LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council is presenting the nineteenth edition of the Winter Music Fest on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m.

The WMF is a fundraiser for the Lake County Arts Council.

Tickets for this program are now available at the Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main St., Lakeport, at the Soper-Reese Theatre box office at 275 S. Main St., Catfish Books in Lakeport, Lower Lake Coffee and online from www.soperreesetheatre.com.

The reserved seats are available only from the Soper-Reese Theatre’s box office, 707-263-0577, or from the Web site.

This year’s festival will showcase Lake County musicians, some of whom have been on this stage before, and some remarkable new talents as well.

For the last few years, the artists that applied for the show included dancers, jugglers, poets, actors and yo-yo masters, so the Arts Council decided to put on a show modeled on vaudeville.

This year, the talent that presented itself was exclusively musical. While the music is of varied styles, the vaudeville format has been dropped for this show. It will be in a concert format, and we will be lead through it by that splendid MC, Bert Hutt.

The Soper-Reese Community Theatre is an ideal venue for this kind of presentation. Every one of its comfortable seats has an unobstructed view of the stage and the sound system fills the auditorium.

Between the excellent acoustics of the hall and the professional mixing, no music is lost anywhere in the theater. While this year’s Music Fest has no rock-n-roll or country bands, the Soper-Reese can make even such intense music as that a pleasurable experience.

The only large musical groups that will be performing at this year’s Winter Music Fest will be the Mendo Lake Singers and Sax-O-Rama, very experienced entertainers in this area, and never hard to listen to.

That could be said for all the acts in this year’s entertainment. Melodious, intelligent, experienced, interesting, moving … these musicians are all that, but never hard to listen to.

Not every Music Fest can claim that, by any means, but this year one thing we can count on is that every member of the audience will leave feeling energized and positive.

For more information, contact the Lake County Arts Council by phone at 707-263-6658, or on the Web site at www.lakecountyartscouncil.com, or contact the Soper-Reese Community Theatre, 707-263-0577.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Former Lake County Poet Laureate Mary McMillan, with the support of the Lake County Arts Council, has again been awarded a grant to fund her work as leader of the Writers Circle, a free public writing workshop held at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month.

The grant supporting the Writers Circle comes from Poets and Writers Inc., through a grant it has received from the James Irvine Foundation.

Many emerging writers, as well as more seasoned authors, depend on the Writers Circle to help them build their skills and connect with other writers.

Some people come only a few times, and others show up every month.

Many participants have been sharing parts of books and other long works they've been writing; others share short stories, memoirs, essays or poems.

The writers are between 16 and 80 years old, and come from all over the county.

Visit McMillan's Web site at www.marytmcmillan.com/ .

Last summer, when the nation’s TV critics gathered for their biannual press tour, the major conversation was about the departure of Simon Cowell from “American Idol” and how would the Fox television network manage to keep its signature show vital, entertaining and compelling.

The 10th season of “American Idol” has just launched, with new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez.

From a talent perspective, Aerosmith frontman Tyler and notable singer Lopez are a good fit for a show that seeks out new musical stars.

However, I still can’t figure out why Ryan Seacrest is the host. His production company is responsible for foisting “Keeping up with the Kardashians” on us, and this alone should lead to his permanent ban from any spot on television.

At the January press tour, Fox’s President of Entertainment, Kevin Reilly, had little to say about his network’s most popular shows, “American Idol” or “Glee,” for that matter.

Well, Peter Rice, Fox’s chairman of entertainment, responded to a question about whether Jennifer Lopez was picked to be an “Idol” judge because of her international following that would help tap into the Hispanic market.

After saying “no,” he added that the network thought “Jennifer would be fantastic.”

To elaborate a bit more, Rice observed that because “Idol” is a music show in which “there’s real chemistry there and great music credibility” between Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez.

Oddly enough, Rice and Reilly answered a lot more questions, or so it seemed, about the dismal failure of “Lone Star,” which everyone except a handful of TV critics has already forgotten.

Starting off the midseason for the Fox schedule is “Bob’s Burgers,” an animated series that fits within the network’s realm of such shows as “The Simpsons” and the now-departed “King of the Hill.”

As the title implies, the comedy series is about Bob, his family and the eponymous burger joint, one which has problems with the health department and the mishaps that come from running afoul of child labor laws.

Bob is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, whose distinctive speech is easily recognized for giving voice to the titular character in “Archer,” an animated series on the FX network.

The role of Bob’s wife is voiced by John Roberts – yes, you’re reading that correctly, a man is impersonating the lead female character.

Fox’s next new comedy to launch in early February is “Traffic Light,” a show that has nothing to do with travel other than the fact that the characters like to discuss their relationships and romances while driving around town.

The series centers on three longtime buddies – Mike (David Denman), Adam (Nelson Franklin) and Ethan (Kris Marshall) – and their attempts to navigate the demands of their relationships.

A married lawyer devoted to his wife and young son, Mike desperately carves out space for himself, usually hiding out in his car so he can talk to his buddies.

Adam is coping with his girlfriend having just moved in. The perpetual bachelor, Ethan loves women, but never more than three weeks at a time.

“Traffic Light” treads no new ground, because we’ve seen it in “Friends” and countless other sitcoms about couples.

Shawn Ryan, creator of “The Shield,” is the creative force behind “The Chicago Code,” a compelling new police drama that also begins in early February.

