Roni Benise’s fiery Spanish guitar melodies and high-energy rhythms weave a tapestry of emotions that have found favor with audiences across this vast country.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen “Our Town,” Thornton Wilder’s much-loved tale of love and marriage, and life and death in a New Hampshire village in the early 20th century. Most of the dialogue is stored away in my head; so I am always amazed when it pulls me in again as it always does when a production draws that magical thread that connects Grovers Corners, New Hampshire, to anywhere else in the world, even Napa, California, in the year 2007.

For the last five years Kasandra Weinerth has been immersed in the Napa River.

Legendary singer, songwriter and three-time Grammy award winner Kris Kristofferson performs in concert Sunday at Lincoln Theater in Yountville

African-American revivalist string-band trio, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, performs Oct. 26 at Napa Valley Opera House.

It only makes sense that the images in the “Feast of Fine Art” currently at Copia celebrate the outdoors in gorgeous diversity. The plein air works from six Northern California artists will be auctioned at the end of this month as part of the annual Feast of Eden fundraiser for the Land Trust of Napa County.

Eric Nelson, long-time executive director of the Napa Valley Museum, will be leaving that post Nov. 1. He’ll be leaving the valley as well, to become director of Seattle’s Nordic Heritage Museum at the beginning of next year. There he’ll be overseeing that museum’s anticipated rise to national prominence as it moves and expands.

Napa composer Louise Canepa helped gather the forces for 90 minutes of varied musical programming this past Sunday at Yountville’s Lincoln Theater.

Ten years ago Robert Dubac figured out what women want. He popped open a Corona and invited us into his lopsided brain to witness his hilarious thought process known as “The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron?” This one-man show became a worldwide phenomenon as it proved that humor between the sexes is understood in any language.

Jimmy Lyons, the late co-founder of the Monterey Jazz Festival, used to say he was throwing a big party each year on a September weekend. A 50th anniversary is certainly cause to celebrate, and Lyons would have been proud to see that his successor Tim Jackson has carried on the tradition.

33 students at Justin-Siena High School earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program (AP) exams.

Napa Sunrise Rotary announces its “students of the month” for September 2007.

Change your thinking, change your life.

Education

Ubuntu is a Zulu word that means “humanity toward others.” It’s a word Sandy Lawrence learned while working in South Africa and has now brought to Napa in form of the restaurant and yoga studio she has opened on Main Street in Napa.

with Applesauce and Citrus/Fennel Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil

New hires at The Carneros Inn intend to deliver even more rewarding culinary experiences to diners and visitors frequenting the distinct grapegrowing region planted between Napa and Sonoma known as Carneros.

For more than 12 seasons Chef “Wild Bob” Hurley has been matching the grape harvest with the autumn hunt, to celebrate his own special Wild Game Week. The annual event this year is Nov. 12–17 at Hurley’s Restaurant & Bar in Yountville.

with Baby Bok Choy, Acacia Honey-Lime Broth and Licorice-Herb Salad

DId you try the pork chops recipe? Maybe you have one you want to share with other readers?

Growing up in New Mexico, Michael Lauher knew about the Pueblo “hornos,”  the traditional beehive ovens, still widely used there.

Halloween is just around the corner, and if you’re not careful, your home could give fright to the neighborhood ghouls and goblins.

On a recent Saturday morning, I headed over to the house of Pulitzer Prize-winning Post book columnist Michael Dirda with an Xbox 360 under my arm. I plugged the device into his TV, showed him how to turn on the console and vanished. My assignment for Dirda was to try a new game called "BioShock."

BOWIE-PETRILLO — Patrick Lynn Bowie, 47, Canyon Creek Drive, American Canyon to Michelle Ann Petrillo, 53, Canyon Creek Drive, American Canyon.

We are happy to announce that Gladys McKenney will be turning 100 years old on Oct. 13, 2007.

ST. HELENA HOSPITAL

ZIMMERMAN — Jeffrey John vs. Jackquiline, Oct. 5, 2007.

Nickname: Fluffy Muffy, Miss Muffy or Pumpkin

Nickname: Handsome

The roads that lead a person to becoming a writer are varied, but for John Stanley, it was a taste of “hard, physical work” that sparked the notion of a writing career — that and an irresistible fascination with words, stories, and the boundless world of the imagination.

BERKELEY — A new line of wines saucily named Cleavage Creek and featuring models sporting discreet decolletage on the label has a surprising back story: The wines are part of a fundraising campaign to fight breast cancer; the models are survivors of that disease.

Nearly everyone is finished with harvest, or will be by week’s end. A few growers, including Pat Stotesbery, are hoping the rains will go and stay away until November, but so far the rains haven’t hurt the hardy cabernet grapes with its thicker skins and looser clusters. More than one grower comments that 2007 wines will be fantastic.

What is a good wine value?

Diamonds in the Rough, vintner Boots Brounstein’s annual fundraiser aimed at finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease, raised more than $100,000 last weekend for the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale.

Stomp grapes at Bourassa Vineyard’s harvest celebration Saturday, Oct. 20, from 1 to 4 p.m. Wine tasting — barrel, library and futures — is part of the event along with a food and wine paing demonstration by Julie Logue-Riordan, of Cooking with Julie.

Beaulieu Vineyard announced today that it will create a self-contained, state-of-the-art winemaking facility dedicated solely to the production of its flagship wine, Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, one of Napa Valley’s iconic, benchmark wines.