HIGHWOOD'S 3rd ANNUAL BLOODY MARY FEST DECLARED HUGE SUCCESS

HIGHWOOD, IL (JUNE 24, 2012) - The City of Highwood, Illinois and the Highwood Chamber of Commerce are proud to announce the winners of the 3rd Annual Bloody Mary Fest that took place on Sunday, June 24th. With over 5,000 guests in attendance, the event featured 16 competitors from throughout the Midwest who competed for the title of “Best Bloody Mary”.

Gabe’s Backstage Lounge took first place in the Judge’s Choice for Best Bloody Mary for the second year in a row, followed by Tap House Grill, and The ToadStool Pub in third.  Honorary fourth place mention went to Savanna House from Wadsworth, IL, and in fifth place was Market Restaurant, who came to compete all the way from Rocky River, Ohio!

In the People’s Choice competition, first place title for the Best Bloody Mary was awarded to The Toadstool Pub, followed by Silver Dollar, and Gabe’s Backstage Lounge in third.

The daylong festival kicked off with a Bloody Buddy 5K Challenge and 5K Run at 9am sponsored by Running Away Multisport, Equinox, Vintage Vine, Van Gogh Vodka and The Viti Companies, benefiting the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. The race put ‘buddy’ runners to the test with a variety of physical challenges throughout the course. 

From 10-5, the hugely successful Bloody Mary Festival was packed with Bloody Mary enthusiasts who were able to buy full and sample size Bloody Mary drinks, as well as a variety of delicious food and beers. Live music played all day, as judges sampled a Bloody Mary from each competing vendor.

The esteemed Bloody Mary judging panel was composed of Steve Dolinsky, ABC-TV’s Hungry Hound, Lee Litas, Dining Columnist "Table Hopping" Sun-Times Media/Pioneer Press, Julie Chernoff, Make It Better Magazine’s Dining Editor, Ed Brill, the Opinion Writer for Highland Park’s Patch.com, and Chuck Weisberg of Van Gogh Vodka.

The History of the Bloody Mary

The origin of the Bloody Mary ties back to Chicago, making this city the frontrunner in creating the top Bloody Mary recipes. Throughout the past century, the drink has transformed itself from simple to sophisticated. Most bartenders agree that a great Bloody Mary requires, at the very least, good tomato juice and fresh lemon juice (and vodka of course). The simplest recipe is 1 1/2 ounces vodka, 1/2 cup tomato juice, 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and pepper and salt to taste, with one celery stick and one lemon wedge for garnish. The additional ingredients such as pickles, olives, shrimp, pepperoncini, pickled asparagus, have made each Bloody Mary unique. Alternative names for the drink have also become popular – with tequila, it’s a Bloody Maria. With sake, it’s a Bloody Geisha. A Bullshot is with beef bouillon instead of tomato juice, and the Caesar is with Clamato juice.

About The City of Highwood

Highwood was founded in 1868 by William Wallace Everts, a Chicago civic leader and world-renown educator. His concept of a family-based community has endured for more than a century. The beautiful Everts Park, in the heart of downtown Highwood, has been named in the founder's honor. Benches and trees in the park celebrate and remember people who, through turbulent times and peaceful ones, built and sustained the community. Many of Highwood's street names recall Everts' family and friends whom the founder encouraged to build homes here. Residents of Swedish, Irish, Italian, Latino and other heritages have since populated the community, each enriching the community through their cultural traditions.

The Village of Highwood was incorporated in 1887. The name briefly became Village of Fort Sheridan and then City of Fort Sheridan. In 1904, the community officially became known as the City of Highwood. Fort Sheridan, a former army base northeast of the City, has had a profound influence on Highwood's development, and it continues to do so today as part of its land, incorporated into the City, nearly doubled Highwood in size. Today, Highwood is blending the past and present with exciting new plans for its future.

The City of Highwood, IL administrative offices are located at 17 Highwood Avenue Highwood, Illinois 60040.  For more information, please visit http://www.celebratehighwood.com or http://www.cityofhighwood.com Tel: 847.432.1924.