“The First Blooms of Spring Always Makes my Heart Sing” S. Brown
That is a fitting sentiment for our thoughts of spring. We enjoy the sun creeping up on the horizon ever so slightly and then lingering just a bit before it sets. Seeing the buds form on the trees and plants and warming temperatures just brings a smile to our faces. We both enjoy spending time in our gardens as we commune with nature there and spring brings the promise of the summer to our days. We like to commune with nature with more than just ourselves, having a few friends over is better but going to an outdoor event for music, food, friends and adult libations is even better. The fact that we can enjoy outdoor events here in much of the Bay Area from February until at least November is what really makes this part of the country so special. Many times we can revel in “outdoor” events earlier but February is generally a safe starting point to start thinking about the great outdoors. Hiking, running, drinking wine, outdoor cooking, a walk on the beach, or just taking a stroll in downtown – now is the time to get going…before the crowds pick up.
February and March are also great Home Improvement months, so take stock and make your list and then be sure to head to the Total Home & Garden Show in Vacaville in April so you can get the best deals on all of your projects this summer! You can be ready for your first BBQ of the season before Memorial Day which sneaks up on us every year.
In addition to the increasingly longer days, we’re even more excited since now is the time we unveil our 9th annual Local’ Choice Award winners. Did your favorite win? Were there some surprises? Whatever the results, they come from you, our readers. If you are not seeing your favorites there is always next year (actually our voting and nominations open in September) so you can plan ahead to campaign for your special choices. Until then, take a look at this year’s winners and stop by and learn why our readers chose them as the Local’s Choice!
We would like to send out a few birthday wishes for the coming months. Our oldest brother Larry is always high on our list, so we will start there, then on to Stephen, Megan, Jo-Ann, Mars, Marco, Tracey, Johnny, Myrna, Judy, James, Askari, John, Gary, Marc, Socorro, John Troupe, Louise, Betsey, Tim, Erin, Shane, Jenny, Kathleen, Rafaela, Christina, Patti, Chris, Dennis, Bill, Elizabeth, Judi, Dalia, Uncle Gabe, Frank, Francis, Raymond, Dennis, Hima, Louise, Reyna, Judy, Liz, Manuel, Eric, Daisy, and Juanita.
We hope all of you enjoy our upcoming spring season to the fullest. Cheers!
Robert Briseño & Deanna Troupe
By Nate Gartrell
What happens when you take world-renowned musicians and put them in the backdrop of the beautiful Napa Valley, along with the fine wine and cuisine this area is known for? You get what’s become known as a luxury event, a unique getaway designed for intimate, up-close, views of artists and chefs who typically showcase their work on television, or in multi-thousand seat arenas. It all started in 2008, with a Jason Mraz performance in the Napa Valley around the time he released the multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated hit “I’m Yours.” Nowadays, Napa Valley has three such events each year, all put on by FF Entertainment, and starting this year with Yountville Live. The four-day event is a celebration of food, wine, and music, and surrounds the popular annual Taste of Yountville Festival.
“Yountville Live was, hands-down, the most incredible festival experience of my life,” popular singer/songwriter Marc Broussard said in a testimonial on Yountville Live’s website. “The food, the wine, the hospitality, and the music were of a caliber unmatched by any other event I’ve ever been associated with. If I’m not invited back as an artist, you can bet I’ll be buying a ticket as a fan.”
For this year, Yountville Live will stretch from March 19 through March 22. The 2020 lineup hadn’t been finalized at the time of publication, but in the past the festival has pulled in some of the musical artists in the country—David Hodges, the Goo Goo Dolls, Colbie Caillat, O.A.R., X Ambassadors, Foy Vance, Blue October, and the Plain White T’s, to name a few.
“We try and find the next artist who’s about to break and also the artists who are very talented and have big personalities who can perform acoustic guitar with no amplification at a wine dinner,” said FF Entertainment President Bobbii Hach Jacobs. “They’re just very much in that creative tip.”
One of the secrets to pulling this talent, Bobbii said, is simply to extend the Napa Valley’s hospitality to the performers as well as the audience. “I think what’s really awesome is when artists are on the road or on tour—it’s their job—but what we try to do is we not only have them perform and entertain but to enjoy themselves while they’re here and take it all in,” Bobbii said. We encourage them to bring their spouse or significant other. They just don’t have a great experience; they say, ‘Wow I’m all in. Everyone here is so welcoming and engaging—it’s amazing.”
