Procigar 2023 Dates Announced: Feb. 19-24

The Procigar 2023 festival, the Dominican Republic’s cigar festival, will take place Feb. 19-24, 2023.

These dates are of little surprise as the event historically is held the week following Valentine’s Day. There is one intriguing bit to the dates and the announcement, it confirms that the event will return to its normal format: an optional start in La Romana on Sunday before the main festival kicks off in Santiago de los Caballeros.

This year’s event was just the Santiago portion because Tabacalera de García—the lone Procigar member in La Romana—is being reorganized as part of its sale by Imperial Brands, plc in 2020. As part of that transaction, the Tabacalera de García complex—which includes both a machine-made cigar factory and a premium cigar factory—is being divided and the end result will be a new premium cigar factory.

Of note, these dates overlap with TPE 2023, an industry trade show which is currently scheduled for Feb. 22-24 in Las Vegas. Officials for TPE have told halfwheel that they are trying to move TPE to an alternative date for a number of reasons, including because of a conflict with Procigar.

The Procigar Festival includes daily tours to a cigar factory or tobacco field as well as evening parties including traditions like the White Party, held at Santiago’s most famous monument, and a closing gala that features a humidor auction. The festival allows attendees intimate access to Dominican cigar companies and direct access to the country’s most prominent cigarmakers.

Procigar refers to both the festival as well as the association of cigar manufacturers in the Dominican Republic whose members include:

• De Los Reyes
• General Cigar Dominicana (General Cigar Co./STG)
• La Aurora
• La Flor Dominicana
• PDR Cigars
• Quesada
• Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia (Arturo Fuente)
• Tabacalera de García (Altadis U.S.A./Tabacalera USA)
• Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (E.P. Carrillo)
• Tabacalera Palma (La Galera)
• Tabadom Holding, Inc. (Davidoff)

Typically, tickets for the event—which is open to the public—go on sale in the summer.

For more information about the event, click here.