For Napans who enjoy the AAA (Adult Album Alternative) radio format, with its emphasis on singer-songwriters like John Mayer and Dave Matthews, Downtown Joe’s will showcase several original acts July 19.

Stand-up comic Will Durst will perform Wednesday, July 16 at the Napa Valley College Theater. The political humorist will also be appearing in Benicia July 23 and Davis July 24 in a  “pre-election assault.”

“I often hear people in the community clamoring for a good lecture series,” commented Anne Evans, managing director of the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. “We have a great one, right here, this summer — a series of eight stimulating lectures, from leading novelists and poets, speaking on a wide range of subjects. They’re bound to appeal whether you’re a writer, a reader, or just passionate about art and ideas.”

Jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and his band will perform songs from his Grammy-nominated album “Italia” at Lincoln Theater Napa Valley on July 21 before he heads to the Hollywood Bowl. Botti’s current tour has taken him around the world with stops scheduled well into 2009.

For its third season of performances in the Napa Valley, Festival del Sole is offering adventuresome programming that ranges from world premiere to Cuban jazz.

When musicians are having as much fun as the audience at a relaxed outdoor concert on a warm summer night in wine country, you know that all hands are, as they say, in the zone.

Comedy juggling, narrative tap-dancing, top-of-the-line magic and Hula-Hooping will add up to a singular night of hilarity at the Napa Valley Opera House July 19.

Oscar Wilde’s “An Ideal Husband” is delicious. It’s the literary equivalent of a box of delectable, high-end, exquisite chocolates — only its fillings are Wilde’s inimitable witticisms, one after another.