There’s nothing quite like a large group of zombies, werewolves, vampires, superheroes, and fantasy characters bumping and grinding on the dance floor. Halloween, a day largely anticipated by kids waiting for a day of free candy, is still popular with kids over the age of 18.
Local dance band Steppin’ Out has been invited to Cottonwood Canyon Winery for a special Halloween Friday Night Wine Down event. The Haunting Halloween Bash is for anyone 21 and over with or without a costume, but where’s the fun without a costume?
“That’s one of the things about Halloween, it’s not just for kids anymore,” said Steppin’ Out frontman Mike Ariolla. “We’re adults, but we like a chance to dress up and have some fun.”
The members of Steppin’ Out usually all choose a different costume without any consideration of each other’s costumes, Ariolla explained, so the band ends up being a hodgepodge of characters. What they will have in common will be the smooth R&B and dance music the group will perform into the night.
With Ariolla on lead vocals, backed by Abraham Robles, Junior Juanich, Larry Kim, Joe Duran, and Lisa Duran or Sarah Jackson, Steppin’ Out will perform from its wide repertoire of dance music that spans across the generations.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Ariolla said. “Usually, when people are in costume they can open up and be a little more free, maybe because with some of the people, you don’t even know who they are.”
Cottonwood Canyon Winery is staging the event, which includes wine and beer tasting, as well as a taco vendor on the patio outside the winery’s famous cooling caves. Several manmade caves, which keep Cottonwood’s wine barrels at a cool temperature, will be decked out in spooky accoutrement and open for party goers to enjoy, explained Cottonwood’s event coordinator Danielle Dali.
“They have a kind of rustic, eerie quality, usually,” Dali said. “So we are going to decorate them and spook them up a bit too.”
The special Halloween event is available to Cottonwood Canyon wine club members for free, with a $5 cover charge for nonmembers. There will be wine, beer, and food to buy with cash only, Dali explained. There will also be a contest and party with awards going to first- through third- place costumes.
“Costumes aren’t required, but encouraged,” she said. “We have a fun staff and a great crowd of people that come out, and it is a unique and welcoming place to hang out.”
Bringing the rock
The Chumash Casino Resort offers a live concert featuring Def Leppard in concert on Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. Martin Nievera performs live Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. at the Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 East Highway 246, Santa Ynez. More information is available at 1-800-CHUMASH or chumashcasino.com.
For freedom
Standing Sun Wines presents a Freedom Art Show and Concert featuring live music during an art reception on Nov. 1 with performances by Kayleigh Hollum, Gary Foshee, and Amy Koers Curti from 5 to 7 p.m. and a Celebratory Concert featuring Anastasia Geges, Daniell Newell, Jimmy Marshall, Joe Sha-Shaty, and Jackie Bristow from 7 to 10 p.m. A reception concert features Hollum and Kathleen Le Pley Sieck from 4 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 2, followed by a celebratory concert with Geges, Newell, Marshall, Bristow, and Sha-Shaty from 7 to 10 p.m. at Standing Sun, 92 Second St., Buellton. More information is available at 904-8072 or standingsunwines.com.
Ready to rip
A Fall Dance Party features the live dance music of the Riptide Big Band on Nov. 2 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Elwin Mussell Center, 510 Park, Santa Maria. Cost is $10. More information is available at (775) 843-2830, judybluenote@gmail.com, or riptidebb.com.
Giving thanks
The first Santa Ynez Valley Thanksgiving Festival is a Gospel Music Concert on Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Solvang Veterans’ Memorial Building, 1745 Mission Drive, Solvang. Cost is $15. More information is available at 325-9402 or syvcbmc.org.
Telling tales
Tales from the Tavern presents a concert by blues pianist Marcia Ball on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Maverick Saloon, 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. More information is available at talesfromthetavern.com.
Live at Lucia’s
Lucia’s Wine Co. offers an open mic event for musicians and poets on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Lucia’s Wine Co. Tasting Room, 126 E. Clark Ave., Orcutt. More information is available at 332-3080 or lucias-wine-co.com.
Get down at the Maverick
The Maverick Saloon offers live entertainment each weekend including a Halloween Party with live music by The Hollywood Hillbillies on Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. Concert on the Deck with Travis Mersola is Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. The UDACs perform live Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. at the saloon, 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. More information is available at 686-4785 or mavericksyv@aol.com.
Contact Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2014.