Bobbii said the Live In The Vineyard concept stems from the desire to bring “current pop music” into the area; however, in a way, that’s designed to make the audience members feel connected with the performer, as opposed to being one in a sea of people or watching a singer from two football field-lengths from the stage.
“When you’re at Yountville Live or Live In The Vineyard you don’t need a set of binoculars,” Bobbii said. “You’re right up close and personal with the best chefs, winemakers, and artists right there at your fingertips—to talk to, to see, to be right up there with.”
Yountville Live is still going strong after five years, and the fall Live In The Vineyard event will turn 12 this year. Bobbii says her group will follow Yountville Live with a “Live In The Vineyard Goes Country” event that she said will “come back for a third year with a vengeance” just six weeks after Yountville Live, in partnership with CMT.
“Everything we do is curated,” Bobbii said. “I work off the current releases of artists releasing new music. It’s never about big, big, big, it’s about the sexiest and most authentic experience that my team and I can create.”
“It’s very special; it’s one of the most beautiful little towns in the United States. And you put in the chef component and the picturesque backdrop—it’s really amazing. We took our special sauce, which is music, and put it all together and stirred the pot.”
The musical performances are acoustic or acapella, which Bobbii said adds to the intimate feeling of the show. “Personally, I think [acoustic performances] show the artist’s true raw talent,” Bobbii said. “Anyone can go see a live band plugged in, but very few can see that grit of the artist, where they’re singing their heart out with acapella or an acoustic guitar. It just makes it that much more special.”
Bringing rock stars to the Napa Valley seemed like a “natural fit,” Bobbii said.
“I think music, food, and wine are the perfect combination, and Napa Valley is such a beautiful backdrop. If you take great music and put it in the Napa Valley, it will be even better,” she said. “You throw that in with an acoustic performance and something really authentic and all of a sudden you have this amazing once in a lifetime performance.”
The mood at Live In The Vineyard shows varies greatly from what one might picture when they see lineups containing world-famous musicians. The crowds might be excited, passionate, and engaged; however, when the music is playing, the audiences usually remain silent, Bobbii said.
“You can hear a pin drop when the artists are performing,; it’s very respectful,” she said. “Our return rate is so high for people coming back year after year, that we constantly have to deliver that highest level and never take anything for granted.”
Yountville Live will start Thursday, March 19 and run through Sunday, March 22. The bulk of the four-day festival will be held at The Estate Yountville. Tickets for four days are currently going for $2,750.00 and can be purchased by visiting: eventbrite.com/e/yountville-live-2020-vip-weekend-tickets. For additional information about the festival, including past lineups and a list of wineries and restaurants, visit yountvillelive.com.
For information about Live In The Vineyard Goes Country—running from April 29 through May 1 in Napa (Brad Paisley headlined last year)—visit liveinthevineyardgoescountry.com.
Nate Gartrell grew up in Benicia, studied journalism in college, and has written for a handful of media outlets since age 15. He aspires to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums and to hit the trifecta at the horse track.
All of our winners have been selected by you, our dedicated readers. You have helped not only to vote for them, but you nominated them as well. Cheers to you, and thank you for voting! If your favorite did not win, stop into these local businesses to discover why they did.
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By Rabbi Elchonon Tenenbaum
Set in the doorway for the benefit of passers-by, the lights of Chanukah that we see each year on the menorah are a bright beacon for evening streets. No matter how dark or gloomy things may seem, a candle can transform the darkness itself into light; a kind word or a selfless act can change a life.
Although the lighting of the menorah begins at home, it does not stop there. Such is the nature of light that when one kindles a flame for one’s own benefit, it also extends to all who are in the vicinity. Indeed, the Chanukah lights are expressly meant to illuminate the “outside,” symbolizing the duty to bring light to those who, for one reason or another, still walk in darkness.
In celebrating Chanukah, we are reminded of the words of the sages that “a little light goes a long way, and one good deed can have a ripple effect.” Encouraging acts of charity is the reason why we give gifts of gelt, which are chocolate coins, or actual money during Chanukah. We give these gifts so that children may have something to give in turn to those in need.
During Chanukah, we eat food that has been prepared with oil such as latkes and jelly donuts. More than just tasty, these treats allow for us to physically experience the miracle of Chanukah with the oil that was enough for 1 day lasting eight days. The holiday of Chanukah is a time to celebrate religious freedom and the ability to take pride in our religion and service to G-d. The lights that we illuminate are not just of the soul; they shine outwards unto others. At each lighting of the Chanukah Menorah, we embrace the triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness.
