Any fears that the Idol NV teen singing contest at the Napa Valley Opera House was becoming a predictable affair were smashed in just two electrifying hours Saturday night.

In need of a good laugh at political antics in D.C.?

As the project coordinator of Arts Council Napa Valley’s initiative to create a cultural plan for Napa County, I’ve been asked to write ongoing updates regarding the process.

Best known to a certain generation as Inigo Montoya in “The Princess Bride” on the big screen, and to another as Dr. Jeffrey Geiger on the TV series “Chicago Hope,” for which he won an Emmy, it was Mandy Patinkin’s Broadway pedigree that rang out at the Napa Valley Opera House on Friday night.

JERUSALEM — Archaeologists and clergymen in the Holy Land derided claims in a new documentary produced by James Cameron that contradict major Christian tenets, but the Oscar-winning director said the evidence was based on sound statistics.

Stone Bridge School, a Waldorf-methods public school, holds its annual benefit party and auction “Extravaganza 2007: Mardi Gras!” Saturday at the Meritage Resort at Napa. Proceeds benefit Waldorf-methods education in Napa and offset costs associated with the school’s move into its permanent home on the Salvador Elementary School campus in the fall of 2007.

This was not your routine wine and cheese reception for artists; the menu tended more towards juice boxes and animal crackers.

Because my daughter has a role in Napa High’s production of “The Music Man,” which opened last Friday at the District Auditorium, I had to recuse myself from writing a review, which is why Mike Waterson, editor of the American Canyon Eagle and longtime performer around the Bay Area, kindly agreed to take the job.

To purchase tickets for upcoming concerts, contact the Copia box office at 259-1600 or visit www.copia.org. The March lineup is:

It is not often that lovers of opera and lovers of a good ghost story can come together and enjoy a single stage work.