The lineup for Mohegan Sun’s 22nd annual Sun Wine & Food Fest (Thursday, Jan. 22, through 25) has gotten bigger with the addition of National Baseball Hall of Famer David “Big Papi” Ortiz.
Toast With the Host Featuring David “Big Papi” Ortiz marks the former Boston Red Sox slugger’s first appearance at the festival. Ortiz, founder of Ozama Rum, will hold a tasting and celebration at Novelle, Mohegan Sun’s cocktail lounge, from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23. It’s a chance to sip and see the diamond All Star.
As the festival suggests, the Uncasville, Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun is more than a casino. Indeed, Newsweek’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Award lauded Mohegan Sun for having the best casino concert venue in the nation, beating out Las Vegas’ Sphere. Besides Todd English’s The Farm Italy restaurant, which the Westfair Business Journal reported on here, the casino’s other culinary treats include Chocolux’s chocolate candies and such delectables as carrot cake roulade and chocolate-cherry crossants at Sift Bake Shop.
And then there’s the in-house Mandara Spa, offering an East-meets-West experience that began in Bali and was inspired by the
Sanskrit legend about the gods’ quest to find the secret to eternal youth and beauty.
I’ve also enjoyed Mandara Spas on Norwegian Cruise Lines and I can attest to their posh pampering and treatments. A Mandara massage is a serene, soothing sensation for your skin.
After that, try a facial. All of the products used in the casino’s spa are by Elemis – an age-reducing, complexion-perfecting skincare line. I enjoyed a facial with the Elemis Ultra Smart Pro-Collagen Enviro-Adapt Day Cream. This $324 dream cream helps keep skin intensely hydrated with the slow release of an algae extract encapsulated in a water shuttle delivery system.
While I was on the property, I also visited the salon for a blowout with Kerastase products. The luxe French line gives your hair a certain “Je ne sais quoi.” To me, there’s nothing better than having a Kerastase shampoo and scalp massage, followed by a blowout, before a night “on the town” at Mohegan Sun, including a delicious dinner at one of several eateries and a live concert.
Hair apparent
To ensure that my Mandara blowout there lasted as long as possible, I used a Sleepy Tie. This hair accessory (typically found at Ulta), was invented by Framingham, Massachusetts entrepreneur Rachael Shtifter. Discouraged by the lack of access to blow-dry salons during Covid, the makeup artist taught herself how to sew and created a silky sort-of-Scrunchie that you put onto your updo at night.
“I patented it, and it sold out consistently,” Shtifter told me, “and it has received more than 25 million views on TikTok.” Sleepy Tie is the “hair apparent” to curlers in my suitcase, and the next day after my Mandara Spa blowout, my hair was still oh-so-chic.
‘Carry on’ to air travel freshness
I’ve been a professional travel journalist for more than 25 years, and people always ask me what’s in my carry-on. My staples include Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic remedy used for reducing the duration and severity of flu-like symptoms (body aches, headaches, fever, chills, fatigue) when taken at the first sign of illness. “Oscillo” is also a “hidden secret” on Hollywood production sets. And I always take a filled prescription for an antibiotic, so I can obviate a trip to the doctor in all my travels.
Plus, I pack what I believe is the world’s best lip gloss – Marin, made by scientists in Maine with marine glycoproteins. And then, I use a made-in-Japan Rei Canmake Marshmallow Finishing Powder ($17): It color-corrects, blurs and sets and is a virtual dupe for Guerlain’s much-more-expensive Météorites Powder — but at a fraction of the price.
Finally, I nail it with Dazzle Dry – and as its tagline says, “It’s about time.” This is a four-step vegan nail polish technique, created by bio-organic chemist Vivian Valenty, that offers hard-set nails in just five minutes without exposure to hazardous UV lamps. Maybe it will give you the “upper hand” at the slot machines.
Debbi Karpowicz Kickham is Westfair’s luxury/travel/spa writer and, as the “Gorgeous Globetrotter,” is author of “The Globetrotter’s Get-Gorgeous Guide,” available on Amazon. Check out her Insta reels and photographs @DebbiKickham.