The story of Chanukah begins with the Maccabees who were brave enough to oppose the evil that was around them, helping bring the Jews back to G-d. More than 2,100 years ago, a militarily weak but spiritually strong Jewish people overcame the mighty forces of a ruthless enemy that had overrun the Holy Land. During Chanukah, we renew our own strength to stand together against the forces of darkness with light and spirituality in our own lives.
Chanukah is known as the festival of lights for a very good reason. In the eight days of Chanukah, we light candles to symbolize the triumph of light over darkness. Because the number of seven represents the completion of a full, natural cycle, such as with the days of the week, the number eight moves us beyond, into infinity and the space of miracles. In these eight nights of Chanukah, we illuminate a light that stands against the darkness for the entire year.
This year, Chanukah begins the evening of December 22nd and will continue until December 30th. Whenever a person passes by the bright lights of Chanukah, it is my sincere hope that they feel the warmth and brightness of the holiday and carry a new act of kindness forward to others.
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
Robert Briseño and his sister Deanna Troupe are Vallejo natives, but they were still surprised to learn “the scope of events going on around us”—something they didn’t find out until they started producing Local Happenings Magazine, 10 years ago this month.
“I never gave it much thought, but now that I see them on a regular basis as we deal with our calendar, it is just amazing to see the depth and breadth of various events around us every day,” Briseño said. “We are really blessed in the fact that we have SO much to do every week, regardless of our interests.”
Printed and distributed every two months, Local Happenings Magazine is the brainchild of Troupe and Briseño, the founders and owners of BB&B Business Group and the magazine’s publishers. Four of the six Briseno siblings are involved in various aspects of the magazine’s production, they said.
The idea for Local Happenings Magazine came from the siblings’ desire to find an affordable, simple, and effective way to publicize events for local nonprofits, they said.
“It’s a labor of love more than a revenue stream,” Briseño said. “We all work at other things, also. This pays for itself, but it wouldn’t make financial sense if we counted on it for our sole income.”
The magazine grew out of a graphic design business Troupe started in 1987, but she immediately took over a Benicia publication from a business colleague who was dying of cancer, she said. The monthly publication, titled In and Around Benicia, started it all, but soon parlayed into In and Around Vallejo, Fairfield, Suisun City, and Vacaville, which she and her brother Larry produced for at least a decade, she said. These were sold and Troupe started ‘etc. Magazine’ for Benicia, Vallejo, Fairfield, and Vacaville that published every two months, even as she continued doing graphic design and marketing for the likes of the Solano County Fair as well as other various mid-size companies.
“At that time, other advertising options cropped up, like the Weekender and Grapevine, so I saw an opportunity to stop publishing and to focus more on public relations and marketing and then, enter my brother, Robert, who came back from Atlanta where he was working after college,” Troupe said.
Briseño said he came back home right after 9/11, to be near family.
The siblings said they decided to pair her marketing and consulting expertise with his financial management skills, and formed BB&B Business Group, which started to take off before the onset of the Great Recession in 2008.
“We had to reinvent ourselves; and at that time, a friend of ours was trying to create a beer and wine event at the Fairgrounds, and the conversation led to advertising options for the larger area. We found there was nothing like that,” Briseño said.
“So, we started this, to be an affordable regional vehicle that looked good and told local community stories,” Troupe said.
“We produce a forward-looking, as opposed to a rearward-facing, publication,” Briseño added.
The family is also deeply involved in nonprofit groups like Rotary, Vallejo Executive Lions, Vallejo Community Arts Foundation, GVRD, and a host of others throughout the years like Vallejo Main Street and the Humane Society of the North Bay. Local Happenings Magazine was created with those organizations also in mind, they said.
“We wanted to create a vehicle that highlights local events, free for nonprofits,” Troupe said. “It’s meant for an audience within an hour radius from Vallejo, Napa, Benicia and Contra Costa County—a regional vehicle.”
The calendar section is free, and paid for with advertising, with a web component added later, they said. That was 10 years ago, and it’s exploded since then; with thousands of copies in circulation, most of them are mailed directly to homes and businesses, including 13 Chamber of Commerce offices and other gathering places, the siblings said. They also use a local, Bay Area printer who uses “green” materials, they said.
BB&B Business Group produces the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce’s magazine as well, which shares most or all the same handful of writers and contributors.
