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If Festival Napa Valley’s Symphonic Finale was a poker hand, it would have been a royal flush. Presented Sunday, July 19, at the FNV Stage at Charles Krug in St. Helena, the late evening program featured the works of a quintet of American compositional royalty performed by Festival Orchestra Napa under the guidance of conductor JoAnn Falletta.

Festival Napa Valley marked its 20th anniversary with a record-breaking Arts for All Gala on July 12, raising $6.5 million to support its year-round education, scholarship and community initiatives. Held at Nickel & Nickel in Oakville, part of Far Niente Wine Estates, the gala brought together philanthropists, artists, vintners and civic leaders. 

Festival Napa Valley seemed a little closer to Kansas when Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena hosted an outdoor screening of The Wizard of Oz with live accompaniment by Festival Orchestra Napa on July 16. A sold-out audience of 1,100 gathered to watch the beloved Technicolor tale of Dorothy and friends with a full orchestral score conducted by Ming Luke

Presented in partnership with KQED Live
Be among the first to experience a sneak preview of a special Wine Country edition of Check, Please! Bay Area, KQED’s beloved long-running restaurant series, hosted by James Beard Award-winning wine writer and television personality Leslie Sbrocco.

Festival Napa Valley (FNV), a music-centric charity organization that funds arts initiatives in the valley, marked its 20th anniversary this year, capping off over two weeks of performances with $6.5 million raised at its capstone event, the Arts for All Gala.

The 20th century is littered with the corpses of high-minded comic operas. Satire is what closes on Saturday night, said George S. Kaufman, whose witticism has passed into theater folklore. Fearlessly, composer Jake Heggie and his long-time librettist Gene Scheer took up the challenge with The Judgment of Paris — it was the exclamation point of Festival Napa Valley’s 20th anniversary season.