Hear an Award-Winning Flute Choir, Take a Morning Run, Get that Holiday Shopping Done

It's Thursday and you have no idea what you're going to do this weekend. Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch is coming to the rescue.

We've got the best bets for your done-with-work-outta-here time. Check out our picks for the activities to hit and new places to explore this weekend.

• Where/When: , 219 W. Maple Ave., Libertyville, 3 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 18).

• Why Go: Flutopia, an award-winning flute choir, will perform their annual Christmas Concert. The full choir includes piccolo, C-flute, alto flute and bass flute. Directed by Laurel Ann Kaiser, Flutopia rehearses weekly and has performed throughout the suburbs. Kaiser is the Orchestra director at in Lake Forest and arranges music for a wide variety of instrumental and vocal groups. The free concert, A Festive Flutopia, will perform both sacred and secular carols from around the world. Flutopia has performed at the St. Mary of Vernon Dedication Ceremony in Vernon Hills, the 75th Anniversary Celebration at Santa Maria del Popolo in Mundelein and the Sherwood Conservatory Flute Festival Honors Recital. Performances have also been given at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church in Fremont, the Community Presbyterian Church of Mount Prospect and the Deerpath Inn in Lake Forest.

• Pricing: free

• Where/When: , 701 N. McKinley Road, Lake Forest, 7 a.m. Saturday (Dec. 17).

• Why Go: Dust off the running shoes and escape the winter blahs with Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA). Join us for free at our first long run! Runners may choose from a six, eight or 10 mile route. When you return, enjoy complimentary coffee and bagels to celebrate the first long run of the season. Switch up your training and run through beautiful estates, through rolling hills and on paved paths with CARA's north suburban group. Training will prepare runners for a number of spring marathons including the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon, Green Bay Marathon, the Wisconsin Marathon, Boston and more. For more information,visit www.cararuns.org.

• Pricing: free

• Where/When: Forest Square Shops, 840 S Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday (Dec. 16-17)

• Why Go: Forest Square in Lake Forest is excited to present some wonderful incentives and prizes to our retailers’ social media followers, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Every Friday, a $100 gift card to Forest Square will be given away to a lucky winner through Dec. 23, with additional deals and giveaways from Forest Square tenants Monday through Thursday. Those that “like” the Forest Square Shops page on Facebook, and “follow” ForestSqShops on Twitter, are automatically entered into the contest. Winners of the $100 gift card giveaways will be chosen based on a contest encouraging fans to upload a picture of themselves in front of their favorite Forest Square shop. The fan with the most likes on their picture each Friday will be declared the winner of the $100 gift card. The other giveaway winners Monday through Thursday will be chosen at random. For updates, and to enter the gift card giveaway, please “like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/forestsquareshops#!/pages/Forest-Square-Shops/152820251483279, and follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/ForestSqShops.

• Pricing: free

GrandCru Wine Merchants Wine Tasting

• Where/When: Grand Cru Wine Merchants, 840 S. Waukegan Road, 1-4 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 17).

• Why Go: Grand Cru Wine Merchants recently announced the move from Arlington Heights to Lake Forest. The shop specializes in selling affordable boutique wine, spirits, and beer from around the world. In order to properly celebrate the grand opening, Grand Cru will be holding wine tastings for a month!

• Pricing: free.

A Christmas Carol

• Where/When: Citadel Theater, 300 S. Waukegan Road, runs Thursdays through Sundays until Dec. 30. Evening performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., 3 p.m. on Sundays. Special matinee at 1 p.m. Dec. 15.

• Why Go: Citadel Theatre proudly presents Charles Dickens’ classic tale, A Christmas Carol, adapted by Peter DeLaurier and starring Frank Farrell as Scrooge. Faithful to Dickens' beautiful language, this flexible adaptation of the beloved Christmas classic tells the heartwarming story of miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge who is always cold-hearted, and Christmas is no exception -- that is, until the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, comes to warn him about the consequences of living a life of greed and materialism. Over the next three nights, Scrooge is visited by three other spirits who try to convince him that his selfishness will be his downfall. Is this enough to make the selfish old miser change his ways?  Directed by Pat Murphy.

• Pricing: $37 per person.

• Where/When: Center Street in downtown Grayslake, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays (Dec. 17).

• Why Go: The market offers wine, fresh baked goods, appetizers, gourmet cheeses, organic meats, floral arrangements and even homemade candles in addition to local produce. A Farmers Market Cookbook, which provides local recipes and is an ideal gift for food lovers is also available for purchase.

• Pricing: free.

• Where/When: Viper Alley, 275 Parkway Dr, Lincolnshire, 7 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 17).

• Why Go: Head East is currently a five5-piece band consisting of Roger Boyd (keyboards and vocals), Greg Manahan (bass, lead guitar and vocals), Glen Bridger (lead guitar and vocals), Eddy Jones (drums and vocals), and Darren Walker (lead vocals & bass). The group performs some classic Head East songs along with new material and a few new covers of classic rock favorites. M&R Rush had its beginnings in the early 1970's, when a group of five high school friends from Chicago's Roseland neighborhood had a dream of making it in the music business. M&R Rush was signed by the same Chicago based management company who was guiding another local Chicago group called Styx.

• Pricing: $2-$35 per person.