“The arts stimulate, educate, and inspire.”

Cultural Planning Town Hall meetings

Ethan Dittrich will be awarded a Music in the Vineyards scholarship during an upcoming concert Friday at the Jarvis Conservatory.

It’s hilarity on the high seas as the Bay Area’s acclaimed Lamplighters Music Theatre performs Gilbert and Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore” at the Napa Valley Opera House this weekend.

“The Great Man” (Doubleday, 320 pages, $23.95), by Kate Christensen: The great man at the center, and in the title, of Kate Christensen’s latest novel never appears in a single scene.

Food and wine-paired dinners can be run-of-the-mill these days, but Martini House has not only paired wines from local winemakers Rob Lawson and Robert Foley with Chef Todd Humphries’ renowned tomato tasting menu —  but they’ve added a movie.

There are few things more cherished by gardeners than home-grown summer tomatoes. These sun-kissed beauties are unlike the traditional tomatoes you’ll find on most supermarket shelves.

Protected by an unforgiving sun and braving sugar overloads, five judges ignored the envious glances of hungry observers July 27 and got down to the business of choosing the best and the tastiest of an array of entries in this year’s very nearly annual St. Helena Farmers Market pie baking contest.

Recently an astonishing thing happened at my house: My son returned from a backpacking trip and he wasn’t hungry.

For many experienced gardeners, nothing is more soul satisfying than discovering that a pampered plant is finally sending out a delicate bud.

Doing a little digging in the garden the other day, I was surprised at how dry it was in an area I thought was getting a fair amount of irrigation.

Betty Axtell is a quilter. If you didn’t know it to start, you’d figure it out the minute you saw her sewing room.

You may water your plants with the best of intentions, but it’s good to periodically check up on yourself, to make sure you’re doing a good job.

Morris Curry Jr. leaves his American Canyon home early on Sunday mornings to deliver no-holds-barred sermons at San Quentin State Prison, hoping new inmates at California’s oldest prison will choose God over crime.

Wine industry veterans Tony Cartlidge and John Hawkins plan to build a self-contained village of small wineries in American Canyon.

Napa Humane’s fourth “Cause for the Paws” benefit is 1-5 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Grove at Silverado Resort in Napa.

A new member has joined the team walking the vineyards and scrutinizing the progress of the young grapes.

Even though direct sales of wine are still a relatively small part of total wine sales, selling directly to consumers is the fastest-growing segment of the market.