Dancing to an Old Beat on Catalina

Mature travelers had best polish up their dancing shoes and practice a few steps from the 1930s and 1940s. The first of three popular Sunday afternoon tea dances in the old Casino Ballroom on Catalina Island will be held April 1.

Once again the casino will send out a big-band sound over Avalon Bay. From noon to 4 p.m. music will be provided by the Catalina Casino Dance Combo, plus two vocalists.

The cost of the dance, with a deli-style luncheon, is $15 per person. Reservations are required. For those who wish to attend only the dance, the cost is $7 and no reservations are needed.

Dance times are convenient for visitors who make a day trip to the island. For those who would prefer to stay longer, individual and group packages are available that include boat transportation, sightseeing tours and hotel accommodations.

One plan, the “Catalina getaway package,” includes round-trip transportation via Catalina Cruises from Long Beach, two nights at the Pavilion Lodge, three island tours and a $10 bonus certificate good at one of eight Avalon restaurants.

The cost is $77 per person, double occupancy, through March 28. From April 1 to June 20 the rate will be $99 per person.

Also, there are senior-group packages for 20 or more mature travelers. These are for one- or two-night stays at the Pavilion Lodge in the center of Avalon. A favorite of seniors, half of the hotel is on ground level.

Those who just wish to take a boat from Long Beach, San Pedro or Newport Beach are urged to ask for senior rates. Many travel and tour agents who belong to the Senior Travel and Recreation Activities Council offer such tours.

For information and reservations on the Sunday afternoon dances, senior rates or group packages, call the Santa Catalina Island Co. toll free at (800) 428-2566 or (213) 510-2500. For groups of 20 or more, ask for Group Services Department. For a list of STRAC agents or for the name of one in your area, call (213) 370-5094.

The first private group tour invited to the Culinary Institute of America, considered the premier culinary school in North America, will be hosted by Richard Adams, who also packages and escorts mature traveler tours of Europe.

Limited by classroom size to 28 people, the nine-day tour is scheduled May 4 to 12, with two days in New York City before proceeding to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and the Culinary Institute.

“We’ll have sightseeing on the way up the Hudson Valley,” said Adams, “which will include a tour of the Military Academy at West Point. Then we’ll stay at the Radisson Hotel for the five days while attending the Monday through Friday classes.

“Classes will include nutritional cooking, exploring pasta cookery and creating appetizers and hors d’oeuvres.”

In addition to the classes, tour members will take breakfast and lunch daily at the institute’s four student-run restaurants, sampling a wide variety of cuisines.

Also, the group will visit the nearby Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mansion, the Vanderbilt Estate and some wineries.

The tour price, including round-trip air fare, first-class hotels, transfers, tips, motor-coach tour, plus tuition and fees at the Culinary Institute of America, is $1,795 per person, double occupancy. The single supplement is $275.

For more information, contact Richard Adams Tours, P.O. Box 1457, Glendora, Calif. 91740, or call collect (818) 963-4288.