On November 13, I visited beautiful historic Napa Valley for their 4th annual film festival. I was amazed - for such a young festival, it's already become a powerhouse event, with tons of celebrities like Mike Myers, Kevin Costner, and Michelle Monaghan, among others. Almost all the shows were sold out, even those with 1000-seat venues. Plus, they had parties galore.
Part of the attraction is the beautiful location and of course, there's also the wine. It seemed that whereever I was, someone was offering me a delicious glass of wine, and not the cheap kind of wine I usually drink. No, this was the GOOD stuff. From 10 am straight through to 3 am - this was definitely not the place for any AA members to be.
The highlight for me was my last day, when I took a side trip and visited the Lasseter winery - I'd read about it many times - and of course I know John Lasseter of Disney/PIXAR fame from the old Spike & Mike days. So my cousins from Sacramento drove me to the Lasseter Winery in Glen Ellen (of course I made a reservation first). It's a beautiful location and because I was a friend of John, we got a first-class tour and a complete tasting of their primo wines, along with local cheeses and nuts.
I was hoping to say hello to John & Nancy, being old friends and such - however they told me they had lost their dog and were out searching for him. I wasn't totally disappointed, after all John runs two of the biggest entertainment entities in the world, and I'm sure he needs some time to be with his family -
But definitely check out the Napa Valley Film Festival, especially if you like drinking wine and eating great food. You'll love it there.
--Bill Plympton
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