NEIGHBORS : Leap Lovers : The 29th day of February falls on a Saturday this year, just in time for a specially themed party.

We sincerely hope that your weekend celebration plans are going smoothly.

What’s there to celebrate, you ask? Leap Year. Just ask the Horn brothers of Newbury Park. They recognize the importance of Feb. 29. They even began planning for it about the first week of January.

“I realized that all of a sudden this was Leap Year,” Scott Horn said. “I looked at the calendar and said, ‘Oh, God. I don’t remember it being on a Saturday before.’ ”

Using basic math skills, Horn figured that it must have been at least 28 years since Feb. 29 fell on a Saturday. And he was anxious to learn more. He called the library to see if there were any records of a Leap Saturday.

“They looked in an almanac,” he said. “It seems it hasn’t fallen on a Saturday in maybe 60 years. I can’t verify; I’m just assuming. It looks like this might be the first time this century, I don’t know. Anyway, it’s a good time to celebrate.”

So the Horns have decided to throw a big costume party Saturday. Horn and his brother, Doug, designed the party to be a takeoff on the television show “Quantum Leap,” in which the lead character travels through time. Guests have been invited to dress in period costumes. “It’s the idea of becoming other people,” Horn said.

And how do Horn’s invitees feel about Leap Year falling on a Saturday?

“I don’t think people give a hoot,” he said.

Leap lovers won’t be the only ones having a good old time in Ventura County in the coming days. The Ventura Holiday Inn is sponsoring a shindig of its own--a gathering of the California Homicide Investigators Assn.

Don’t be alarmed if you see a procession of Cadillacs cruising the streets of Ojai in the coming days. It’s not a flock for a funeral; it’s a gaggle of golfers.

The PGA’s GTE West Classic seniors tournament will take place at the Ojai Valley Inn and Country Club beginning Tuesday. And about half of the professional participants are getting the royal treatment from start to finish. Cadillac has lent tournament officials 70 cars in which volunteers will transport the golfers to and from Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Los Angeles and Burbank airports.

Whatever happened to the good old days of golf carts?

More tourney tidbits: About 600 volunteers will help run the event, including students from Ojai’s Nordhoff High School, who will handle parking. It will cost spectators $5 to park at lots around town, with proceeds going to the school. Last year, Nordhoff made $8,000 from the deal.

Volunteers from the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station will also help out, taking care of security and holding the signs that bear the golfers’ names.