BY FRAN ENDICOTT MILLER

Can’t wait until July 20-29 for the 2018 season of Festival Napa Valley? Headliners this year include superstar violinist Joshua Bell, 10-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval, Broadway legend Lea Salonga, opera sensation Michael Fabiano, the San Francisco Ballet, and a rare appearance by Grupo Compay Segundo from Havana. Get a jump on the festivities by attending the Festival’s new Springboard series, April 4-8, part of Arts Council Napa Valley’s “Arts in April” lineup, a month-long campaign to promote local talents and bring the community together through live music, art fairs and exhibitions, storytelling, theatre performances, culinary arts, and hands on activities. Springboard offers live music, educational workshops, a film premiere, and the popular 5k/10k Sun Run. The Springboard schedule of events includes:

April 4 – Kicking off the Springboard series is a concert by 18-year old singing sensation Wé McDonald at the Napa Valley Opera House’s JaM Cellars Ballroom. McDonald made her national television debut with a show-stopping audition on the hit NBC-TV series The Voice, and was guided by coach Alicia Keys all the way to the show’s 2016 finale. She will make her Napa debut performing jazz standards and pop classics. $20 general admission, $10 student admission. Tickets are available here. 

April 5 – McDonald will visit the students at the Camille Creek Community School in Napa. She will perform and offer insights into how she overcame bullying as a child and learned to build skills to reach her goals.

April 7 – Festival Napa Valley and Lincoln Theater will co-present the Napa gala premiere screening of André - The Voice of Wine, Saturday, April 7, at 3pm at Lincoln Theater in Yountville. The feature-length documentary tells the story of influential winemaker André Tchelistcheff, often referred to as the “dean of American winemakers.” Directed by his grandnephew Mark Tchelistcheff and narrated by Academy Award-winner Ralph Fiennes, the film features interviews with winemakers Christian Mouiex, Francis Ford Coppola, Mike Grgich, Warren Winiarski, Rick Sayre, Rob Davis and others. Special guests include Mark Tchelistcheff, who will moderate a post-film panel of winemakers and industry luminaries. A curated wine tasting featuring Tchelistcheff-associated wineries including Beaulieu Vineyard, with whom Tchelistcheff worked for more than thirty-five years, is available with a $95 VIP ticket.

April 8 – The fourth annual 5k and 10k Sun Run takes off from downtown Yountville for a scenic run through the vineyards to raise funds to support Festival Napa Valley’s arts education programs. Individual and team registrations are available.

To purchase tickets to Springboard events and to register for the Sun Run, click here.