Hey Napa,

The big story this week: while the federal government is mid-implosion and Minnesota holds the line of resistance, Super Bowl LX is officially descending on the Bay Area. Whether you’re braving the traffic or hiding out at home, it’s time to secure the perimeter. Make sure your fried chicken is preordered and your seat is claimed. Napa has plenty of room to watch the chaos from a safe distance.

In other news, we’re trading the European dream of flowing roundabouts for a $58 million bet on "talking" traffic lights, while the Napa County Airport transforms into a high-altitude parking lot for the Gulfstream set. And then there’s Sebastian: a Rottweiler at the local shelter who is firmly convinced he is a nine-pound lap dog.

Let’s get into it.

The Great Circle Jerk: Why American Canyon is Ghosting Roundabouts
For years, the Napa Valley Transportation Authority sold a dream of six gleaming, three-lane roundabouts intended to turn the Highway 29 stop-and-go gauntlet into a European-style flow of efficiency. But according to the latest NVTA update, that dream is officially circling the drain. New data suggests the $75 million "miracle" would actually make traffic worse by 2030. The new plan? A $58 million bet on "adaptive signal coordination.” Basically, traffic lights that "talk" to each other via sensors and cameras. While the price tag is lower, local officials are side-eyeing the proposal, which includes two more stoplights and a speed limit drop to a glacial 35 mph. As Council member Mark Joseph dryly noted, adding signals to fix traffic is a hard sell for anyone who’s actually lived through the last twenty years of Highway 29 congestion.

Napa Airport: The Super Bowl’s High-Altitude Overflow
The Super Bowl LX flex has officially reached the flight path. With San Jose Mineta essentially a parking lot for Gulfstreams, the FAA is playing air-traffic Tetris, tapping Napa County Airport as the region’s luxury overflow valve. Despite being on the literal opposite end of the Bay from Levi’s Stadium, Napa is bracing for a "wait-and-see" influx of last-minute arrivals. The strategy for the 1% is clear: park the jet near a vineyard, grab a world-class glass, and hope your pilot secured an FAA reservation. Those who didn’t? They can expect to be ghosted by the tower. In the Bay Area, it turns out finding a place to land is even harder than scoring a suite at the fifty.

The Residency Era Reaches the Valley
In a valley where "farm-to-table" is practically a legal requirement, Feast It Forward is trying something a bit more meta. Their new project, ROTATION, isn’t just a restaurant; it’s a "residency-as-content" ecosystem. From what we can gather, a revolving door of global chefs take over a kitchen in Oxbow Public Market to support their favorite charities while a media network films the whole thing. It’s essentially MasterChef, but with better wine and less competition-slash-yelling.

08 | Superbowl LX: Seahawks vs Patriots | 330PM | Your TV and Mine
It’s the mother of all sporting events. You ready? If not, Napa’s got you covered:
Stateline Road Smokehouse has your party kits.
Loncheria’s got your party packs (there’s a difference).
Cooked By Gio’s got your wings.
Southside’s got your fried chicken (if you get your orders in by TODAY).
The Garden and Heritage Eats and Barnhouse and 1331 and Folklore all have a place for you to watch. (PS: 100% of beer sales at Folklore on game day go to Stand With Minnesota)
Go Seahawks!

07 | Grand Opening: Kindled & Grounded @ Kindled & Grounded | 8AM | FREE 
Napa’s newest community hub officially opens its doors for the highly caffeinated and the curious. Come for the robot barista, stay for the community vibes.

07 | NV Black History Month Celebration @ Crosswalk Church | 2PM–730PM | $25 Napa’s definitive (9th annual) BHM blowout. The afternoon kicks off with a keynote that actually matters, followed by a full-blown celebration of music and art for every generation. The real draw for the initiated? Dinner is catered by the local icons at Buster’s BBQ. Come for the culture, stay for the brisket, and leave with a sense of collective purpose.

07 | Gnome Hunt @ The Oxbow District | 6PM-8PM | FREE
Embark on a scavenger hunt through the Oxbow district. It’s essentially Where’s Waldo, but with big garden ornaments.

05 | BHM Artist Spotlight: Jermaine Burse @ NVL | 9AM-8PM | FREE
If Jermaine Burse’s work is good enough for Steph Curry and Robert De Niro, it’s probably good enough for your Tuesday. The self-taught phenom brings his high-profile portfolio to the NVL for an all-day gallery, culminating in a 6 p.m. reception featuring light bites and pours from Justin Michelle Trabue of Ward Four Wines. Stay for the Q&A, where Burse will discuss his new book, Autopsy of My Former Self, a raw dive into grief, addiction, and redemption

05 | Vanessa Riley Author Talk @ Virtual NVL | 4PM-5PM | FREE 
The queen of historical fiction takes to Zoom to discuss her latest. Perfect for those who prefer their Regency romance with a side of historical accuracy.

05 | Valentine Succulent Wreath Class @ NVEF Discovery Campus | 6PM-715PM | $60 
Forget dying roses; spend $60 to build a heart-shaped wreath that might actually survive until March.

10 | Poetry Book Club: The Eternal Dice @ Bookmine | 7PM-8PM | FREE
For the literary masochists and the deeply curious, Bookmine is hosting a deep dive into César Vallejo—the Peruvian Marxist poet who Robert Hass called "essential" and everyone else calls "beautifully impossible." This new bilingual edition, translated by the legendary Margaret Jull Costa, finally wrangles Vallejo’s linguistic acrobatics and surrealist anguish into something we can almost wrap our heads around. Expect a high-level discussion on human misery, Spanish Civil War politics, and poems that "defy interpretation" in the best way possible.

