The 14th annual Napa Valley Mustard Festival kicks off this weekend with the traditional food, wine and arts gala, Mustard Magic, at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena.

This year’s season of events pays tribute to the local Latino community whose members work in the restaurant, hospitality and wine industries here.

Events through March will raise funds for Clinic Ole, supporting the agency’s mission to provide accessible, affordable, quality health care to the underserved in Napa County.

Alejandro Ayala, banquet chef at Meadowood Resort, is serving as host chef at this year’s Mustard Festival, while the Ceja family, which owns and operates Ceja Vineyards, is the host winemaking family. Chef Ayala began his career as a dishwasher at Meadowood more than two decades ago and members of the Ceja family launched their wine venture as laborers in valley vineyards.

Live and silent auctions offering both wine and art, performances by strolling minstrels and dance bands, and food and wine pairings are the highlights of the Mustard Magic gala, slated to begin at CIA Greystone Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets for this event are $135 in advance, or $175 at the door.

Three new events are part of this year’s festival:

• Romantica — a five course, wine-paired Valentine’s dinner for lovers at Meadowood Resort at 6 p.m. on Feb. 10. Seating is limited to 100 and tickets are $175 per person.

• The Grand Dinner — a signature seven-course gourmet extravaganza at the Farm at Carneros Inn Feb. 23. Preparing dinner that evening will be Carneros Inn executive chef Kimball Jones, host chef Ayala from Meadowood, Auberge du Soleil executive chef Robert Curry, La Toque executive chef Ken Frank and Farm pasty chef David Baker. Participating wineries include Ceja, Domaine Carneros, Etude, Far Niente, Groth, HdV (Hyde Vineyards), Honig and PlumpJack. Attendance at the 6 p.m. event is limited to 120 and the cost is $350 per person.

• Spice! — a gourmet dinner dance honoring festival artist of the year Lowell Herrero, with meal prepared by Robert Mondavi Winery executive chef Richard Haake, paired with Robert Mondavi wines. Salsa performances by Ariel Ceja and friends will add spice to the mustard-inspired cuisine. Seating for the 6 p.m. dinner is limited to 90 guests, with tickets offered at $225 per person.

Always a popular event, the Awards, a red carpet gala spotlighting winners of the worldwide mustard competition, is slated for March 16, at 7 p.m. at Copia. It also features a competition for chef of the year, with area chefs placing new recipes up for judging that includes an annual People’s Choice Award. Tickets are $100 in advance, or $150 at the door.

The festival’s signature event, the Marketplace, a showcase of food, wine, music and art at Copia, is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 17 and 18. Adult admission is $30 in advance (which includes eight foodtasting tickets and five winetasting tickets), or $35 at the door. Tickets for the Marketplace are available at Raley’s and Nob Hill markets.

The Mumm Napa Photo Finish, a celebration of the Napa Valley Mustard Festival’s photography contest, provides a rousing finale to the season of events, at 7 p.m. March 31 at Mumm Napa Valley in Rutherford. In addition to food and wine pairing and a display of all photo entries, a band will provide music for dancing the night away. Tickets are $90 in advance, or $125 at the door.

To order tickets for all events, call 938-1133 or go to www.mustardfestival.org.