The Napa High School choirs, conducted by Travis Rogers and Jamie Butler, present Christmas Concert performances in the Napa District Auditorium on Dec. 10, 13 and 14.

It wouldn’t be the holidays without “The Nutcracker.” This year marks the sixth time the Napa Regional Dance Company will produce Tchaikovsky’s dazzling ballet for local audiences, and the second year it brings its polished performance to the Lincoln Theater in Yountville.

Concert-goers are generally among the more discerning of consumers. They don’t take to buying a pig in a poke.

The Napa Valley Opera House is inviting young Napa singers to take part in “Idol NV,” a county-wide vocal competition beginning Jan. 13.

When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in early December of 1791, he left his final masterpiece, the “Requiem,” unfinished.

LOS ANGELES — They’re as unlikely rockers as they are leading men. But Jack Black and Kyle Gass, the portly pair comprising the comedy rock group Tenacious D, are starring together in a film hitting cinemas next week.

“Bobby” — In telling the story of the life and death of Robert F. Kennedy, writer-director Emilio Estevez could have chosen an actor to play him, could have had him hone that famously hard New England accent. Instead, he created 22 fictional characters — disparate figures who might have populated the Ambassador Hotel on June 4, 1968 — and had their stories connect in the ballroom, just as Kennedy was giving his victory speech after winning the California primary and just before he would be assassinated. It’s an innovative approach, and you have to give Estevez credit for that. But he’s crammed in too many characters and too many plot lines. “Bobby” feels rushed and superficial. So many people come and so many people go, and the movie bounces between them all so quickly, it’s impossible to get to know or sympathize with any of them. And when the bullets start flying wildly in the hotel kitchen, it’s hard to care whether any of them make it out alive. Some strong performances do emerge, though. Lindsay Lohan, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, Laurence Fishburne, William H. Macy and Elijah Wood are among the distractingly starry cast. R for language, drug content and a scene of violence. 111 min. Two stars out of four.

Richard Linklater is channeling Robert Altman — or at least it seems he’s trying to channel Altman — with his meandering, intertwined plot lines about the horrors of the fast food industry in “Fast Food Nation.”

NEW YORK — Al-Jazeera’s English-language channel began operation on Wednesday, promising a fresh perspective on international news, but virtually no American television viewers could see it.

 Miner Family Winery is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the return of its bronze signs and lettering, which were stolen from the winery’s entrance along Silverado Trail in Oakville. The vandalism took place between Nov. 5 and 13. The bronze signage is valued at more than $35,000.

Napa Valley College presents a choral concert, “Mozart to Motown,” Saturday at 8 p.m. in the NVC Theater. 

Pink Floyd T-shirts were popular attire Saturday night at the Lincoln Theater for the only local performance of Paramount’s LaserSpectacular, an entertainment that has been touring for 20 years.

For many who attend the Big Game, football is only part of the pageant. The half-time shows and related festivities are an eagerly anticipated and lively display of the multi-talented Vintage and Napa students.

Education

Peaks, valleys and peaks.

When harvest ends in the Napa Valley, you can almost hear a collective sigh from the vineyards: The days and nights of watching the sky, checking the sugar levels of grapes, reading weather forecasts, walking the vineyards — all the endless hours of work all come to a finish, more or less. 

Turning the spotlight on the hottest new culinary trend in America — Spanish food and wine — the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone hosted some 70 Spanish chefs and a wealth of their New World counterparts at a three-day conference at the beginning of November.

When Americans talk about food today, they talk about Spain, according to José Andrés, the colorful and often flamboyant conference chairman for the annual Worlds of Flavor conference last week at Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. 

Adapted from “Café Beaujolais” by Margaret S. Fox

This time of year, I’m never more than 15 minutes from an apple pie.

I have seen the future of food, and it’s bizarre. And wonderful. And mind-boggling. And delicious. And funny.

Daunted by the thought of entertaining during the upcoming holiday?

The trouble with lowfat baked treats is that they usually taste it.

Paella Valencia

(Peruvian Lemon Pudding)

Chef Peter Pahk’s favorite home cooking tool isn’t in his kitchen.

Asparagus and artichokes have many similarities. Both are cool-season perennial vegetables native to the Mediterranean basin.

If you are a homeowner or renter living in or near high risk wildfire areas within Napa County, you may have been denied insurance coverage, found it difficult to obtain, or been priced out of the market.

KNECHTEL-DENNEFELD -- CHarles Knechtel vs. Catherine von Dennefeld, Oct. 25, 2006

Kasey Sidie of Napa and Jeff DeFranco of San Mateo were married July 22, 2006, at Healdsburg Country Gardens in Healdsburg. Justin Bruns, Kasey's brother-in-law, officiated the ceremony. This day was truly memorable for many reasons, but notably the weather. It was 112 degrees in the shade. Kasey and Jeff released 22 butterflies, native to California before exchanging their rings. The butterflies remained present throughout the ceremony into the reception as they enjoyed the beautiful gardens.

Surrounded by five generations of her family, Gertrude Lathrop celebrated her 103rd birthday at the Sierra Vista Nursing Home on Oct. 8, 2006. She was born in Wisconsin in 1903. From left to right in the back row are; Brooke Abblett, Heidi Ahearne, Terry Abblett, Toby Abblett, Toni Lathrop-Lee and David Abblett. In the front row from left to right are Ryan Ahearne, Brenden Ahearne, Gertrude Lathrop and Irvin Lathrop.

Tiffany Hurley of Redding and Aaron Rodrigues of Napa were married Aug. 12, 2006, in Redding.

Audrey Alise Tuthill and Ryan Michael Johnson, both of Sacramento, were married Oct. 21, 2006, at the Grove at the Napa Valley Country Club. Ryan and Audrey were taken to the 11th tee for a private sunset toast in front of a beautiful pink sky.

Sherell Fagan and Matt Guyot of Napa, were married Oct. 7, 2006, in a garden ceremony at Brix Restaurant. The bride was given away by her son Remy Swim and father Bob Price. Her matron of honor was Angela Clark and her attendant was her niece, Jennifer Barnes. Rene Solis was the best man and the great-niece of the bride, Ariana Warf, was the flower girl. Jake Fagan, the bride's son, was the ring bearer.

Elizabeth Mackenzie and Daniel Cody, both of San Francisco, married on Sept. 9, 2006, at 6 p.m. The ceremony was held outdoors in the gardens at Copia. Kathleen O'Neill, friend of the bride, was the reader. The Reverend Stephen Carpenter of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Napa officiated.

Elisa Garcia of San Francisco and Richard Perez of Walnut Creek announce their engagement with plans to marry in Brentwood on Dec. 2.

Things got fuzzy in the Dolce vineyard this harvest. The mold known as botrytis sneaked in with early rains, and once-pale green semillon grapes shriveled into purple, furry blobs.