Kathleen Hill: What’s red, white and educational all over?

Red & White Ball brings Wonder Bread 5

Sonoma Valley Education Foundation’s Red & White Ball on Saturday, Aug. 27 should be better than ever with food from Stellar Catering and music by local cover band Wonder Bread 5 and the Dixie Giants, a Sonoma Valley High School band lead by Casey Jones.

According to Education Foundation Executive Director Laura Zimmerman, “This is the largest and most important fundraising event for the public schools of Sonoma Valley. Every single student and every single school will benefit from the ball. We are so proud of our community’s dedication and involvement in the future of our schools!”

Ari Weisswasser of Glen Ellen Star has designed the menu with Park 121’s Bruce Riezenman to include an arugula and peach salad, Marcona almonds and Chevoo’s marinated feta; Paella Valencia with roasted pimento spiced shrimp, steamed mussels and clams, and grilled orange chicken; and succotash, followed by Red & White Ball ice cream dessert, with vegetarian options available.

The R&W Raffle prizes are fantastic such as a one-week Hawaiian vacation, two electric bikes, a group cooking class and dinner for 10 at Ramekins Culinary School and several wine tasting experiences.

You can purchase raffle tickets at the Tuesday evening farmers market and at the Red Grape restaurant. Raffle tickets are $20 and it all goes to support Sonoma Valley’s public schools. Red & White Ball $200; dance only $40 includes one drink ticket. 5 to 10 p.m. Tickets and info at 935-9566 or svgreatschools.org.

Gravenstein Apple Fair ?this weekend

Sonoma County’s precious and endangered crop of Gravenstein apples will be celebrated this weekend, Aug. 13 and 14, at Ragle Ranch Park near Sebastopol. Expect terrific historic apple processing equipment, fabulous apple pies made by local churches and community groups, cider, arts and crafts, chefs’ demos, a children’s corner and loads of live music from locals such as Tommy Thomsen, the Bad Apple String Band, Bootleg Honeys, La Mixta Criolla, Mumbo Gumbo, Sourdough Slim, the Tipsy Gypsy Trio and Zulu Spear. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Gravensteinapplefair.com.

Dutch Bros. donates ?Aug. 17 proceeds to schools

Speaking of food and schools, Dutch Bros. Coffee at Broadway and Andrieux holds its “Dutch Bros. Coffee Sonoma Give Back Day” next Wednesday, Aug. 17. All proceeds all day will go to Sonoma Valley Education Foundation for many of its programs, including the School Garden Project.

French and Italian ?classes at Ramekins

If you aren’t going to France this summer, learn a little French Riviera cuisine with Chef Pierre Lagourgue at Ramekins Culinary School on Friday, Aug. 19. Lagourgue is from the southern French Basque country and will lead the yummy class that includes a lunch of spicy shrimp and squid salad, quiche with goat cheese and potato, sautéed chicken with escargots, rice pilaf, and apples sautéed in Calvados, with banana sherbet. $95. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reserve at ramekins.com.

On Sunday, Aug. 21 Joe Mangiantini will show how to make al fresco Italian dishes such as warm garlic and anchovy dip with toasted baguette, prosciutto stuffed with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, wild mushroom risotto with homemade ricotta, and “Fragole al Vino” wine-soaked strawberries with whipped cream. $95. 3 to 6 p.m. Reserve at ramekins.com.

More museum goodies

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art’s “Great Places Great Spaces” feature “the art of architecture, interior design and exceptional epicurean entertainment” of houses many people would love to peek into.

Some of SVMA’s recent home fundraisers took place at the homes of Hank Martinson and Frank and Andi Valo-Espina.

Hank Martinson’s home is a little gem once owned by the Lasseter family on the eastside of Sonoma. The house was built by the first Sam Sebastiani along with several others and sold to employees for one big dollar. Hank has added lovely gardens, water features, and a lot of love, shared by neighbors Dr. Brian Sebastian and Richard Mabe.

