PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate Release
December, 2009
Contact: Pat Summers,
Summers-McCann Public Relations
707-938-1133 ext 106
pat@summers-mccann.com
Seventeenth Annual Napa Valley Mustard Festival
A Sensational Season of Food, Wine and Art Events
Napa Valley, CA ~ The 17th annual Napa Valley Mustard Festival will burst into bloom in January of 2010. The Festival’s line up of stellar events, January 30 through March 27, takes place when wild mustard blooms in the vineyards, offering visitors from far and wide immersion in the legendary wine region’s good life.
A SEASON OF SENSATIONAL EVENTS
Celebrate Napa Valley’s unique agricultural and cultural bounty during the 176hannual Napa Valley Mustard Festival. An impressive collection ~ the who’s who of Napa Valley restaurants, caterers and wineries; mustard and gourmet companies from around the world; regional artists and national sponsors ~ will present their finest throughout The Season. Vineyards vibrant with wild mustard in bloom provide a breathtaking backdrop and share center stage with mustard the condiment during the two-month marathon of food, wine and art events.
YOUR HOSTS
Meet Napa Valley Mustard Festival Host Chef Anne Gingrass, Executive Chef, Brix, Host Winemaker Julianne Laks of Cakebread Cellars and Host Artist Thomas Monaghan at the events. The Grand Dinner on Friday, February 19 at Brix is limited to 100 and provides an excellent opportunity to mingle with Napa Valley Mustard Festival Hosts, as well as notable guest chefs and winemakers.
Plan to extend your stay when you attend events or simply take a mid-week respite to enjoy special mid-week Mustard Season offers when you visit to attend events. Visit mustardfestival.org to view restaurant, hotel, winery and retail offers and packages. The mid-week promotion is sponsored by The County of Napa.
THE UNVEILING ~ LET THE BIDDING BEGIN!
The official unveiling of the season’s artwork, Reverie by Thomas Monaghan, will take place at Hall Wines on Sunday, January 10. The silent bidding for Reverie begins! Call 707-938-1133 for an invitation to this intimate preview event.
MUSTARD MAGIC ~ THE GRAND OPENING EVENT
Mustard Magic, the opulent grand opening event, will launch the season on Saturday, January 30, 7 pm at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. The historic three-story stone building sets the stage for dramatic tableaux vivants. Reverie and paintings by European masters will come to life. Entertainment at its finest will complement the living art.
As you stroll through art-filled, candlelit spaces tantalizing tastes of food and wine will entice you at every turn. Take a turn on the dance floor in the barrel room where the Visual Art Competition Exhibit and Silent Auction is surrounded by chefs and winemakers. Visit the teaching kitchen on the third floor for a gourmet buffet and raise your paddle high at the live auction to win food and wine experiences you could not otherwise buy. Luxurious trips, art, wine and more will also go to the highest bidders.
Tickets are $125 in advance through January 15; $150 in advance through January 29; $175 at the door. Tickets may be purchased on line at mustardfestival.org, by calling 707-938-1133, or at local ticket outlets: Antique Fair in Yountville, Art on Main in St. Helena, and Embassy Suites in Napa.
Add to your art collection at the Mustard Magic Visual Art Competition and Silent Auction in the barrel room at the Culinary Institute of America on January 30; then meet the artists at a reception at St. Supéry Winery on Saturday evening, February 6 during A Weekend of Fine Art. The exhibit will be displayed and offered at retail through March 30. Galleries throughout Napa Valley will feature special exhibits and receptions on February 6 and 7 during A Weekend of Fine Art. Don’t miss Reverie by Thomas Monaghan at HALL Wines in St. Helena. There is no admission charge to these open house events.
Indulge in Napa Valley’s most extravagant dining experience of the year at Brix in Yountville on Friday, February 19 at 6 pm. Anne Gingrass, Executive Chef Brix, Napa Valley Mustard Festival Host Chef, and Julianne Laks, Winemaker Cakebread Cellars, Host Winemaker 2010, will head The Dinner’s stellar lineup of chefs and winemakers. Each chef will combine his or her course with a wine presented by the winemaker or a winery principle. Their practiced palettes will insure a perfect marriage of tastes. Ken Frank, La Toque, Host Chef 2009, will be among the guest chefs to join Chef Gingrass and Winemaker Laks to produce the evening’s magnificent mustard influenced menu. The event will include a silent auction of exceptional wines and experiences. Seating is limited to 100 at $225 per person.
