Napa author Tyler Oakes reads from her newly published novel, “Ruby Rest” at Copperfield’s on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. She’ll also be signing copies of “Ruby Rest” at the holiday cigar tasting party at Baker Street Downtown on Thursday, Dec. 13 from 6-9 p.m.

In 1935, the United States in the Great Depression and heading toward World War II, and New York’s plays and musicals were finding their way west to become motion pictures.

Just in time for the holidays Lincoln Theater in Yountville presents “Second City’s Dysfunctional Holiday Revue,” a raucous blend of sketches, songs and improvisation with a healthy dose of seasonal satire, performed by members of the legendary comedy and improvisation company.

No winter doldrums allowed here. The Napa Valley Opera House has announced its new line-up and Artistic Director Evy Warshawski calls the upcoming winter/spring season “an artistic potpourri sure to please every member of the family.”

Popular with fans of handcrafted works by wine country artisans, the 12th annual Holiday Shopping Extravaganza will open to the public in a few days.

“Evita” should captivate. “Evita” should mesmerize. With its grand dance numbers, its famous songs, and the legendary woman behind the title role, “Evita” should be larger than life.

Bay Area American Filipino writers may not be all that well known in American Canyon, a fact some want to change.

With an earthquake in one theatre and a ship tossed by stormy seas in the other, Berkeley Repertory Theatre is beset by disasters – but the community loves them. The Tony Award-winning theatre is riding a tidal wave of rave reviews, standing ovations and sold-out houses with its celebrated productions of “after the quake” and “Argonautika.” Amidst record sales at the box office, Berkeley Rep is adding performances of both shows to meet the earth-shattering demand for tickets.

Unlike the intimate sketches of fellow Frenchman Claude Debussy, the piano music of Maurice Ravel is cold, glittering and virtuosic, like fine, hard jade.

Education

This year the annual Worlds of Flavor conference at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone took on the seemingly impossible task of exploring “The Rise of Asia” in two days of seminars, cooking sessions — and a lot of eating. A highlight of the conference took place Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday afternoon when the CIA’s Barrel Room was transformed into a marketplace from some exotic land. This year it was several lands, and giant Chinese red dragons and paper dragonflies floated in the air above Thai dancers and Japanese drummers, while chefs anda vendors from Singapore, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and India dispensed samples of everything from chocolate dipped vegetables to green tea ice cream. Here’s a sampling of recipes from some of the chefs.

If you go to the Republic of Georgia, be sure to take your appetite along.

Now that we’ve had our fill of the Mediterranean diet, Americans are looking to Asia to whet their appetites.

(Bubur Cha Cha)

My sister Judy is completely tone deaf. She honestly cannot tell one note from another. Her CD changer, programmed by her husband, always has the same five classical recordings in it. When you ask her what’s playing, she answers “Number three.” Years of piano lessons were wasted on her. We don’t let her sing. She couldn’t carry a tune in a backpack.

Matching wines with foods that make culinary magic remains something of a mystery to most of us. There are the standard rules, and beyond this someone is usually available to make a recommendation, which usually works just fine. But then you encounter someone who can make a match that is out of the realm of the ordinary, and you have to wonder, how did he do it?

4 3-oz. portions of ahi tuna, sushi quality

Beef tenderloin

1 pound baby greens

Credited with earning The Restaurant at Meadowood a two-star rating from the esteemed Michelin Guide, restaurant chef Joseph Humphrey announced today he will be leaving Meadowood to accept the position of executive chef at Cavallo Point — The Lodge at Golden Gate, scheduled to open in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge next summer.

This week's recipes come from the kitchens at Hess Collection Winery, including Hesse Salad, Ahi Tuna with Quinoa, and Beef Tenderloin with Celery Root Puree.

Solage Resorts, the new earth-friendly retreat nestled in a hollow of crisp air and breathtaking views outside of Calistoga, takes lowering your stress level to a high tech, highly pampered peak.

With City Editor Jill Decker exploring the new Solange spa in Calistoga, it seemed a good time to investigate what other spas in the valley are up to in the holiday season.

It was Pajama Day at Mt. George Elementary School, which was why even Principal Janine Burt was decked out in pink flannel jammies.

Leave it to Mario to give the Wii its best game -- maybe even one of the best games of the year on any system.

BIER-WILKINSON — Ethan Aaron Bier, 33, Sulphur Springs, St. Helena to Rachel Louise Wilkinson, 29, Sulphur Springs, St. Helena.

CRITTENDEN — Michael vs. Catherine, Nov. 16, 2007

4.0 GPA - Sixth Grade

Outside the Goodman Library, kids dressed as princesses and spooks were gearing up for downtown Napa’s Halloween parade.

Norman deLeuze left a lucrative engineering career to follow his lifelong dream of becoming a winemaker and found ZD Wines in Napa Valley. When he found out he had cancer, he focused that same determination on finding new ways to treat it.

When we were first learning about wine at our grand pappy’s knee, it was revealed that Pierre “Dom” Perignon (1638-1715), the blind French winemaker, “invented” Champagne. And he announced the discovery with a shout, “Come quickly, I am drinking stars!” It was a lovely tale, and we bought it hype, line and bubbles.      

Fine wine, of course. Fine cognac, naturally. Fine beer? Are you kidding?

Raymond Vineyard and Cellar had its first crush in 1974 making it a venerable winery amidst a plethora of newcomers, but the roots of the winemaking Raymond family go back much further — five generations — to plant them literally with the first of those who came to the Napa Valley more than a century ago and decided this might be a great place to make wine.