“Our goal is to help provide a place to learn about and advertise events of all sizes. More importantly, we would like to help connect the community more effectively and provide a place to learn about the things that are going on around us, so that we can all enjoy life a bit more,” as you read on the Local Happenings Magazine website. “We welcome your comments and suggestions. We expect this site and our magazine to evolve and grow with the demands of the community, so please visit often.”
The past decade has not all been smooth sailing, Briseño said. There have been rough patches.
“The scariest thing is the same things that I imagine every business owner must face,” he said. “Guiding the publication through the rough seas of business and life: the ebbs and flows of money and resources impact us, and I have always sought to grow this out of cash flow. It has seemed to work fine over the last 10 years of the magazine and almost the entire 30 plus years of our businesses, but there have been times that it has given me a sleepless night or two and made us wonder if we are on the right path or not.
“Sometimes it is just not pumping my blood to work on the magazine, but the deadlines still come,” he continued. “Working through those days can be a drag, but, as in sports, you push through the wall and then you feel great about what you are doing and have done.” The positive far outweighs the negative, though, he said.
Troupe said she was made aware of a conversation in which an advertiser told an acquaintance that Local Happenings Magazine is the place to advertise.
“The advertiser said, ‘you have to be in Local Happenings because it’s everywhere; I go to the ferry building, and it’s there—any coffee place, when you come off the ferry, or when you go to the Empress—so, we have to be in there,’ and that was nice to hear,” Troupe said.
“The best thing is all the people we have met and all the interesting things they do. It is easy to fall into your routine and stay within your circle of friends and family and forget to appreciate all the other circles of lives all around you,” Briseño said. “Being able to explore that has been eye-opening and interesting. There’s so much happening in the Bay Area, and we’re only covering a tiny slice of the pie. We hope to continue growing, and who knows where we will end up . . .”
And here are some photos from over the last decade:
Rachel Raskin-Zrihen is a Vallejo-based, award-winning, veteran journalist, columnist, and author; a wife and the mother of two grown sons, and mother-in-law to two grown daughters-in-law, presently working to wrap her head around the idea of eventual grandmother-hood.
The Savory Truffle
Celebrate 10 years of the Napa Truffle Festival in January
By Matt Larson
When the American Truffle Company™ (ATC) first launched the Napa Truffle Festival in 2010, many people expected it to be all about chocolate! Those people were mistaken.
The word “truffle” can indeed refer to a type of confection, but these days that term is becoming more recognized for its alternate meaning: “truffle” also refers to a type of fungi, a mushroom variant that is used in many different foods worldwide including pasta, risotto, eggs, cheese and more.
Unlike the common mushrooms that we’re used to seeing in soups, salads, and unexpectedly in the backyard, truffles grow underground on the roots of certain trees—mostly oak and hazelnut—and carry a powerful taste and aroma.
Truffles are tremendously difficult to cultivate and take years of preparation to even start growing (about as many years as it takes to plant a vineyard and grow grapes).
In fact, it wasn’t until December of 2018 that the first substantial harvest—“resulting from the application of rigorous and systematic scientific methodology that is consistent, reproducible and reliable,” according to ATC—occurred at the Otellini Truffle Orchard in Sonoma County.
ATC managed and inoculated Otellini’s trees with the black Périgord truffle fungus, which is known as “the most expensive and sought-after black truffle in the world, historically fetching up to $1,200 per pound.”
In 2012, 60 Minutes deemed truffles to be the most expensive food in the world, as at the time, white truffles were selling for as much as $3,600 a pound. Fortunately, it only takes ounces, not pounds, for truffles to make an impact on your meal.
Truffles are not native to North America, so ATC’s achievement at Otellini is quite historic. They cultivate both winter Périgord and summer Burgundy, the two most popular black truffles in the world. They’ve yet to crack the code on white truffles.
Dr. Paul Thomas, Chief Scientist for the American Truffle Company™, has succeeded in cultivating truffles in Macedonia, Wales, and Spain; and he works with growers in Australia, which is one of the world’s largest black truffle distributors.
In other words, likely every truffle-infused culinary creation that you’ve ever had in America came from truffles grown in other countries. ATC is on the brink of changing that reality and wants to inspire others to do the same.
Dr. Thomas, along with Managing Director Robert Chang, created the Napa Truffle Festival in 2010 to enlighten and inspire current and future truffle growers, and to increase truffle awareness to the general public.
Tickets are on sale now for the 10th Annual Napa Truffle Festival, held January 17-20, 2020.
