Greater Kansas City Pipe Club

Smokingpipes.com has agreed to help sponsor the carvers contest and is supplying the gift certificates in the drawing. We are adding additional prizes to the drawing this year, so each ticket you buy will have 4 chances to win instead of just one.

The prizes will be:

- 7 day set, “Bulldog Family”, mounted in a custom display case made by Anthony Harris of acmepipes.com.

- $ 750.00 Gift certificate to Smokingpipes.com towards the purchase of a new pipe.

- $  500.00 Gift certificate for an “Instant Cellar”, tobaccos of your choice from Smokingpipes.com

- The first and only Lifetime subscription to Pipes and tobaccos magazine. (Lifetime of the magazine, or the winner, whichever comes first).

Ticket Sales:  Tickets for the contest are now available.

The prices are:

$25.00 Each or 5/$100.  We reserve the right to limit how many tickets you can buy as there are only 400 tickets available. At least 150 tickets will be reserved for sale at the Kansas City show. The tickets will be available from the club table at the St. Louis Pipe Show (Feb 18th), the Chicago Pipe Show (May 5th & 6th) and the Kansas City Pipe Show (June 23rd & 24th). Tickets are also available from the club directly. Go to www.gkcpipeclub.com  under the 2012 Show Information tab click on Register Now, and then on Raffle Tickets.

PLEASE NOTE:  All proceeds of the raffle go to the carvers and the cost of the custom case. The Greater Kansas City Pipe Club does not keep any of the proceeds.

Shape: The shape selected for this year is “Bulldog Family”.  This includes all the traditional Bulldog shapes as well as free form interpretations of the shape.  Although difficult to spell out in words, the easiest way to say it is “if it reminds the judges of a bulldog” then it counts. This leave’s a lot of room for interpretation by the carvers. The pipe may be straight or bent. The pipe can be paneled. Rings are optional.  The color, finish and all other details are up to the carver. Remember, it is not just the shape but also the execution that the judges will be looking at. Details count.

Size:  Please remember that we are trying to assemble a 7 day set with a display case made ahead of time. We can allow for some variation in size, but very small or very large pipes may be difficult to fit in the case.

Eligible Carvers: If you carve pipes and live in North America, you are eligible. You do not have to attend the show to enter. Entry is limited to one pipe per carver.

For IPSD the GKCPC is going to host a Pipe Smoking Contest. Yes, we are doing it on the Saturday after IPSD, but it's the thought that counts. Instead of using the proscribed rules for serious pipe smoking contests we are going to gear our whole event for the beginning Smoker. We will be offering some nice prizes for the first, second, and third place finishers. Take a look at the attached flyer to see the rules and other activities we will have.

IPSD Smoking Contest Flyer.pdf

Below is a link to the January 2012 Newsletter of the GKCPC. It is quite long so be patient. Probably of most significance is John Cermak's  Annual Report to the Club. John is our President and he is required by the club by-laws to deliver a report that reviews the club activities and results for the prior year. John went well beyond to give a report that is just tremendous in describing the club's activities in 2011.

GKCPC News January 2012 Meeting.pdf

The GKCPC IPSD Celebration will be held at Cigar & Tabac in Overland Park, KS, from 12PM - 4Pm on February 25, 2012. The Pipe Smoking contest will begin at 1PM and be rather informal. We want to encourage beginning smokers to enter the contest so we aren't going to overwhelm them with rules. We will have a dozen or so pipes for people to use. If more than a dozen show up then they can use their own pipe provided we approve it. We will have dowels for tampers but if somebody wants to use their own that's fine. We will supply the matches and the tobacco. Entry fee is $10 and you get to keep the pipe you used. First prize is a nice estate pipe. Second prize is a pound of tobacco, Third prize is a half-pound of tobacco.

We will have seminars on how to load, tamp and light your pipe. Also how to do daily maintenance on your pipe. And how to buy estate pipes.

