A developmentally disabled former janitor, who took up painting just last year, is quickly becoming one of Napa’s hottest new artists.

The Broadway tour of “Evita,” the seven-time Tony Award-winning collaboration of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, comes to Yountville’s Lincoln Theater with three performances over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The Napa Valley Symphony’s second classical concert of the 2007-08 75th anniversary season features the return of pianist Leon Bates to the Napa Valley this weekend at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville.

Arts visionary Michael Savage will retire from his post as executive director of Yountville’s Lincoln Theater at the end of the year.

On Sunday two talented local musicians, vocalist Suzi Gilbert and pianist/vocalist Ellen Patterson, team up to deliver a tribute to George and Ira Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael. “Show-stoppers”is a benefit for the Napa Valley Chorale. Who could ask for anything more?

Versatile jazz pianist Larry Vuckovich, returning to Napa after a fall tour that included a debut at New York’s Lincoln Center, an appearance on “Marian McPartland’s NPR Piano Jazz” and performances at the Fazioli solo piano series in Chicago and New York, performs Thursday at the Opera House.

Artist entrepreneurs Ann Trinca and Norma Quintana have opened a hybrid gallery/store that they call “a new experience in retail philanthropy.”

Whether you’re looking for holiday show or homemade crafts, a tea party or a hometown celebration, there’s plenty to do in the valley in the upcoming weeks. Here’s a round-up of what we’ve heard of so far:

Napa Valley artists are among those participating in the Celebration of Craftswomen  Nov. 24-25 and Dec. 1-2, at Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

If you missed one of the two opportunities to hear the Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra perform last weekend, you have no one to blame but yourself.

Animal expert “Jungle Jack” Hanna brings his favorite furry, feathered and reptilian friends to the Napa Valley Opera House on Sunday, Dec. 2 for shows at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Center for Spiritual Living

Local man receives alumni award

Education

BRUNER — Kim vs. Robert, Nov. 13, 2007.

When celebrated wine country chef Thomas Keller was casting about for a new pastry chef for his renowned French Laundry restaurant, he placed a number of want ads in publications on both sides of the Atlantic.

BarBersQ, the popular Memphis-style barbecue restaurant in Napa’s Bel Aire Shopping Center, is offering a weekly special prix fixe dinner from 5-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

When Sherry Yard came home to her wine country digs late one night to a message from a guy claiming to be “Wolfgang,” her first thought was that a friend had finally perfected his impersonations.

Throughout her new cookbook, “Desserts by the Yard: From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills — Recipes from the Sweetest Life Ever,” author (and former wine country pastry chef) Sherry Yard offers home cooks valuable tips.

The actor-producer-director Henry Winkler stayed at Campton Place for a month while he was filming. Every night when he returned from the set, I sent up a plate of warm cookies. On his last day, I gave him a bag to take home. That night, I happened to be watching “The Tonight Show,” and there was Henry — giving the cookies to Jay Leno!

This elegant pudding, sprinkled with crystallized ginger and topped with whipped cream, is one of the simplest desserts you can make. The key to success is finding perfect mangoes; if that’s not possible, use frozen mango puree, preferably Boiron brand.

With only three ingredients, this has to be the easiest recipe in the book. Its simplicity, however, yields a surprisingly decadent, smooth and silky cream that will leave your dinner guests trying to guess how you made it.

I began my career as a pastry chef in 1984, working in the basement of the Ritz Hotel on Piccadilly. In many ways this was a baptism of fire. We would start at 8 a.m. and finish at some ungodly hour the following morning, working flat out in the old and worn-out confines of a kitchen that could have told many a story about its past. I dreaded the run-up to the weekend, when the hotel held its famous tea dances. We would slave away all week constructing the intricate, delicate and elegant pastries to give ourselves time to make, roll, cut and bake the vast quantity of scones on the day. I still visit the kitchens of the Ritz to see my good friend, John Williams, who is now head chef there. The kitchen has transformed to become modern and spanking new, but afternoon tea has remained as popular as ever — so popular that at weekends they start serving it at 11 a.m.

Although the meal remains affordable, menu items for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings will cost more this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

About this time of year, decorative gourds appear in all shapes and sizes. But other than setting them on a table to look picturesque, is there anything you can really do with them?

Created by young artists throughout Napa County, the Aldea Children and Family Services’ 2008 Children’s Art Therapy Calendar provides a glimpse into local children’s hopes and feelings.

QUEEN OF THE VALLEY

On any given day Napans may walk or drive past one of the many stately turn-of-the-century B&Bs downtown — sometimes taking a second glance and daydream what it must like to be a tourist vacationing in the Napa Valley.

The last time we’d seen these folks it was midnight in August, a hot summer night under a full moon. The occasion was the harvest at Ryan’s Vineyard on Big Ranch Road in Napa.

Now that I have been introduced, I want to thank the editors for generously allowing me to comment on this terribly important aspect of wine enjoyment — the angle of the wine glass.

Back Room Wines presents its Back Room Blow Out XXIV today from 5-9 p.m. Four local winery owners/winemakers and one wine importer will pour  wines at this event:  Adam Webb, Odisea Wine Company; Brian Graham, Ramian Estates;  Karen Culler, Culler Cellars;  Chris Vandendressche from White Rock Vineyards and Charles Neal, French Wine Spy who will pour two French wines.