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ANNUAL EVENTS IN THE NAPA VALLEY
JANUARY
Health and Wellness Festival, www.calistogavisitors.com. A full week of activities celebrating health and wellness in Calistoga and Napa Valley. Kicking off early January with a fair in downtown Calistoga full of practitioners, therapists, spas and many more offering their products and services. Followed by a week of yoga, tai chi and wellness lectures.
napaARTwalk, www.napaartwalk.org. Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition in Downtown Napa presented by Napa Community Redevelopment Agency and Arts Council Napa Valley. Visit all ten sculptures! At each sculpture, when you see the black and white boxes; if you have a smart phone, you can download a free scanner app. Then “scan” the code with your phone’s camera and link to the audio tour.
JANUARY-APRIL
Napa Valley Mustard Festival, www.mustardfestival.org. Celebrate the food, wine, art, and the rich, unique agricultural and cultural bounty of the Napa Valley! The Mustard Season offers a full palette of food, wine, art, entertainment, and cultural activities staged throughout the world-famous grape growing region when fields, vineyards, and hillsides are vibrant with wild mustard in bloom.
FEBRUARY
Crab Feed month in the Napa Valley – Visit the Community Calendar at www.napachamber.com to find out about these popular community events that raise money for many of our charitable organizations.
MARCH
Mustard, Mud & Music, www.calistogavisitors.com. Annual jazz festival which downtown Calistoga turns into a jazz club. Live jazz bands and wineries throughout downtown.
Napa Valley Marathon & Marathon Expo, www.napavalleymarthon.org. The Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon boasts one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course runs the length of the famed Napa Valley wine-growing region. It begins in Calistoga, famous for its geysers and curative waters, and winds south along the historic Silverado Trail to finish at Vintage High School in north Napa. Except for the last half-mile, the entire course is rural. Runners are treated to panoramic views of the valley, flowering fruit trees, and dormant vineyards carpeted with golden mustard flowers.
MAY-AUGUST
Chefs’ Market, Thursday Evenings, 5-9pm, www.napadowntown.com. Now in its 17th year, Napa’s most popular outdoor event combines food, wine and entertainment to make this one a signature Napa event. Chef’s demonstrations from some of the best chefs in the Valley – and you are invited to enjoy and taste. Three musical stages & kid’s entertainment.
JUNE
Auction Napa Valley, www.napavintners.com. Auction Napa Valley is the world's largest charity wine auction, having raised more than $100 million in 30 years for Napa County health, youth and housing nonprofit organizations.
Connolly Ranch Family Farm Day, http://www.ConnollyRanch.org, is always held in June on the Saturday before Father's Day. Open free to the public, this event offers the community the chance to tour the Connolly Ranch, visit the farm animals including goats, sheep, miniature donkeys, geese, ducks, chickens, Olivia the pig, the miniature horse and cow plus an assortment of new baby animals. Hot dogs and lemonade will be available for sale.
JUNE-SEPTEMBER
Napa City Nights Concert Series, napacitynights@gmail.com. Weekly concerts in Veterans Memorial Park. Bring a blanket, picnic and your dancing shoes. Fridays in the summer, 6:30-10pm.
Movies in the Park Series. Weekly movies in Veterans Memorial Park & Amphitheatre. Bring a blanket and watch under the stars. Saturdays in the summer, 6:30-8:30 pm.
JULY
Festival del Sole, www.festivaldelsole.com. Napa Valley’s Festival del Sole is a weeklong event in July featuring a combination of concerts and exhibitions by internationally acclaimed musical and visual artists, discussions with top literary figures, and culinary delights with the finest chefs and winemakers. It is the sister event to Italy’s annual Tuscan Sun Festival, which is held every August in Cortona. The Del Sole Foundation for the Arts and Humanities sponsors both events.
AUGUST
Blues, Brews & BBQ, www.napadowntown.com. Featuring Blues from some of the Bay Area’s best blues musicians, twenty hard to find micro-brewed beers and BBQ extraordinaire. It doesn’t get much better!
Napa Valley Art Festival, http://www.NapaValleyArtFestival.com is always held on the third Saturday in August. Open free to the public, this event features fine wine, music and fine art from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Yountville Community Center is located at 6515 Washington Street near the intersection of Yount Street. Participating artists are selected by a distinguished panel of professional artists and art professionals. A portion of the sales benefit Connolly Ranch Education Center.