First ten people who join the GKCPC at this session will be given a free tin of club tobacco ($10 value).

I have asked the GKCPC if they think holding a pipe smoking contest at the local B&M (our sponsor) on the Saturday before IPSD is a good idea. Maybe be even setup up a couple tables to offer guidance to new pipe smokers such as how to load, light, maintain his pipe and how to select entry level pipes. Maybe some general information on the different types of tobaccos.

Anybody else think this is a good idea??

Another great month for the GKCPC. We are now up to 79 paid members. We had our annual Pot Luck Supper in December. A grand time was had by one and all and no one left hungry.

We are hard at work getting ready for the 2012 Show at the DoubleTree Hotel. People planning on attending need to get their reservations at the Hotel as soon as they can as there is another convention in the city that week-end. Be sure to mention the GKCPC when registering to get the $89 room rate.

Read all the news at the link below.

GKCPC News December 2011 Meeting.pdf

The Members of the Greater Kansas City Pipe Club Wish You & Your Family a Joyous Holiday Season


Looking forward to seeing you at the GKCPC Pipe & Tobacco Show on June 23-24, 2012, in Overland Park, Kansas, at the “Destination DoubleTree”. Our wonderful new venue is going to permit us to put on our best show ever. Our banquet speaker will be the distinguished writer and collector of pipes Fred Hanna. And you sure won’t want to miss our 3rd Annual North American Carvers Contest.

We really had a busy month at the GKCPC. We have given next year's pipe show the marketing brand of "Destination DoubleTree" to hammer home our change in venue as well as all the other amenites of that location. We have decided on the program for Friday night at the 2012 show: BBQ Buffet, a table with vintage tobaccos to be sampled, a cigar roller for those who wish one, a cash bar, and a Burr-King demonstration. The Burr-King is a grinder/shaper that carvers are just going to drool over.

We noted with great sadness the passing of Jay Jones of Hermit Tobaccos. Jay and Louise have always been great supporters of our show and he will be greatly missed.

The December meeting is our annual Pot Luck Supper and will be held on the second Thursday (December 8th) rather than the 3rd Thursday. If you can bring a something to be shared with the group. As you know we have a number of great cooks in this outfit so you will want to be sure to attend.

In the very latest issue of Pipes & Tobacco  magazine member Anthony Harris is featured prominently. He has a lengthy article on how to make double-chambered pipes. The photos for the article were taken by member David Birkmann. One of these photos was used as the cover photo for the issue. There was also a letter to the editor praising the 2011 Carvers Contest at the last GKCPC Pipe Show. And there was an article on Andy Peterson in which the author mentioned that Andy's entry in the 2010 Carvers Contest was select as one of the seven winners.

In January Mike & Mary McNiel, McClelland Tobaccos, will be announcing a new line of pipe tobacco. They will be bringing samples to taste. Many of you may recall the great time we had a few years ago when they brought in their new Grand Oriental series of tobaccos for us to try.

Hit the link below for our monthly newsletter. There area number of great articles by members Anthony Harris, George Dibos, Steve Butler, and Fred Hanna.

GKCPC News November 2011 Meeting.pdf

This Thursday (11/17/11) is our regularly scheduled meting at Cigar & Tabac. Lots of reports on the 2012 Pipe Show, a program and tasting on Barley Wine, and club pipes and tobaccos available for sale. After the program we will have our usual smoke and schmooze session!

We really had a busy month at the GKCPC. We have already begun our planning for the 2012 Show and its move to the DoubleTree Hotel in Overland Park. In our monthly newsletter we cover all the news in regards to the show (the BBQ is back!!), a preliminary announcement on the 2012 Carvers Contest (Go Bulldogs!!), a great article by member Dustin Babitzke on truly unique traveling pipe he had made by Maigur Knets, some more great pictures from the 2011 Carvers Contest. a night at the Opera, a CoRPS Report, etc.

GKCPC News October 2011 Meeting.pdf