Kathmandu Fest Returns to Sonoma Valley This Weekend

Most of the year Kathmandu is a world away from Sonoma - in the foothills of the Himalaya in Nepal,  at an elevation of 4,600 feet and with a million inhabitants. But in September, Kathmandu comes to town for the eight year in the form of the annual Kathmandu Festival, held this weekend on Saturday and Sunday at the .

The Kathmandu Festival celebrates the diverse cultures of Nepal, Tibet and India through traditional Himalayan music and dance performances throughout both days. Attendees can stroll through a colorful marketplace to shop for jewelry, clothing, art, antiques and crafts. Available food includes mouth-watering momos (stuffed dumplings) and other traditional fresh-cooked cuisine. Take a virtual tour of Nepal at the Photo Gallery and video show.

There is a small stage for performances, which this year includes Sukhawat Ali Khan, representing a 600-year-old musical lineage on Saturday beginning at 2:00 p.m.; and Bay Area sitarist Peter Van Gelder on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Other performing musicians include Rene Jenkins, Michael Davis, and the Playful Goddesses before Ali Khan's appearance, and Shyanti Saha and Tsering Wangmo to end Saturday's entertainment. Sunday's other performers include Christine Boyd, the Bhutanese Dancers and the Shruti Rekha singers.

Founder and producer Carol Vernal of the Children's Medical Aid Foundation promised two full days of musical culture, from Bollywood to traditional Nepali culture.

An event announced earlier, the Night in Nepal dinner and cultural show, has been cancelled. "It was just too much competition, with the harvest going on and so many events," said Vernal. She left open the possibility of rescheduling the Night in Nepal for another time of year.

Vernal lives in Kathmandu four months of the year overseeing the work of the foundation. "In a place like Nepal, you really have to be there to make things happen," she said. "We're protecting our doners, really."

Other "alternative style entertainment" includes various people practicing body work, yoga and alternative healing methods. Of course, since it is Sonoma, there will be a wine bar. More information can be found on the event's Facebook page.

Tickets for the Festival are $10 per person, with free admission for children age 12 and under. There will be a silent auction and hourly raffles for fine dining, weekend getaways and other prizes from some of the Sonoma’s best venues.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Children’s Medical Aid Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing corrective surgery for Nepalese children with birth defects, and building medical clinics to serve impoverished families in rural areas of Nepal.