MARK YOUR CALENDARS: OCT. 8 & NOVEMBER 21

Guinness Book of World Records - start construction of world's longest cigar on October 8, 2009
Ybor City Museum Store
1820 N. 9th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605

Final reveal during:
Cigar Heritage Festival on November 21, 2009,
6 a.m. - 5 p.m. at Centennial Park in Ybor City.

Wallace Reyes, in collaboration with the Ybor City Museum Society, will attempt to break the current Guinness World Record by building a cigar that spans nearly a city block. His goal is to construct a cigar that is 180 feet long, 64 ring gauge during the Cigar Heritage Festival on November 21, 2009, 6 a.m. - 5 p.m. at Centennial Park in Ybor City, Tampas National Historic Landmark District.

Members of the press are invited to meet with Mr. Reyes as he begins to build the first length of the 180-foot cigar on Thursday, October 8, 2009, 1 p.m. at the Ybor City Museum Store, 1820 N. 9th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605. Details of the record attempt and involvement by Guinness World Records will be provided. This is the first longest cigar record attempt worldwide during which a Guinness Adjudicator will be present to immediate certify the record on November 21.

Historic Ybor City wrested the record for the worlds longest cigar away from Cuba on November 18, 2006. The 101 foot, 64 ring gauge cigar was finished in front of hundreds of people at the Cigar Heritage Festival. They watched as Wallace and Margarita Reyes, co-owners of Gonzalez Habano Cigar Co., went for the final assembly.

The record has since been broken. The current holder of the record is Jose Castelar in Havana, Cuba who constructed a cigar of 148 feet and 11 inches on May 7, 2008. Tampa and Cuba are forever linked in history. From the Cuban revolution to the migration of Cubans who came here and built cigar factories, Tampa has a long-standing relationship with the island.

Wallace Reyes and his wife, Margarita will be constructing the cigar sections (18) of 10 feet long in the Museum Store Cigar Gallery starting on October 8, 2009. Final assembly of the 180 foot cigar will take place during the Cigar Heritage Festival. This festival also includes a Cigar Dave live show broadcast, food court serving traditional dishes, kid zone, tours of Ybor City Museum State Park, charity beer garden, a game zone including NCAA football, and a variety of unique vendors.