With the exception of Oregon, where you’ll find a truffle festival specific to Oregon-grown truffles, the Napa Truffle Festival is the only event of its kind nationwide.
What to expect? Well, truffles, naturally, and again, not the chocolate kind!
“The whole point of the Truffle Festival is to educate people on what truffles are,” ATC’s Marketing and PR Consultant Kathleen Iudice said.
“We have all types of interactive programs where people can smell and taste different truffle species,” she continued. Guests can also attend winery-hosted lunches, truffle orchard tours, dog training demos featuring professional “truffle dogs,” and much more.
Tasting the truffles is, of course, one of the biggest draws for the event, and the festival presents plenty of opportunities to tickle your taste buds.
Each year, two different wineries host a winery truffle lunch.
For Saturday’s “Dig Truffles?” program, you can enjoy A Foodie’s Guide at CIA Copia and learn all about selecting, storing, and preparing truffles from Michelin-starred Chef Ken Frank of La Toque. Following the program is a tour and lunch at Del Dotto Vineyards finishing with a truffle orchard tour/dog training demo at Robert Sinskey Vineyards.
The lunch on Saturday is to be prepared by not one, but three amazing chefs, including Ken Frank, Del Dotto’s Executive Chef Joshua Schwartz, and Guest Chef Juan José Cuevas from San Juan’s 1919 Restaurant.
Sunday’s lunch includes a cooking demo at Raymond Vineyards presented by Master Chef Michael Smith of Farina in Kansas City. After the demonstration, you get to try his culinary creations yourself—paired with Raymond Vineyards’ signature wines.
Unlike other festivals that require an overall pass, tickets can be purchased on a per-event basis, so you only pay for the parts of the festival that appeal to you, including the signature Truffles & Wine Dinner at La Toque.
If you’re in search of adventure, we recommend attending one of the festival’s Wild Mushroom Forays.
Forage out into Angwin’s Las Posadas State Forest with truffle experts, including ATC’s Dr. Paul Thomas himself. Learn about exotic mushrooms and see them in their native habitats.
One of the most popular events of the festival, and also one of the most affordable, is the Truffle Festival Marketplace at Oxbow Public Market on closing day, Monday, January 20th (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“The marketplace is very popular,” Kathleen said. “All of the merchants participate in the festival, either by presenting a truffle dish or selling some sort of truffle-related item.”
The festival marketplace on this day is open to the public. “This is an opportunity for people to come and just try things à la carte,” Kathleen added. “Buy their own fresh truffles, meet the cute truffle dogs (petting allowed), attend a couple of cooking demos…”
Keep in mind that none of the truffles you’ll be consuming at the festival will be grown locally, as despite the milestone harvest in Sonoma last year, ATC has yet to harvest anything locally on a commercial scale.
“All the Périgord black truffles come from France or Italy,” Kathleen stated. “Truffles have a very short shelf life, so we bring them in Thursday night, disperse them to the chefs, to the Oxbow merchants, and to anyone who’s going to be cooking with them, and sell them out by the end of the festival.”
If you happen to purchase some truffles at the festival or the marketplace, it’s recommended to eat them within one week.
Kathleen estimated that within about the next five years ATC would be able to harvest locally to augment the truffles brought in for the festival. The first truffle orchard that ATC planted was in Napa in 2010, and growing them in a new habitat has not been easy, but the future is looking promising for California truffles.
The more people working toward growing truffles, the better, as together they can share their successes and learn from each other about the best practices for a successful truffle harvest.
“For truffle cultivators, this festival provides a great opportunity to network,” Kathleen said. “It took us 10 years to get here, and it’s going well!”
So come be part of California’s culinary history and attend the 10th Annual Napa Truffle Festival. January 17-20, 2020. Events do sell out, so get your tickets now at napatrufflefestival.com. You can also call them with general questions at (888) 753-9378. For additional information about the American Truffle Company™, go to americantruffle.com.
The American Truffle Company™ is now cultivating truffle orchards nationwide, from here in Napa all the way to New Jersey, as well as in 25 countries that span four continents. If you’ve ever hoped to expand your knowledge of the mystical magical truffle, ATC is the place to go.
Larson is an actor/comedian/director from Vallejo who lives a double life between the Bay and LA. When he’s not writing for Local Happenings Magazine he could be editing a short film or working on his next rap album—who knows!
Keep up with all things Larson at www.MarsLegstrong.com.”
