their regularly scheduled hours, according to a Facebook post by the IPCPR.
It has not yet been announced when other exhibitors will be allowed onto the floor to begin their preparation for the trade show prior to it opening to attendees.
halfwheel’s pre-show Facebook Live show with Drew Newman has been canceled.
Patrick Lagreid
I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.
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