Warmer months in western Washington are filled with outdoor festivals, especially beer and wine tastings. As the weather cools down and the rain shows up, many of these festivals go into hiding ... yet it's during the colder months that a beer fest really serves to cheer Northwesterners up.

Never fear! LeMay - America's Car Museum (ACM) is here to make sure the winter blues don't get too intense with a new event Saturday, Feb. 27, called Drive the Blues Away.

"It's ACM's newest Signature Event where guests can enjoy light bites from local restaurants, samples from craft distilleries and breweries, live music performances from amazing local bands, and a Fender test drive area. Drive the Blues Away is the perfect way to chase away the winter weather blues," said Caitlin Keely, Signature Event coordinator at the museum.

Drive the Blues Away features all the quintessential beer festival elements, but with the bonus of a pretty swanky location - the Titus-Will Gallery at ACM. Light bites will be provided by X Group Catering, and guests will have full access to the museum (but food and drink are limited to the main event area).

But, really, you're interested in the beer.

"We have seven distilleries and five breweries on board this year," said Keely. "Guests will have tokens so that they can visit the participating distilleries and breweries, or they can head to the bar inside the gallery to get a signature cocktail or cold brew for additional tokens. Each of the distilleries and breweries has their specialty and are bringing something different to our guests."

General admission ticket holders will get six tokens each. VIPs will get 10. If that's not enough, you can, of course, purchase more for $2 per token. Participating breweries include Engine House No. 9, Narrows Brewing Co., and the Puyallup River Brewing Company. A few distilleries will also be out in force - Heritage Distilling Co., with a cocktail called Tropical Escape; Magnolia Moonshine Cocktails with Apple Ale; and Scratch Distillery with Pepper & Pear Powerhouse.

Live music by Jones & Fischer, Stephanie Anne Johnson, and the Stacy Jones Band will keep the night hopping, and a raffle will raise funds for ACM and serve up some nifty prizes by Fender, including a Squier Stratocaster and a Standard Stratocaster. The main prize is an American Deluxe Stratocaster and one month of guitar lessons at Ted Brown Music. That's right. You too can become a rock legend! Raffle tickets are $10 each or five for $40.

General admission is $30; VIP admission is $65. ACM members get a $5 discount. VIPs get one-hour early access to the event as well as additional tokens, complimentary parking and a swag bag.

Drive the Blues Away takes place Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. at LeMay - America's Car Museum, located at 2702 East D St., Tacoma. All guests must be 21 or older. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.americascarmuseum.org/event/drive-blues-away/ or call 253.779.8490.