Bob Rice of the Breakaway Café catered the evening enjoyed by Toni Rothschild, Rhoda Peterson, Phyllis and John Gurney, Tery and Dan Parks, Lorraine and Hugh Gordon, Katharine Kunst and Katherine Fulton, Trish Rodimer, Steve and Thale Macrostie, Jirja and John Muncy, Jane and Al Milotich, Penny McGrane, Joan Howley, Catherine and Sam Humphreyts, Holly Kyle, Lucy Weiger and Robert Crane, Susan and Lewis Cook, Catherine and Sam Humphrey’s, Christine Bohar, Barbara Aliza, Ron Moser and Tom Graves.

Frank and Andi Valo-Espina hosted another Great Places fundraiser at their Creekside home just over the Ig Vella Bridge. Andi designs elegant menswear in San Francisco while Frank leads his large CPA office down the peninsula. And they come here to rest, tend their vineyard and polish their car collection while helping many causes.

Matt and Elana Roberts, he a chef at Jardinière in San Francisco, made summer squash, prosciutto and date pizzas in the Espinas’ outdoor wood fired oven after delectable wood-fired Shisido peppers, all followed by a stone fruit crisp.

Enjoying the balmy-then windy ambiance (many wearing Andi’s collection of fur coats), were Susan and Gary Campbell, Kathy and Bob Leonard, Byron Hancock and Len Handeland, Dr. Laurie Tsuruda, Carolyn Alioto and Ron Crosetti, Kent Blooks from the San Francisco Ballet, Lorraine and Hugh Gordon, Pam and John Story, Barbara Flajnik, and former Supervisor Valerie Brown with SVMA board president Douglas Fenn Wilson.

The next of these parties where you get to enjoy other people’s homes and support our museum will be Saturday, Aug. 20 at the home of Laurie and Bill Hake high above Glen Ellen featuring food by Catherine Venturini of Olive & Vine and her Cuvée Catering ($125); Missy Kirchner’s New England Lobster Feed on Friday, Sept. 16 ($195). Valerie Pistole and Jeff Walter will feature Stone Edge Farm food and their Penney Magrane-designed gardens and fabulous views from Moon Mountain on Saturday, Oct. 1 ($125). And Carol and Jon Sebastiani host “License to Party” James Bond-ish cocktail party on Saturday, Oct. 15 ($125). For more info, call 939-7862, ext. 14 or svma.org/gpgs2016.

Chef Mullins at ?Murray Circle

Michael Mullins, son of Liz and Mike Mullins of Kenwood, has risen quickly in chefdom. Mike Jr. graduated from St. Francis Solano and Cardinal Newman, then the CIA in Hyde Park, New York and earning his B.S in hospitality management from USF in 2009.

After working at Cavallo Point a few years ago, Mullins was lured away to cook at Apple and learning about the Apple culture. He then cooked at Kenwood Restaurant and was wooed back to Cavallo by Executive Chef Justin Everett, formerly executive chef at EDK. Congratulations to the Mullins family!

Sweetwater’s farmstead ?and boxes available

Sweetwater Spectrum’s “Sonoma Farm” joins the farmstand gang again this year, selling its produce and sought after micro-greens on Saturday mornings on West Spain Street. They also offer a Weekly Produce Box Program where you can pick up your $20 box on Wednesdays full of fruit and veggies from the farm with delectables such as French breakfast radishes, all sorts of tomatoes and squashes, cucumbers, salad turnips and broccoli. More info from farm manager Luke Carneal at 236-4665 or sonomafarm.org.

Nibs & Sips

El Dorado Hotel has made huge renovations with all furniture coming from Restoration Hardware… Baguette heating and vending machines have started to show up in San Francisco… Madrone Estate Winery has rebranded and redesigned the original Valley of the Moon Winery wines, which Canada’s Bacas Family Estate’s Tony Stewart connects to an 1863 growing and producing history. Forty years ago Valley of the Moon wines were sold in gallon jugs to North Beach Italian restaurants where they were decanted into small, unlabeled bottles and included with dinner.