On the normally serene south bank of the Napa River Oxbow, a startling transformation has taken place.

The Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats performed twice at the Napa Valley Opera House last weekend, and if you missed it —  well, maybe next year.

Five talented finalists will each perform their very best 15 to 20 minutes of original material in the hopes of winning big prize money and perhaps catching the eye of a Hollywood talent scout during a final round of 32nd Annual San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition at the Napa Valley Opera House on Friday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35. 

Rich in culture, music, heritage and dance, Mexico City’s “Ballet Gran Folklorico de Mexico” will stop for one-night at Yountville’s Lincoln Theater, Friday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $50 per person.

This year 400 students are involved in choir at Napa High, and one of the activities that makes this popular program possible is the weekly bingo game at the Napa Valley Expo.

The Calistoga Arts Center may lack a physical headquarters, but its vitality as an organization was evident last Monday when about 30 people in Napa County’s northernmost city joined a “town hall” discussion aimed at drafting a county-wide cultural plan.

The Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra opens its 75th anniversary season this weekend by welcoming acclaimed 19-year-old violinist Chloë Hanslip for a performance of the popular first Paganini violin concerto and performing a pair of audience favorites associated with the Halloween season.

Education

With a little help from her dad, Kari Sowells, a sixth-grader at Redwood Middle School, grew more than 10 pounds of giant carrots, buckets of cherokee purple tomatoes, yellow zucchini and sunflowers at her north Napa home.

Compadres Bar & Grill will serve its last meal and margarita at its Yountville location on Sunday, Oct. 28 — and then Rick Enos will re-open as Compadres Rio Grille Nov. 15 at the riverside location of the former River City Bar & Grille. Enos anticipates retaining some of the signature items from River City, such as fried calamari and seared ahi, but modifying the accompanying sauces to give them the Compadres flavor. Former River City Bar & Grille owner Assaad Barazi will remain involved as landlord.

Napans will have an opportunity to taste Cajun/Creole food as well as listen, dance and march to the music of Louisiana’s bayou country this weekend at the inaugural Wine Country Cajun Food and Music Festival.

Richard Perot, pasty chef, Bleaux Magnolia

Dr. Ann Crowley, described as a “mom who knows food, and by the way, has earned a doctorate in nutrition,” may have retired as a professor at the University of Iowa, but her love of food is keeping her busy.

Matt Mermod, chef, Bleaux Magnolia

A self-described “serial renovator,” Juliana Inman was leading a tour of the house that has occupied her efforts for the past 17 years.

I recently did a search on Google and found a Web site that listed 132 species of potatoes. Another Web site said that hundreds of different varieties are grown around the world.

Copia’s new greenhouse in the north gardens will be open for a fall plant sale Saturday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Director of Gardens Colby Eierman said with the possibility of growing year-round gardens in the Napa Valley. It is the perfect time to establishing herbs, fruit trees and cool season crops.

The Ingalls-Inman house possesses more than just an architectural history. It is also a repository for 115 years of local human history.

Tickets are available for the Wine Country Kitchen Tour on Sunday, Oct. 14, 9:30-3:30 p.m. The tour features six Sonoma Valley kitchens.

Accidental falls are a big problem for seniors, and the StopFalls Napa Valley Coalition is making strides in preventing the incidence of these dangerous occurrences.

After the debacle that was "Lair," I was a little worried about "Heavenly Sword," the latest big-name release from Sony for the PlayStation 3.

Unlike most 8-year-olds, Hunter LaRue knows what it's like to crash a vehicle traveling 35 miles per hour and walk away from the car unharmed.

Richard and Carole (Wilson) Nefzger, of Napa, celebrated their 50th anniversary on Sept. 8, 2007. They had a casual backyard barbecue for 65 friends and family members.

BARAJAS — Harriet vs. Julio Rodriguez, Sept. 20, 2007.

Raymond and Audrey del Mas are pleased to announce to their friends that their daughter Patricia and her husband Joel Moore will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary on Oct. 2, 2007, with a few days’ vacation north of their home in Yorktown, Va., where they have lived for nine years.

ST. HELENA HOSPITAL

Nickname: Boo Boo

Nickname: Boo Boo

Art is in the eye of the beholder — everywhere and anywhere in the Napa Valley.

The life of a vintner: planting your vineyards, harvesting the grapes, tasting the new vintage as it ages in your elegant wine cave, seeing your name on a bottle sought after around the world.

2004 Edge took top honors in the cabernet sauvignon category of “best wines $20 and under” during Food & Wine magazine’s American Wine Awards, published in the October issue. A panel of judges who deemed Edge the number one choice said, “It’s tough to find any Napa cabernet for $20 these days, much less one this stylish. Ray Signorello Jr. made this full-bodied, lightly oaked wine from grapes purchased all over Napa Valley, including Stags Leap.”

Growers say last week’s light rain didn’t hurt the grapes and this week’s warm weather is most welcome, as most of the valley’s grapegrowers are waiting patiently for flavors to develop before they harvest their grapes. Heron Lake Vineyard’s John Newmeyer said many are adopting the “steady nerves” example of Su Hua Newton and others — be patient, don’t ‘panic pick,’ and wait for full ripe flavors to develop.”