Elgin wine fest's 2010 vintage may be bigger, better

"Smooth" is a word that can be used to describe a good wine.

It also is how organizers of Elgin's first-ever Wine Festival are characterizing the one-day event, which likely will return in May 2010.

"It went really well. We had a lot of positive feedback," said Randy Reopelle, director of Elgin's parks and recreation department. "It went really, really smooth."

About 2,000 people gathered under a huge tent at Festival Park in downtown Elgin Saturday to sample 150 wines. About 1,000 tickets were sold in advance.

Reopelle said the city spent $9,500 to contract with the Barrington-based InPlay Productions to organize the festival and he will recommend in the fall, when the city spells out its budget for 2010, that the festival continue in 2010.

"We may even consider going to two days. Most wine festivals are two days, but since it was the first year we only went one day," Reopelle said.

He added that the event introduced folks from other cities to Elgin. "It brings new people to downtown Elgin to see what we have down here."

Deputy Police Chief Jeff Swoboda said there were no major incidents or arrests stemming from people acting unruly or drunk during the festival, which lasted from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

The festival doubled as a fundraiser for the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association, which provides recreational opportunities for the disabled.

NISRA also supplied about 50 volunteers for the event. Reopelle said a final tally for how much was raised won't be available for a week or so.

Brian Shahinian, NISRA's executive director, said the group's top priority was to promote its services and raise awareness about what it does.

"The event truly exceeded all our expectations," he said. "NISRA really prides itself in being involved in quality events. InPlay and the city of Elgin really put on an exceptional event."