Festival Napa Valley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Festival Napa Valley |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Festival |
| Location(s) | Napa Valley, California |
| Coordinates | 38°23′12″N 122°21′00″W / 38.3867°N 122.3500°W |
| Country | U.S. |
| Inaugurated | 2006 |
| Founder | Richard Walker, Barrett Wissman |
| Attendance | 10,000 |
Festival Napa Valley is a fun event in Napa Valley, California. It celebrates music, delicious food, and the local lifestyle. A group called the Napa Valley Festival Association organizes it. This group is a non-profit, meaning they don't aim to make money. Local leaders and people who make wine help run it.
Every year, over 200 musicians, restaurants, and wineries join in. Many different places in Napa Valley host parts of the festival. The main festival happens every July. Sometimes, there are also events in spring and fall. You can see shows at theaters, wineries, and other beautiful spots. The festival also helps schools all year long. It gives a lot of money to support arts education in Napa County public schools.
Contents
What Happens at the Festival?
One exciting part is 'Taste of Napa.' Here, you can try amazing food and drinks from about 80 local places. Many of these wineries are usually closed to the public.
The festival also has events focused on wellness. These include talks with health experts. There's also a 5K or 10K run. Money raised from the run helps support arts education in Napa County.
The Arts for All Gala
The 'Arts for All Gala' is a special dinner and show. It happens on the first Sunday of the summer festival in July. Guests enjoy an outdoor dinner and live performances. There are also surprise guests. The evening ends with a charity auction. People can bid on unique experiences, often involving wine.
In 2017, this gala raised a lot of money, $2.5 million. This made it one of the most successful charity wine auctions in the United States. The money helps people attend festival shows for free or at a low cost. It also supports arts education in public schools. Plus, it provides scholarships for young musicians. It also helps the festival's free Blackburn Music Academy.
Special Tributes and Guests
The festival has honored many famous people over the years.
In 2014, the festival honored Sophia Loren, a famous actress. Her son, Carlo Ponti, led his new orchestra, the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra. This orchestra helps support music education. Whoopi Goldberg hosted the event for 400 guests. Famous people like Robert Redford and Francis Ford Coppola were there. Robert De Niro and former President Bill Clinton sent video messages.
In 2016, the festival honored Margrit Mondavi. She was a very important person in the Napa Valley wine world. Jazz musician Dave Koz and singer Monica Mancini performed. Sophia Loren was also a guest. Many others celebrated Ms. Mondavi in person or by video. This tribute was one of her last public appearances before she passed away.
In 2018, the festival celebrated its founder, Darioush Khaledi, and his wife Shahpar. This event included a private concert and dinner.
In 2021, the festival returned with live events. It had a full schedule from July 16 to July 25, 2021.
Festival Programs
Festival Napa Valley has given over $1 million to support arts programs in Napa County public schools. The festival helps teachers get supplies for their classrooms. It also helped create Napa County's first plan for arts education. This plan was made with Arts Council Napa Valley and the Napa Valley Unified School District. The festival works to make sure all K-12 students have access to good arts education.
Festival grants have paid for a special coordinator for arts programs across the school district. They also funded a music teacher for Napa's three biggest middle schools. The festival also created a program to help teachers add art into all their lessons.
Festival Napa Valley also works with the Napa County Office of Education. They help students at Camille Creek Community School, who might not otherwise get arts education. They fund a weekly art class and created a creative room there. They also started an annual 'Concert on the Green' at the school. In 2018, We McDonald, a finalist from NBC's "The Voice," performed at this concert.
Young Artist Series
The festival has a free concert series called the Bouchaine Young Artists Series. It features performances by talented new musicians who are just starting their careers.
Summer Camps
In 2018, Festival Napa Valley paid for two free summer camps. These camps were for the Boys & Girls Clubs in Napa and American Canyon. Each camp served 250 students aged 6 to 18. The camps had fun art lessons to help students create and explore. They also had daily music activities. Students also got to attend the festival's 'Concert for Kids' with a main artist.
Music Academy
The Blackburn Music Academy is part of Festival Napa Valley. It offers a free training program for 80 talented young musicians. These musicians come from all over the world. In 2017, its first year, hundreds of students applied. They came from 119 schools and conservatories, from 45 states and seven countries.
Vocal Arts Series
With help from supporters, the festival presents top singers and new vocal talents. These performances happen in concert halls and smaller venues throughout Napa Valley. Places include Lincoln Theater and Napa Valley Opera House.
Dance Series
A supporter named Dede Wilsey helps fund the festival's dance series. This series has featured dancers from many famous ballet companies. These include American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet, and New York City Ballet. Local dance groups for young dancers are also part of this series.
Festival History
Festival Napa Valley was started in 2006. It was founded by Richard Walker and Barrett Wissman, along with Charles Letourneau. They wanted to create a festival that would make Napa Valley known as a cultural place. Many people and wineries helped financially to start the festival. Some of the founding wineries included PlumpJack, Darioush, and Robert Mondavi Winery.
See also
- Festival del Sole