05 | American Mahjong Lesson @ Azur | 430PM-630PM | $41+ 
Trade your poker face for a set of tiles at Azur. $41 gets you the basics of the game that’s currently taking over the social scene.

05 | Pasta Lovers Pop-Up Class @ Decant | 6PM-8PM | $45 
Chef Sarah Heller is hosting a "One Dough, Three Pastas" masterclass, proving that a little semolina and some hand-eye coordination go a long way. The best part? Her husband, Master Sommelier Jason Heller, is handling the pairings, so you know the pours will be as serious as the carbs. Expect a live demo, plenty of tastings, and the chance to buy your way into a better Tuesday dinner on the way out.

07 | Author Randal Ballmer @ Copperfield's Napa | 2PM | FREE
If you’ve been watching the Supreme Court lately and feeling a sense of constitutional vertigo, Randall Balmer is here to steady the room. The Dartmouth professor, CNN contributor, and Episcopal priest stops by Copperfield’s to discuss his latest, America's Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State.

09 | Teach Truth Book Club: James @ Bookmine | 6PM-730PM | FREE
A deep dive into Percival Everett’s reimagining of Huckleberry Finn. Come prepared for a heavy, necessary conversation.

11 | A Mother’s Voice: Honoring Oscar Grant @ NVC Performing Arts Center | 11AM | REGISTER 
Seventeen years after the tragedy at Fruitvale Station, the conversation around justice is still as urgent as ever. Napa Valley College hosts Wanda Johnson, who will reflect on the life and legacy of her son, Oscar Grant. Expect a masterclass in healing and persistent advocacy from a woman who turned personal loss into a catalyst for regional change.

11 | Rainbow Book Club: The Emperor of Gladness @ Bookmine | 6PM-7PM | FREE
If you haven't heard, Ocean Vuong is back, and he’s still making everyone cry. His latest, an instant New York Times bestseller and Oprah’s Book Club pick, follows the unlikely, soul-shifting bond between a suicidal nineteen-year-old and an elderly widow facing dementia in a fading Connecticut town. It’s a "second chance" epic that manages to be both gritty and ethereal. Come prepared to discuss "chosen family," the margins of American life, and why every major publication from TIME to Scientific American is obsessed with this book.

05 | Scarlett Fyre @ The Fink | 8PM

06 | Joji Listening Party @ Folklore | 5PM  
06 | Jared Harper @ The Mansion | 6PM
06 | Chelsea Ames @ Jam Cellars | 8PM 
06 | Ozomatli @ The Uptown | 8PM 

07 | Smokehouse @ Tonewood & Courage | 630PM 
07 | A Capella Extravaganza @ The Uptown | 7PM 
07 | Spike Sikes @ Jam Cellars | 8PM 
07 | The Cincinnati Ambassadors @ The Garden | 8PM 

08 | Elaine Jennings @ The Fink | 6PM 

10 | Jimmy Duhig @ The Fink | 8PM 

Jan 17 - Feb 15 | Napa Lighted Art Festival @ Downtown 
Jan 19 - Feb 15 | From Broadway With Love @ American Legion Halll  
Feb 6 - Feb 7 | Napa Asian American Film Festival @ Napa Valley College

Feb 14 | Get Your V-Day Plans Locked In
GF Dessert Preorders @ Little Hollywood | ASAP!
Find Your New Bestie @ Napa County Animal Shelter | 10AM-445PM | Adoption Fees Waived!
V-Day Planter Workshop @ Covet Napa | 10AM-1230PM | $125 
Paint & Sip @ Lil Sista’s Goody’s | 11AM-2PM | $80
Valentine’s Sip & Paint @ Vin En Noir | 12PM-3PM | $75+ 
Por Suerte Cookie Decorating @ No Love Lost | 6PM | $20
SoFi Prom @ Various SoFi Locations | 7PM-10PM

Other Notables
Feb 22 | The Sinseers and The Altons @ The Uptown | 7PM 
March 01 | Napa Valley Marathon @ Everywhere | All Day | Sold Out 
May 22-24 | BottleRock @ Napa Fairgrounds 

Everyone says sports are mental, but how many coaches actually have a manual for it? At The Bold Break, Gabby Cole isn't just running drills; she’s running a laboratory for confidence. Using her proprietary training method, she’s teaching young athletes how to deconstruct "swirly" high-pressure moments and turn them into deliberate choices.

From pushing through "fever-fog" at tournaments to scaling her methodology into a new app with UC Berkeley, see how Gabby is building a new blueprint for resilience in the Valley.

What happens when you take two generations of women to a scent masterclass with zero experience? You get a surprisingly meditative study in what we actually like. From Legacy Batches to toxin-free botanicals, here’s why Bougie Napa’s candle-making class should be on your must-do list.

The Reluctant Giant: Sebastian

Meet Sebastian, a four-year-old Rottweiler who is currently suffering from a severe case of species dysmorphia. Despite his robust stature and blocky head, Sebastian is firmly convinced he is a nine-pound Chihuahua. During a recent field trip from the Napa County Animal Shelter, he spent less time walking and more time leaning his entire mass against his companions' legs — a classic "velcro dog" move for the oversized set.

Sebastian is the textbook good boy: he walks like a dream on a leash, handles car rides with stoic grace, and apparently has no dignity when it comes to fashion, having recently modeled sunglasses during an impromptu photoshoot without complaint. If you're looking for a 35-mph companion (perfect for those upcoming south Hwy 29 speed limits, lol jk) who treats your knees like a pillow and your feet like a mattress, Sebastian is currently accepting applications for a permanent lap to sit on.

That’s all for this week.

Until next time…