'The Gates' explores passion of artists' vision

''The Gates" and Pilar Sanchez at Copia: If you were not able to see "The Gates" during its installation in New York's Central Park in February 2005, you might want to head to Napa on Friday night when the documentary "The Gates" is the featured movie at Copia's Friday Night Flick.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude -- best known in Northern California for "The Running Fence," which ran through farmland in western Sonoma and Marin counties in 1976 -- took 24 years to complete "The Gates." This 2007 documentary, directed by Antonio Ferrara and Albert Maysles, explores the remarkable tenacity and passion it took to work through the daunting bureaucracy of New York City.

The film begins at 8 p.m. General admission is $7; members pay $6. If you head over early, you can take advantage of the special Friday Night Flick prix-fixe dinner menu at Julia's Kitchen, $29 a person, which includes a glass of wine.

Copia is also hosting a local chefs series on the third Sunday of each month. This Sunday's chef is the adorable and delightful Pilar Sanchez of Pilar (807 Main St., Napa, 252-4474); she will feature some of her favorite recipes from Spain. The class begins at 1 p.m. and concludes at 2:30 p.m. Cost is $25, $15 for members of Copia.

For tickets or reservations, call 265-5700. Copia is located at 500 First St. in downtown Napa.

Where's the meat? On Monday from 6 to 8 p.m., you'll find it at La Gare (208 Wilson St., Santa Rosa).

The Sonoma County Meat Buying Club, a monthly Community Supported Agriculture program featuring meats from local ranches, is having a dinner party. La Gare's chef, Roger Praplan, will pair the meats with vegetables from three other CSA programs. Wines from Navarro Vineyards will be served alongside.

Cost is $20. For reservations, call Jacqueline Rotlisberger or Stephanie Larson at 565-2621.

Currently, the Meat Buying Club has about 150 members, with room for another 150.

For more information and to sign up, visit www.sonomadirect.com and click on the "Sonoma Meat Buying Club" link.

Jackie Martine in Monte Rio: On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., chef Jackie Martine of Seaweed Cafe is teaching a hands-on class followed by lunch at the Monte Rio Community Center Demonstration Kitchen (20488 Highway 116, Monte Rio), which has recently been renovated.

The class begins with appetizers and champagne; the menu includes the enticingly named "Nettle Soup for Naughty Girls," seafood tartare with flying fish eggs, seafood and chicken paella and chocolate volcano. Each dish will be paired with a wine from Bink Winery, founded by Deb Schatzlein and Cindy Paulson.

The menu is less important than the chef; Martine is infinitely entertaining and engaging and this class offers a rare opportunity to hang out with her in the kitchen. You are guaranteed a great time.

Lunch, which is open to the public, will be served at 1:30 p.m. The luncheon takes place during an art show and sale featuring women artists from Sonoma County.

Both the class and the luncheon, presented in association with Russian River Women's Weekend, will benefit West County Health Centers' Women's Health Projects.

The class, limited to 23 guests, includes lunch and is $70; lunch only, limited to 40 guests, is $45.

To register, call Dawn Bell at 865-9956.

Roots expert at Sonoma Mission Gardens: Occidental writer Robert Kourik has written a remarkable book about the part of plants we rarely see, the vast root systems that are the source of a plant's life.

He'll be talking about the book, "Roots Demystified: Change Your Gardening Habits to Help Roots Thrive," at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Sonoma Mission Gardens (851 Craig St., Sonoma, at Arnold Drive). Tea and cookies -- how can you resist? -- will be served at this free event.

For more information, call Readers' Books at 939-1779. For information about the book, visit www.robertkourik.com.

Sunday Brunch with Bruce and Lobster: This Sunday, KVRV-FM 97.7 premiers its new radio show, "Lobster's Sunday Brunch," with Bruce Cohn of B R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen and Paul Wells, known on the radio as "The Lobster."

Cohn has also been the manager of The Doobie Brothers since the band formed in 1970.

Wells founded and heads Flow Communications, an audio production company and advertising agency.

The show, which airs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include music from local and national artists and conversation about Sonoma Valley food and wine.

But what about the butter? We were, of course, very sad to read the news that the program at St. Anthony Farm in Two Rock will close after the current group of residents graduates.

It is certainly a loss for the thousands of people who have benefited from the rehabilitation program the farm has operated since the 1970s.

But what about Clover Stornetta's organic milk and butter, we wondered, perhaps a wee bit selfishly, since we love the products. Apparently so do a lot of readers, who have been asking what will happen since news of the closure last week.

Clover Stornetta launched its hugely successful organic milk program in the spring of 2000 with milk produced by St. Anthony Farm. In 2006, the company launched organic butter. Last year, work on a new buttery at St. Anthony Farm allowed Clover Stornetta to release the first commercial farmstead butter since the turn of the last century.

So now what?

In an official statement, Marcus Benedetti, president of Clover Stornetta Farms, explains that the company hopes the farm, one of the few organic milking operations in Sonoma County, will continue operation, adding that "it is outside our core competency to operate a dairy."

The company hopes a local family or group of families will step up to operate both the organic milk and butter program.

St. Anthony Farm has promised to provide both organic milk and farmstead butter through the summer of 2009.

Michele Anna Jordan can be contacted via e-mail at michele@micheleannajordan.

com.