How about a free, old-fashioned holiday event — one for the whole family — to put on your entertainment calendar this week?

The Second City, the granddaddy of improv troupes, blew in from Chicago Saturday to the Lincoln Theater amid gales of laughter for its “Dysfunctional Holiday Revue.”

Young performers from the Napa Valley Dance Center kicked off the holiday season in high fashion by dancing at Copia's Christmas Tree Lighting party Nov. 24, but that was only the beginning of their performing season.

This time of year all kinds of collections are unpacked and set out for display — ornaments, decorations, Victorian villages, train sets — but the art of collecting is really a year-round occupation.

Education

This exotic variation on a classic cream pastry -- a standard at French patisseries -- is served by Philipppe Gauvreau at La Rotonde restaurant in Lyon, France. It is made in three stages.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- It's the most talked about conflict in the world -- but the food remains a mystery.

For the puff pastry:

When we wondered about who to ask for help in planning a fun New Year's party at home, the chefs/owners of downtown Napa's Pilar restaurant immediately came to mind.

Admission is free to Copia in January and February, and Sonoma is the focus of January's programs.

We have all seen these commercials around this time of year. A woman (or at least almost always a woman) is led to the door by her beaming spouse, her eyes covered.

While catching up on local news over a holiday catalog laden mailbox in late September, Sara Cakebread and Sarah Imbert, neighbors on the 1700 block of Pine St. in St. Helena, decided to do a study in holiday season waste. The result of their experiment was a pile of catalogs weighing 320 pounds that were delivered to their two homes and that of neighbors Katie and Kevin Melancon between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30.

When I think of the "Need for Speed" series, a couple of things come to mind: customization, fun tracks and cops.

FRY-MATHIEU — William Kent Fry, 51, Appollo Court, Napa to Victoria Lynn Mathieu, 53, Appollo Court, Napa.

MARTINEZ — Denise A. vs. Victor M., Dec. 17, 2007.

Armed with the knowledge obtained by attending the California Forestry Challenge in October, four Napa New Technology High School students provided testimony Dec. 14 before the California-Nevada Tahoe Basin Fire Commission.

Petty Officer First Class Dave Cornes of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps was awarded the Sons of the American Revolution  Bronze Good Citizenship Medal on Nov. 3, 2007, at the Mare Island Museum.

QUEEN OF THE VALLEY

While Julie Prince thinks Thomas Wolfe is a fine writer, she rejects his long-held tenet about not returning to one’s birthplace with the eyes of youth.

“Balance and Complexity: The Vineyard and Beyond” is the theme for the California Preservation Foundation 33rd annual statewide conference. They’ll present it in partnership with Napa County Landmarks April 23-26 in the Napa Valley.  

When you’re visiting friends during the holidays, it’s always good to take along a bottle of wine as a gift. And whether you expect the host or hostess to open it or save it for another time, make sure it’s a wine you’d enjoy, too.

The generosity of the wine industry is well known, and a recent report from MKF Research indicated that vintners in Napa Valley account for a whopping $62 million a year in charitable contributions.