Festival Napa Valley is a music, food, wine and lifestyle festival held in

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

, California. It is presented by Napa Valley Festival Association, a nonprofit corporation governed by a board of vintners and local leaders. More than 200 musicians, wineries, resorts, theaters, restaurants, chefs, and vintners participate every year. The festival presents a summer season every July and some years in the spring and fall. Performances take place at theaters, wineries, resorts, estates, and vineyard settings throughout Napa Valley. The festival also presents year-round school programming and is the leading private funder of arts education in Napa County public schools.

Events

Taste of Napa, part of the festival, showcases wine and culinary delicacies from approximately 80 local wineries, restaurants, and food artisans. Many of the wineries that participate are rarely open to the public. The festival's wellness events include conversations led by health practitioners and a 5K/10K Sun Run with proceeds supporting the Napa County Alliance for Arts Education. The Arts for All Gala takes place the first Sunday of the festival's summer season every July. The evening features an alfresco dinner, live performances, and surprise guests, and culminates in a charity wine auction featuring one-of-a-kind lifestyle experiences. The 2017 ''Arts for All'' Gala, held at HALL Napa Valley, raised a record $2.5 million, placing it among the most successful charity wine auctions in the United States. Proceeds from the event provide free and affordable access to festival performances and support public school arts education programs in Napa County, scholarships for emerging musicians, and the festival's tuition-free Blackburn Music Academy. In 2014, the festival presented a tribute to

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

at Far Niente. Loren's son,

Carlo Ponti Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti Sr. (11 December 1912 – 10 January 2007) was an Italian film producer with more than 140 productions to his credit. Along with Dino De Laurentiis, he is credited with reinvigorating and popularizing Italian cin ...

, debuted the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, an ensemble devoted to the advocacy and support of music education.

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...

emceed the tribute for 400 guests, which included

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

and former Speaker of the House

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and Former President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

sent in tributes via video. In 2016, the festival presented a tribute to

Margrit Mondavi Margrit Biever Mondavi (''née'' Kellenberger; August 2, 1925 – September 2, 2016) was a Swiss-born American businesswoman. She was vice president of Cultural Affairs at Robert Mondavi Winery which she joined in 1967. Under her direction, Robe ...

, also at Far Niente. Jazz musician

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

and vocalist

Monica Mancini Monica Jo Mancini (born May 4, 1952) is an American singer and the daughter of composer Henry Mancini. Career Monica Mancini grew up in Northridge, California. Her father, Henry was a popular, award winning composer and her mother, Virginia was ...

performed. Notable guests included

and Lidia Bastianich. Among those celebrating Ms. Mondavi in person or by video were Beth Nickel, Maria Manetti Shrem,

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Found ...

, Jacques Pepin,

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a bandmate of Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller in the Ardells in the early 1960s and a member of the Steve Miller Band from 1967 to 196 ...

, Piero Antinori, and Lamberto Frescobaldi. The tribute was one of Margrit Mondavi's last public appearances and she died less than six weeks later. In 2018, the festival feted its Founding Chair Darioush Khaledi and his wife Shahpar, culminating in a private concert and dinner featuring

Sarah Chang Sarah Chang (; born Young Joo Chang; December 10, 1980) is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled ...

and Aldo Lopez-Gavilan, hosted by Jeff and Valerie Gargiulo at Gargiulo Vineyards. In 2021, the festival returned to live programming with a full schedule running from July 16–25, 2021.

Programs

Festival Napa Valley has awarded more than $1 million to support Napa County public school visual and performing arts programs. The festival has fulfilled teacher "Wish Lists" for classroom resources and materials, has underwritten the creation of Napa County's first-ever arts education master plan in partnership with Arts Council Napa Valley and the Napa Valley Unified School District, and has taken a lead role in ensuring access to quality arts education for all K-12 students. Festival grants have provided funding for a district-wide Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator; a music teacher to serve Napa's three largest middle schools; and the creation of a professional development program to encourage arts integration into all classrooms. Festival Napa Valley has also partnered with the Napa County Office of Education to ensure arts education for the county's most disenfranchised students at Camille Creek Community School, through funding a weekly arts education class, establishing a creative room on campus, and initiating an annual Concert on the Green on the Camille Creek campus. On April 5, 2018, We McDonald, a finalist from

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's " The Voice," inaugurated the Concert on the Green with a performance and question and answer session with the students.

Young artist series and concert

The festival's Bouchaine Young Artists Series is an admission-free concert series featuring performances by emerging stars.

Summer camps

In 2018, Festival Napa Valley funded two tuition-free summer camps for the Boys & Girls Clubs' Napa and American Canyon clubhouses, each serving 250 students ages 6–18. The program features a robust arts curriculum designed to encourage students to create, explore and discover, a daily interactive music experience, and attendance at the festival's Concert for Kids featuring a headlining artist.

Music academy

Festival Napa Valley's Blackburn Music Academy offers a tuition-free immersive training and performance experience for 80 emerging pre-professional musicians from around the world. In 2017, the academy's inaugural year, applications were submitted by hundreds of students from 119 schools and conservatories, from 45 states and seven countries.

Vocal arts series

With support from Festival Napa Valley benefactors Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem, the festival presents leading vocalists and emerging talent in concert halls and intimate settings throughout Napa Valley, including Lincoln Theater, Napa Valley Opera House, Meadowood, Jarvis Conservatory, and Castello di Amorosa.

Dance series

San Francisco philanthropist Dede Wilsey underwrites the festival's dance series, which has featured dancers from American Ballet Theatre, Bandaloop, Bolshoi Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, National Ballet of Canada, New York City Ballet, Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, StaatsBallett Berlin and Stuttgart Ballet, among others. The Napa Regional Dance Company and other programs for young dancers are also presented through the series. Festival Napa Valley was founded in 2006 by San Francisco Bay Area attorney and arts manager Richard Walker and IMG Artists Chairman Barrett Wissman, along with Executive Producer Charles Letourneau. The festival was launched with financial support from Ann and

Gordon Getty Gordon Peter Getty (born December 20, 1933) is an American businessman and classical music composer, the fourth child of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. His mother, Ann Rork Light, Ann Rork, was his father's fourth wife. When his father died in 1976, G ...

, Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, Maria Manetti and Jan Shrem, Athena and Timothy Blackburn, Diane Wilsey, John Traina, and Robert and Margrit Mondavi, among other noted philanthropists. Founding Partner Wineries included PlumpJack, Darioush, Far Niente, Bouchaine Vineyards, HALL Napa Valley, Peju Winery, Quintessa, Blackbird Vineyards, Castello di Amorosa, Gargiulo Vineyards, and Robert Mondavi Winery. The founders sought to create a festival that would define Napa Valley as a cultural destination.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
2006 establishments in California Classical music festivals in the United States Jazz festivals in California Festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area Food and drink festivals in the United States Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Recurring events established in 2006 Tourist attractions in Napa County, California