The Napa Valley Museum opened The MAC, its new flagship location in St. Helena, and debuted an exhibition titled "Julia Child: A Recipe for Life," which includes a replica of Child's studio kitchen and traces her life from childhood through her broadcasting career.

Laura Rafferty, executive director of the Napa Valley Museum, described The MAC as a larger, more accessible venue that will host main-gallery exhibitions and high-profile shows. She said the Julia Child exhibition covers Child's childhood, her work in the Office of Strategic Services, the move to France, her authorship of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her television career.

Rafferty also described the county's role in getting the project open. She said the museum relied on county permitting assistance and county grant funding during the project: “The county was basically there to help us through the permitting process and we were surprised because we didn't realize how long that was gonna take and we didn't realize that we were going to have to bring the building up as a new use, when when you have a new use, you have to, upgrade to current standards. The county staff were so incredibly helpful and continued to be helpful to this day. And, really sort of held our hand through it, helped us to understand how to comply, made sure that we got it done as quickly as we could, and, we managed to pull it off so far. And the county has a huge role in that, and we're really grateful.”

Rafferty said the museum's board had sought a project like The MAC for years and that upcoming exhibitions include original artwork by three generations of the Wyeth family. For more information and upcoming exhibitions, the museum said visitors should check napavalleymuseum.org.

The transcript did not provide financial amounts for county grants, permit timelines, or other contract details.