Lift your spirits while you shop

What better way to beat the winter blahs for a couple of hours than sipping wine while shopping?

Dana Sullivan, Tammy Down and Michelle Groenke did just that Saturday at Someone's in the Kitchen, a specialty cookware store in downtown Libertyville and 23 other shops and restaurants along Milwaukee Avenue.

"We're having a great time," Down said of the "progressive" wine tasting and arts festival. "We've sampled four or five wines, and it's a great opportunity to get out of the house and to browse the stores."

Called "Let's Wine about Winter," the event resembled a college bar crawl, as people walked with etched commemorative wine glasses they purchased for $5. Participating stores filled the glasses for free.

Artwork also was on display, but the edible art at Vintner's Cellar Winery, a chocolate fountain, was Larry Gorman's favorite.

"This has been great. You receive a glass that you can take with you, which entitles you to endless refills," said Gorman, who traveled from Buffalo Grove to sample the wines.

Someone's in the Kitchen owner Judy Potrzeba said the event was welcome.

"We had a couple dozen glasses, and we're all out. People are having fun, and they're buying," she said.

Portraits drawn from photographs were on display at My Girlfriend's Closet Boutique. Wendy Zumpano's art at the rear of the store, right next to the wine, was a big draw.

"It's been fun, and it's a great way to avoid the dreary weather," Zumpano said. "People have been dropping off photographs for me."

This was the second year MainStreet Libertyville hosted the event, said MainStreet chair Pam Hume.

"We had 500 glasses on hand, and some of the stores already are out," Hume said. "It's been nonstop all day."