Comprised of native Hawaiians, surfers and friends — all master musicians — Manaleo is committed to preserving the music, traditions and culture of old Hawaii.

St. Helena artist Nancy Willis hosts a series of upcoming workshops, plus a 10-day painting tour to France.

Reuniting a pair of key fundraisers for the first time in many years, the Napa Valley Unity League and Napa designer Michael Holmes will stage the Napa Valley Academy Awards Gala Black Tie and Black T-shirt Parties at Sterling Vineyards on Sunday, Feb. 24, from 5 to 11 p.m.

In celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 252nd birthday, Napa Valley Music Associates present the 14th Mostly Mozart in Napa Valley gala concert on Sunday, Jan. 27 —Mozart’s birthday — at 3 p.m. This year the concert will take place at Copia.

We’ve all received one of those e-mails.

Rob Becker’s “Defending the Caveman” is a worldwide, blockbuster theatrical hit that has played in more than 30 countries in 15 different languages.

Some of the most talented teenage musicians in Napa County will perform Saturday night in a concert that will raise money to help rebuild a community center in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans.

Education

Pizza Azzurro shut its doors Friday night — but only at its old location on Second Street. The favorite Napa dining spot known for its authentic, thin crust pizzas and other specialties, is moving to a new, larger space in the new Wiseman “Main Street West” Building, at 1260 Main St., on Napa’s emerging “restaurant row.” Its name is also changing just a little — it will become Azzurro Pizzeria & Enoteca.

Chef Bob Hurley and the staff of Hurley’s Restaurant welcome back guest chef Karen Crouse for a Mardi Gras dinner Feb. 5, 5-10 p.m. and reservations are required. The Fat Tuesday prix fixe menu is $65 (including wines) and consists of Oysters Bienville, crawfish cocktail, red beans with rice, jambalaya, beignets and New Orleans coffee. There will be plenty of Mardi Gras beads and doubloons.

Chef Brandon Sharp, Solbar

There’s a kind of genius at work behind the menu at Solbar, although Chef Brandon Sharp won’t take all the credit for it.

When Ray and Texie McGowan planted their first camellias, they were a young married couple building a home in Napa. The year was 1950, and the seeds came from trees in downtown’s Fuller Park.

Napa County elementary school students recently won numerous awards at the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) American History essay contest. The theme of this year’s writing competition was “I Spy: Espionage during the Revolutionary War.”

GUTIERREZ — Julio vs. Marcy, Jan. 17, 2008.

QUEEN OF THE VALLEY

APPLEBY-CARSTENSEN — Matthew David Appleby, 24, Sea Hero Court, Napa to Caren Abigail Carstensen, 24, East Third Avenue, Napa.

Upvalley business logos were the focus of this month’s “Where In The Napa Valley Is?” A house, a Roman and an airplane are all part of signage identifying Calistoga businesses.

As a marketing scheme it is risky but evidently effective: Hang your hat on a premium product with a past so intriguing and at times dark that people will flock to your door. Or in the case of absinthe, to your distillery where you happily dispense limited quantities of the once-banned elixir to the devoted, the macabre, the well-heeled and the curious, all at a high price. In this case that works out to $75 for a 750ml bottle of the St. George Verte that is made in Alameda.

Bob Flook and Vic Vasquez have come up with a way to save money for vintners and save the environment at the same time.

Imagine a wine trade show without wine.

Napa Valley Vintners is sponsoring a Green Winery Workshop on Jan. 29 at the Solage Resort in Calistoga and will feature the launch of its new Green Certified Winery program.