Main Street Reunion Car Show, www.napadowntown.com. Over 400 pre-1976 cars on display, plus entertainment.
SEPTEMBER
Annual Napa Valley Aloha Festival, www.nvalohafest.com. FREE admission & parking. Traditional Hawaiian Entertainment, Music, Hula, Crafts, Hawaiian Vendors and Food, great raffle items and more! Good clean family fun, Kid Friendly. Bring your blanket or chairs and enjoy the day on the lawn at the Napa Expo at 575 Third St. This is a Green Event, no pets, alcohol, drugs or large coolers. Please bring a donation to support the Napa Food Bank. Enjoy the Spirit of Aloha in your own backyard.
Annual River Festival, www.friendsofthenapariver.org. Please join us for one of Napa's most celebrated musical events. This Labor Day weekend tradition continues with an evening concert on the banks of the river with the Napa Valley Symphony, delicious food, fine wine, and glorious fireworks. The Napa Valley Symphony performs from 7 to 9 pm, and the fireworks explode at 9:05 pm. Proceeds from the event support the Friends’ mission of restoration, conservation, and responsible development of the river.
Napa River Wine, Crafts & Jazz Festival, www.napadowntown.com. Celebrating its 35th year, this event has added music in a big way and a new location. 200 artists display unique, original handcrafted art & a new kid’s craft area. Napa Valley wines make strolling down the street a summer delight.
Wine Country Film Festival, www.winecountryfilmfest.com. Imagine yourself in California's world famous vacation spot! Napa and Sonoma Valleys, where locals and visitors alike converge during wine country's oldest and biggest celebration of world cinema, just 45 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. You are sitting under the stars in an open air theater venue, sipping good wine, savoring seasonal cuisine, and socializing with new and old friends. Dozens of festivities range from open air film screenings to educational symposia, informal receptions with guest celebrities to over a dozen cooking demos, live entertainment, barrel tastings and fun for all ages.
OCTOBER
Connolly Ranch Harvest Festival, http://www.ConnollyRanch.org, is always held in October on the Saturday before Halloween. Open free to the public, this event offers the community the chance to tour the Connolly Ranch and take advantage of activities that include meeting the farm animals, garden information, face-painting, free pumpkins and hot dogs and lemonade.
Downtown Blues Weekend, www.calistogavisitors.com. Winemaker dinners, 5 blues bands on main stage, over 15 wineries throughout downtown and on Sunday a Blues 'n Brunch at various restaurants Calistoga.
Hometown Halloween, www.napadowntown.com. Watch the kids trick or treating at the merchant stores.
NOVEMBER
Christmas Parade, www.napadowntown.com. Since becoming an evening parade, Napans have figured out how to add lights to any entry – cars, horses, even children. The floats get a little better every year! Santa wraps this one up and leads everyone to the Oxbow Public Market, for free cookies & hot chocolate.
The Napa Valley Film Festival, www.napavalleyfilmfest.org. An annual celebration of the best new independent film and world cinema, paired with the world-class food, wine and hospitality of legendary Napa Valley. The Wednesday-Sunday event includes screenings of 75 or more new films, discussions with the filmmakers, actors, writers and producers, as well as food and wine tastings, VIP experiences, Celebrity Tributes, Juried and Audience Awards, and both Opening and Closing Night Parties. Screenings and events are held in "walkable villages" at various venues in Napa, Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga. The experience is a rich catalyst for conversation among those who appreciate the art of movie making and the people in the film industry.
Tree Lighting Ceremony, www.napadowntown.com. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
DECEMBER
Annual Festival of Lights, www.yountville.com. Yountville’s annual holiday faire features food, wine and entertainment town-wide. Enjoy visits with Santa Claus, carolers and horse-drawn carriage rides. In the evening, Yountville is set aglow with thousands of twinkling lights adorning trees and shops along Washington Street. V Marketplace will be open until 8pm for holiday shopping. For information call the Yountville Chamber of Commerce, (707) 944-0904.
Lighted Tractor Parade, www.calistogavisitors.com. Calistoga’s renowned Christmas celebration, which boasts more than 100 entries every year. During this free-to-the-public event, local farm equipment and other motorized vehicles (including motorcycles, tractors, and more) are decorated with lights, elves, trees and reindeer as they parade through town.