Shot entirely in the Windy City, this show follows powerful and respected cops as they traverse the city’s underbelly to fight crime and expose corruption within Chicago’s notorious political machine.

The fast-paced series centers on Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke), a local legend and veteran of the police force, who has tremendous influence due to his connections with Teresa Colvin (Jennifer Beals), his ex-partner and the city’s first female superintendent.

The pair will stop at nothing to bring down their powerful adversaries, including Alderman Ronin Gibbons (Delroy Lindo), a politician who rules his ward with a velvet glove.

Jarek works the streets to not only clean up the corrupt system but to also avenge his brother’s murder.

“The Chicago Code” looks very promising, and if it were airing on cable, it would be way more intense.

More than anything, I am looking forward to the off-beat workplace comedy, “Breaking In,” starring Christian Slater, of all people, as the head of a high-tech security firm. Unfortunately, we have to wait until early April for the series to begin.

Slater’s company takes extreme and often questionable methods to sell its protection services.

Christian Slater’s Oz is a man of mystery and master of manipulation. In the series’ pilot, Oz takes unorthodox measures to hire his newest recruit, Cameron (Bret Harrison), a slacker at the local university who uses his computer skills to provide students with high marks in order to profit handsomely.

Other members of the odd squad include Melanie (Odette Yustman) and Cash (Alphonso McAuley).

“Breaking In” has the promise of being a thoroughly wacky and out of the ordinary comedy.

Later this spring, Fox will take the unusual measure of airing a two-hour series preview of a show that won’t even premiere until next fall.

“Terra Nova” follows an ordinary family on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race.

The series centers on the Shannon family as they join the Tenth Pilgrimage of setters to Terra Nova.

Steven Spielberg is one of a dozen executive producers for this adventure series, and his involvement alone might just sell the program.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

Entries are now being accepted for regional winners in the 19th annual National Senior Poets Laureate Poetry Competition for American poets age 50 and older.

The deadline is June 30.

Winning poems of state senior poets laureate will be named in July, following which they advance to final rounds of competition from which the winner of the 2011 National Senior Poet Laureate (500) and runner up ($100) awards will be announced Sept. 1.

The 2010 California Senior Poet Laureate Award was won by Ray Malus of Woodland Hills whose poem “Feast” competed for the national title.

Winner of the 2010 National Senior Laureate Award was Regina Murray Brault of Burlington, Vt.

The 2010 winners can be seen in Golden Words Anthology, along with details about the 2011 Senior Poets Laureate Competition at the sponsor’s Web site, www.amykitchenerfdn.org .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Local entertainer Andre Williams will perform with his talented Andre Williams Trio at Silk's in Clearlake on Thursday, Feb. 3.

The performance will start at 5:30 p.m. and continue to as late as 8:30 p.m. at Williams' Silk's Bar & Grill.

Williams will put his incredible voice to work on old favorites.

Silk's Bar & Grill is located at 14825 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake.

Call 707-995-7455 to reserve a table, as seating is limited.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Friends of the Mendocino College Library are hosting a reading at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre, 275 S. Main St., on Sunday, Feb. 6, featuring two authors that are garnering attention with their latest books.

Admission is free to the 2 p.m. reading and book signing.

Catfish Books of Lakeport will be on hand to sell copies of the authors’ books for those who would like to obtain signed editions following the reading.

David Vann was born in Lakeport and graduated from Santa Rosa High School in Sonoma County. Roy Kesey grew up in Potter Valley and Mendocino County. They each still have family ties in Lake County.

Both authors have several books behind them, and are on the literary radar with their latest offerings. Vann has just released Caribou Island and Kesey will have his new book, “Pacazo,” released in early February.

Critics are buzzing about both of them, according to John Koetzner, Mendocino College librarian.

The two have known each other since childhood and are returning to their roots as part of a joint Northern California book tour to let readers know about their respective works.

Mendocino College and its Friends of the Library are presenting the writers in Lakeport and on the Ukiah campus the following evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Little Theatre as part of a regular series of readings, said Koetzner. The Mendocino College campus is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road.

For those unfamiliar with Kesey or Vann, both are considered part of the new tide of younger authors who have taken literary turns that many of their fellow authors have avoided.

While Vann’s new novel is set in Alaska, Kesey’s is set in Peru, and each one takes imaginary twists that will keep readers enthralled.

Vann’s work was recently praised in the San Francisco Chronicle by author Wayne Harrison who said, “Vann's first book, the story collection Legend of a Suicide (2008), earned him the acclaim of being one of the best writers of his generation. His first novel is a worthy successor. Abounding in language that heightens our senses for the next evocative metaphor, Caribou Island gives us a climax as haunting and realized as any in recent fiction.”

In a similar vein, Kesey has been praised in advance for “Pacazo” by writers such as National Book Award finalist Don Chaon who said, “Intense, hypnotic and stunningly visceral, Roy Kesey's story of a man driven to madness by the murder of his wife grabs you from the first page and drags you into a dark, hallucinatory journey that you won't want to stop. It's one of those books that remind you of the great power of a novel to transport and transform a reader.”

Admission is free to the readings by David Vann and Roy Kesey, which also marks the seventh anniversary of the formation of the Friends of the Mendocino College Library, an affiliate of the Mendocino College Foundation.

This event is supported by Poets & Writers Inc., through a grant it has received from the James Irvine Foundation.

For more information about both readings, see www.mendocino.edu or phone 707-468-3051.