Balloons, Vino, Art, and Abe

There is a weekend in August when I can't help but be incredibly excited that I live in L-Town. It's a weekend that I wish came more than once a year.

It happened last weekend. It's the Art & Balloon festival, which now also includes a wine festival and flea markets galore.

This year, downtown L-Town was packed with people attending the art fair, the wine fest, the farmer's markets, and the flea markets.

And out at the airport, there were more crowds enjoying fair food and rides, live music, and (of course) the beautiful hot-air balloons.

On Saturday morning, I headed straight for the farmer's market on my bike (with my new basket for carrying my purchases). I also made a stop at the annual book sale in the basement of the library.

And I even hit up a few garage sales on the way home.

At one, I ran into Abe Lincoln. For real. A walking, talking Abe dressed for work in his standard black suit. He rode up to the garage sale on his motorcycle, with his signature hat strapped to the back of the bike.

I guess even lawyers and presidents like Abe enjoy a good garage sale now and then.

About an hour later, I went back downtown on my bike and checked out the flea markets a bit.

And then two hours after that, I joined Kid Sister and Conservative Mom downtown again for the art fair.


We perused the art and sculpture and pottery and jewelry. And before we left, I bought a mug to match the one I bought two years ago. And some beautiful copper earrings with the Celtic circle, which represents the interdependence of life.

Then, that evening, Conservative Hubby and I headed to Kid Sister and T-Bear's for a BBQ. It was delicious and fun, so much so that we almost missed the balloon glow at the airport. Fortunately, we arrived just in time to see the end of it and enjoy the band a bit.



And Sunday? Sunday it was time for the wine tent. We (even Conservative Hubby!) sampled a variety of tasty Central Illinois wines, and I bought a bottle of driest red I could find. (Note to self: Central Illinois is all about sweet wine.)


All in all, not a bad weekend, eh?

You're welcome to join us for the fun next year. Assuming we're not at a wedding, that is ...

A Bottle of Wine (Minus the Bottle)

No, I'm not saying I drank an entire bottle of wine in one sitting or anything of the sort. (Although it will be gone soon.) Rather, I started drinking a bottle of wine that didn't come in a bottle. Instead, it came in this:

The wine is called Bandit, and it's made by Three Thieves. But what makes it so interesting is that is comes in a Tetra Pak—essentially, a tall, skinny juice box that holds a liter of wine. Intrigued yet? I was, which was why I had to try it out.

You see, this isn't like your typical boxed wine. The Tetra Pak is taller and skinnier, and it's made to go anywhere, so you can take it to parties or the beach or what have you and not have to worry about breaking glass. (Although whether I'd drink it out of something other than a real wine glass is a different story ...)

According to the packaging, there are 10 reasons why you should drink Bandit (I added the parenthetical notes, in case you're wondering):

1. Because it tastes good! (I may not be a wine expert, but I agree it tastes pretty darn good. And others have said so too.)

2. 33% more wine (1 liter vs. 750 ml). (And it's under $10—yippee!)

3. Lower shipping weight = less fuel emissions.

4. 96% wine, 4% packaging. (Why waste money on packaging? they ask. I concur.)

5. No corked wine. (A boon for those camping trips, outdoor concerts, and the like when you forget the corkscrew, eh?)

6. Wine to go-go! (Yeah-yeah.)

7. 1 truckload of empty bandit cartons = 26 truckloads of empty glass. (Whew.)

8. Made largely of renewable resources. (Actually, this one is a bit sketchy of a claim in my book.)

9. You can toss it in your cooler. (Or across the yard to your friend while playing washers, assuming the lid is on.)

10. You can crush it on your forehead when you're done! (Mine isn't finished yet so I can't confirm or deny this statement. Ask me again tomorrow.)

The biggest problem is that the United States is (big shocker here) behind on its ability to recycle Tetra Paks. So in most places, you probably can't recycle that Bandit container like you would your glass wine bottle. And shipping the paks a long way to a recycling center that will take them isn't exactly environmentally friendly, is it?

But, at least, it's a step in the right direction. And kind of fun, too.

Hopefully it will catch on even more here, like it has elsewhere. In fact, on Little Views, I actually read that wines purchased in Tetra Paks now equal those purchased in bottles—in Italy! If the Italians do it, am I going to jeer? No way.

You can learn more about the pros and cons from The Wine Conversation. Then, if you're so inclined, stop scoffing at the notion of boxed wine (it's not a box, remember people?) and go try it for yourself.

If you feel like stopping by tonight, I might even share a class of my Bandit 2005 Merlot with you. Maybe.

Photo: Slice