The young dancers taking part in the Creativity Workshop taught by Lawrence Pech and Wendy van Dyke will give a free performance Saturday at 1 p.m. at the District Auditorium in Napa.

Billed as a “celebration of the art of life,” Festival del Sole returns to the Napa Valley for a second season next month.

Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, considered one of the top swing and jump blues bands in the country, perform at the Napa Valley Opera House Saturday. The sultry vocals of chanteuse Lavay are backed by her all-star eight-piece band consisting of four horns, guitar, piano, bass and drums. 

When Benny Barth sits down at the drums on the Garden Stage at the 50th annual Monterey Jazz Festival in September, his contemporaries and a whole lot of ghosts of festivals past will surround him.

Copia’s Friday Night Flicks take on a special glamor in July, in conjunction with the Festival del Sole. All the films start at 8 p.m. Friday night; a complementary tasting of a pinot noir takes place before each screening, 7:15 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $7 general, $6 for Copia members.

David Grisman brought his quintet and his self-described “Dawg Music” to the Napa Valley Opera House Wednesday night.

From Register staff

Napa student named to Graceland Dean's list

Kathryn Flotre sent in this photo of “my wonderful husband Scott” in their Napa garden. “He takes great pride in growing our vegetables from seed and puts his magic touch on them until they are harvested,” she wrote.

At most winemaker dinners, the chef who planned the menu is out of view until the end of the meal, when he or she appears to take a bow.

Oxbow Public Market, scheduled to open in the fall of 2007, announced today that three new tenants have been added — Whole Spice, Tillerman Tea and Kitchen Library. 

Our neighbors in Suisun City have reason to rejoice, in that a classy new restaurant has opened on Main Street in a storied brick building that dates from the late 19th century.

While he was comfortable working at a young age in his father’s shadow, Matt Meyer was nevertheless uneasy about following in his footsteps.

EL GOUNA, Egypt  — When a transport company discovered that Andre Hadji-Thomas wanted to ship wine through Egypt, the firm’s employees refused his business, saying the money they would have earned would be tainted.

The Charles Shaw 2005 California chardonnay (yes, the $1.99 “Two Buck Chuck” made by Bronco Wine Company sold at Trader Joe’s)  was judged Best Chardonnay from California at California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition.

Look past the Mike Grgich bobble heads, his trademark berets and the other knickknacks that sell Grgich Hills wines to the public and one finds not kitsch, but a lot of hard work. Years and decades of work, lovingly done with a passion to excel.

The Napa Valley Grapegrowers  celebrated its 32nd anniversary and elected new directors and advisors to its board of directors at its annual dinner on June 1.

When it comes time to open a restaurant, the chef sets the menu, but who picks the dishes?

Queen of the Valley

Jessica Bea Emery and Michael Thomas Gibson of Napa announce their engagement to be married July 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Evensen Rossi Estate in Napa.

WRIGHT -- Lea Wright vs. Mark Wright, June 11, 2007