Napa Valley Kid is the go-to guide for families in Napa Valley. Is your child interested in ballet or hip-hop classes, karate or taekwondo, softball or soccer, drama or violin? Are you looking for seasonal events like pumpkin patches and Easter egg hunts, music and theatrical performances, or drop-in classes and workshops? Our online resource guide and community events calendar lists them all. It has everything we parents need to help our kids experience the best of Napa Valley. Be sure to sign up for our weekly e-newsletter to receive regular updates as well as special roundups, relevant blogs and the annual summer camp guide.

Holly Krassner Dawson
Founder and CEO (and Talia’s Mom)

After spending hours online trying to find dance classes for her daughter, Holly Krassner Dawson decided to launch Napa Valley Kid ito help busy parents like herself. Her goal is to offer a one-stop location for families to find information about what to do with their kids – from classes to camps to special events.

Holly has worked in marketing and communications for more than 25 years. She established her Napa-based consulting business, Connecting the Dots, in 2009 and currently provides services to a range of local nonprofits and others. She first moved to Napa in 2000 as the opening marketing director for Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts; following that, she worked in the publishing industry for five years. Earlier in her career, she spent six years working for public television and radio, three years in the arts and several years in politics.

When she’s not in front of the computer or with a client, Holly is with her four-year-old daughter Talia at swim class, ballet or gymnastics; in the kitchen, the garden or the yoga studio; or reading a book (usually to her daughter) or enjoying a glass of wine with her husband Dan.

Meet the Advisory Council

It takes a village — and Holly has developed a brain trust of movers and shakers in Napa Valley to provide guidance, expertise and vision to Napa Valley Kid.

John Coates, Napa Parks and Recreation Director
Olivia Everett, President & CEO, Arts Council Napa Valley
Clay Gregory, President & CEO, Visit Napa Valley
Danis Kreimeier, Director of Library Services and Community Outreach, Napa County Library
Erika Lubensky, Executive Director, Community Resources for Children
Barbara Nemko, PhD., Napa County Superintendent of Schools
Sally Sheehan-Brown, Executive Director, First 5 Napa County

Leadership Napa Valley Class 29

Leadership Napa Valley identifies, trains and motivates current and future local leaders who convene once a month for nine months to learn leadership skills, teamwork and experience the many pieces that make this county such a special place to live. The class also works in teams to develop a meaningful project that they present near the end of the year, in the hopes that it will have a lasting positive impact on the community. The “Chardonneighbors” team worked with NapaValleyKid.com to engage the community in the new website and make sure all organizations serving kids were included in this new venture.

Special thanks to:
Heather Alfaro, Kristine Blasky, Brian Dodd, Chris Shoop, Sarah Wallin and Douglas Wilson