While the music of Vivaldi, Haydn and Schubert was the magnet attracting several hundred people to Castello di Amorosa Tuesday night, the musicmakers themselves turned out to be the enchanting hit of the Festival del Sole event.

The San Francisco Opera House rang with especially loud cheers Sunday afternoon July 6 as a vigorous Napa Valley contingent watched their home-town girl, the internationally acclaimed soprano Ruth Ann Swenson, awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal for 25 years of high artistic merit.

The Fates seemed to conspire against Festival del Sole on Thursday.

The unspoken theme of Festival del Sole’s midweek concert at Castello di Amorosa was “together again.”

The promise of musical magic was written all over Friday night’s Festival del Sole concert.

Experience one of Shakespeare’s early comedies as he takes you to the Kingdom of Navarre where the temptation of women conquers an oath of scholarship, and all ends in love and romance — but not marriage.

The Wine Country Film Festival begins tonight in Sonoma County where an international array of films will be shown through July 27. July 31 through Aug. 3, the Festival will be showing films in Napa County. Below is a listing of films that will be shown in Napa County. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $10 general and $8 senior, student. For further information and to find out about otherfilms being screened in Sonoma, call the festival at 935-3456, e-mail wcfilmfest@aol.com or visit www.wcff.us.

Timba is the Cuban counterpart of salsa music, evolving independently of the development of salsa in the United States and Puerto Rico. This Cuban export has incorporated several different styles and genres, including classical music, Latin jazz, disco, funk and hip-hop.

Festival del Sole ended its third season in wine country with a bang Sunday afternoon.

If someone offered you $1, would you take it?  What about $10? $100? $1000? Too good to be true? Here’s the catch: If you walk away with the money, you’ll have to live with yourself knowing that you’re walking away with someone else’s life savings. Still worth it?