Don jewels and black tie for a glitzy evening of food, wine, music and dancing at The Awards ~ A Spicy Soirée! on Friday, March 13, 7 pm, at the beautiful Black Stallion Winery on Silverado Trail in Napa.
As you taste your way through the most creative mustard recipes of the year, while sipping Napa Valley’s finest vintages, the critic’s choice recipe judging, headed by Gene Burns of KGO Newstalk AM810, will take place behind closed doors. You’ll then have the chance to compare your taste buds with those of the professionals as you cast your ballot for People‘s Choice Chef of the Year.
Raise your glass to World Champion Mustard Makers who’ve come to Napa Valley from around the world to walk the red carpet and receive their Napa Valley Mustard Festival World-Wide Mustard Competition Awards. Tickets are $100 in advance; $150 at the door.
Celebrate the mustard season and taste mustards from around the world at
the Napa Riverwalk Marketplace ~ The Signature Event~ on Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14, 11 am to 5 pm in downtown Napa at Riverfront, Historic Napa Mill, Veteran’s Memorial Park and other downtown Napa locations. Highlights of this rain or shine food, wine and arts festival include: celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, live remote broadcasts of KGO am810’s Dining Around with Gene Burns and Martha Stewart Living radio shows, and the ever popular Sunset Magazine pavilion. Artful activities include fine arts and crafts presented by juried artists and artisans, and live performances of jazz, world, and classical music.
Adult admission to The Marketplace at $35 in advance, $40 at the door, includes
8 food and 5 wine tasting tickets (value $1 each), plus a wine glass. Student admission, ages 13 to 20, at $10 includes 5 food-tasting tickets. Admission for children ages 6 to 12 is $5. Children under the age of 6 are admitted for free. Visit participating
Raley’s, Nob Hill Foods and Bel Aire Markets to purchase adult tickets in advance, which include a voucher for 5 additional tasting tickets.
Purchase a weekend package in advance at mustardfestival.org, which includes both The Awards and The Marketplace at $125 per person. Park and walk to the event. Downtown Napa features several parking garages within walking distance of event locations.
View the season’s beauty captured by photographers from far and wide at The Photo Finish, the inevitably “sold out” and wildly exuberant Napa Valley Mustard Festival Grand Finale Event, at Rubicon Estate in Rutherford on Saturday, March 27 at 7 pm. Taste a heady array of Napa Valley wines along with sweets and savories, view the Napa Valley Mustard Festival Photography Contest Exhibit of photographs, available for purchase, and revel in the party until the last dance. Rubicon Estate provides an exciting new location for this inevitably sold out event. Relevé Unlimited, a new Napa Valley Mustard Festival sponsor, will join Rubicon Estate to sponsor The Photography Contest and Exhibit. Tickets to the event are $95 in advance; $125 at the door.
Don’t miss the community and non-profit events that further enrich the Mustard Season calendar. Mustard, Mud & Music – A Calistoga Jazz Festival will take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 6 and 7 in downtown Calistoga; and A Taste of Yountville on Saturday, March 20 in downtown Yountville.
Treat yourself to a Benefactor’s Package and take advantage of the full spectrum of Napa Valley Mustard Festival events. Offered at $600 per person, the package includes one ticket to each of the following events: Mustard Magic, The Grand Dinner, The Awards, The Marketplace, and The Photo Finish – plus a 2008 Napa Valley Mustard Festival poster signed by Thomas Monaghan. Tickets are transferable and may be given as gifts.
Napa Valley Mustard Festival activities include Fine Art and Photography Competitions, The World-Wide Mustard Competition, overseen by Barry and Patti Levenson of the Mustard Museum in Madison, Wisconsin, and a Napa Valley Chef’s Mustard Recipe Competition. For information and guidelines visit mustardfestival.org.
Silent bidding will open on Reverie, Thomas Monaghan’s bucolic 48” by 60” oil painting inspired by Napa’s Carneros appellation, on January 10 at Hall Wines. View the artwork at mustardfestival.org. The painting is destined to go to the highest bidder at The Photo Finish, The Season’s Grand Finale Event, at Rubicon Estate, on Saturday, March 27 at 10 pm. Those who cannot visit Napa Valley but would like to place a bid on the painting may call Pat Summers of Summers-McCann Pubic Relations, Napa Valley Mustard Festival Producer, at 707-938-1133 ext 106. Posters are offered at $30 unsigned and $40 signed by the artist. Order at mustardfestival.org or call 707-938-1133.
Where to Buy Tickets
The Napa Valley Mustard Festival is a non-profit community service organization.
For tickets and information visit the Festival website at mustardfestival.org.
###
|
Facebook
Twitter