GOINGS ON / SANTA BARBARA : Greek to Him : A local restaurateur hated the music his mother used to play, until he met up with a bouzouki.

It took Encino restaurateur Lou Skoby a while to appreciate Greek music. Once he did, though, the change was dramatic.

“My mother used to always play Greek music and I used to hate it,” Skoby said. “It wasn’t until my late teens, 18 or 19, when somehow it just rang a bell. I got into the bouzouki and dropped the guitar.”

He has yet to drop the bouzouki, an eight-stringed Greek instrument.

For the past 12 years, Skoby, in addition to running his restaurant, has played the instrument for the Los Angeles-based Hellenic Sounds. The quartet, which performed at the Greek Festival in Camarillo in June, will be at the Greek Festival in Santa Barbara’s Oak Park Saturday and Sunday.

It’s a busy time of year for Sounds. The group just returned from a festival gig in Las Vegas and in September will perform in Bakersfield, San Diego and Pasadena. Down the road, they’re planning to play at festivals in Honolulu and Anchorage, Alaska.

Skoby, who also serves as the Sounds’ manager, said the festivals all have some distinguishing features. In Santa Barbara, he said, it’s the attractive park setting and the crowd that stand out. “It’s fun because the people there--even though most of them are not Greek and they can’t understand what we’re singing--seem to get involved in the music,” he said.

In addition to the music, festival-goers will, of course, find plenty of Greek food and merchandise. There also will be folk dancing and a table dance exhibit, in which restaurateur George Alexides, owner of The Plaka in Santa Barbara, will perform with a table clenched between his teeth.

The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days. Admission is free. Oak Park is located at the corner of Calle Real and Junipero Street.

Last year, the Southern Pacific train derailment and ensuing Ventura Freeway closure made it difficult for Ventura County residents to attend the Old Spanish Days Fiesta in Santa Barbara. Well, here’s another opportunity.

Spanish Days got under way yesterday and will continue through Sunday. Here are some of the highlights:

* El Mercado De La Guerra and El Mercado del Norte: These marketplaces, featuring Spanish and Mexican-American food, crafts and entertainment, will be open daily. The former is at De La Guerra Plaza, the latter at MacKenzie Park at Las Positas and State streets.

* Fiesta de la Communidad: Latin American music, art, and dancing will be presented daily at La Casa de la Raza, 601 E. Montecito St. Admission is free. Call 965-8581.

* Fiesta Stock Horse Show and Rodeo: This professional and amateur rodeo will be held daily at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. Admission is $6 (general) and $4 (children under 12). Box seats are available for $15 and $12. Call 967-6331 for tickets and event times.

* Carnival: There will be carnival rides and games, nightly from 5 p.m. to midnight at La Playa West parking lot. The lot is near the Santa Barbara City College football field off Shoreline Drive. Admission is free.

* Noches de Ronda: Tonight through Saturday night the Sunken Gardens at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse will feature Spanish music, dancing and singing. Admission is free. The courthouse is at 118 E. Figueroa St.

* El Desfile Historico Parade: On Friday at 1 p.m., the Old Spanish Days Parade will start at the west end of Cabrillo Boulevard and head to the beach side of State Street, up State Street to Sola Street.

* El Desfile de los Ninos: The children’s parade, with its participants in traditional costumes, will take place Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. It will begin on Victoria Street and head down State Street to Ortega Street.

* Tardes de Ronda: Here’s another one featuring the youth of Santa Barbara. On Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., children will put on a variety show at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens. Admission is free.

* Concert: The West Coast Symphony Orchestra will give a concert Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens. Admission is free.

For more information on any of the events, call the Old Spanish Days headquarters at 962-8101.

Santa Barbara’s Theatre Pacifica will perform “Beware the Dancing Angel,” a play by local writer-producer Roger Kristian Jones, tonight through Sunday at La Casa de la Raza. Described as a drama of “passion and destiny,” the play looks at a man’s memories of an obsessive affair with a mysterious woman. Tickets are $7. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. La Casa de la Raza is located at 601 E. Montecito St. For reservations or more information, call 564-0815.