Where we will (may) be: Smokey Pilgrim Cigar Festival

But even if we can't get there, you should definitely go to the Smokey Pilgrim event!

(We're still trying to figure out how to be in two places at once.)

On Saturday, June 13, 2015 from 3:00-8:00 (p.m., obviously), in good old Plymouth, MA,* an awesome group of folks is putting on quite the cigar herfing shindig.

The whole event is being sponsored by our SuperFriend John Brandt at Old Firehouse Smoke Shop. (Hi John!) Remember him and his cool pup Wyatt?

Each attendee will receive:

• 8 Premium Cigars--keep reading for the cigar sponsors!
• Official Smokey Pilgrim t-shirt!
• 2 drinks!
• Dinner!

So you're definitely getting waaay more than the $80 ticket price! Waaaay more! Oh, and you can purchase tickets here!

Those cigar sponsors? How's this for a lineup:

• 7-20-4 (Hi people we don't know yet!)
• La Flor Dominicana (Hi Litto! Hi John! Hi Jon!)
• MLB Cigar Ventures (Hi people we don't know yet!)
• J. Grotto Cigars (Hi Paul!)
• Leaf by Oscar (Hi Jim!)
• Asylum Cigars (Hi Tom!)
• Casa Magna (Hi people we don't know yet!)
• E.P. Carrillo (Hi Edgar!)

Plus! This event, while super fun, is a fundraiser at heart, raising money for Cigars for Warriors and the Young America Club.**

*Yes, Plimoth, where the Pilgrims landed. Unless they didn't land there, which Nathanial Philbrick discusses in his awesomely cool book Mayflower.***

**The Young America Club is a non-profit community based organization located in Plymouth Massachusetts. Founded in 1910 by Portuguese-Americans, the club has been providing local men with a place to socialize and network with friends and family within the community.

***As an aside, because you know I love asides, my Mayflower-travelling ancestor is Richard Warren, a London Merchant Adventurer, which sounds incredibly fun.

He'd fit right in today with that beard!

You need to know about the Julia Cekala Charitable Foundation

Recently, we got to do something fun and nice and helpful and fun.*

Was it cigar-related? In a roundabout way, yes. But this story isn't so much about the cigars themselves as it is about the cigar culture, the community of cigar smokers. 

So for those people with pinched faces who look at cigar smokers with disdain and superiority, this one's for you.

You know (if you lived in Penny World for any amount of time) that our home-base is Habanos Lounge in Pawtucket RI. We've made some super fun friends there--including Caballero #2--folks we are proud to call our friends.**

Chris and Will the Travelling Owl

Our friend Chris, who we met at Habanos, and his family created and run The Julia Cekala Charitable Foundation, in honor of Chris' sister Julia, who on May 23, 2003 "passed away at Boston's Children's Hospital. Julia bravely fought every health obstacle put in her way. Julia battled autism, renal failure, and a seizure disorder just to name a few, and finally Julia succumbed to hemorrhagic pancreatitis after celebrating her 9th birthday in the ICU at Children's Hospital. It had been our home for the last 9 months of her life."

On March 27 we--Valentino and me, as well as a stable of our Habanos friends--attended the Julia's Garden Charity Wine Gala, held at the Mansfield Holiday Inn in Mansfield, MA.

Julia

From the Julia's Garden website, which you must check out: "Julia loved playing outside in nature, visiting playgrounds and zoos.  We often visited the North Attleboro Zoo at World War I Memorial Park.  It is the perfect community park – it has a quiet location that has lots of rocks to climb on and many trees to hide behind and sit under. There are many quaint picnic spots and multiple little zoo animal friends to visit and to feed apples and carrots.   So, when we had made the decision to build a memorial garden and park for Julia, the World War I Memorial Park was the perfect and most natural choice." 

"Julia brought great love to our family and she inspired us in so many ways. Thank you for lettings us celebrate Julia with our community."
 

Lynda and Wally Cekala, most awesome people.
With Will. Who thinks he's awesome.

Please visit the Julia Cekala Charitable Foundation website, learn more about the foundation, and sign up for the Butterfly 5K, happening on Sunday, August 23. See you there--with all our cigar-smoking friends!
 

*Valentino would like to point out that I'm being repetitive. I like to call it unnecessary wordiness. Or liking the sound of my own voice. Er, typing. 

**And the court said we can call them that. As long as we keep a distance of 500 feet away from them.