3rd Annual Gold Dust Gala Hits Pay Dirt With Performer Stone : Country Male Vocalist of the Year nominee will sing at Ventura benefit. Local band Shiloh also will perform.

It’s a dance! It’s a barbecue and benefit! Best of all, it’s a special concert by 1993 Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist of the Year award nominee, Doug Stone.

Nearly 700 people are expected to tie on the feed bag, dance and romance the night away during the Third Annual Gold Dust Gala on Saturday at the Ventura Fairgrounds.

This popular event will include dinner, dancing and free dance lessons. Shiloh, the popular local five-man country-Western band, will perform. The band will open for Stone and perform after his concert for dancing until midnight.

All proceeds from the Gold Dust Gala will be for medical diagnostic equipment needs at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.

Stone is happy to oblige. You could say this benefit is a project close to his heart--it’s no secret the 36-year-old Georgia native underwent successful, quadruple bypass surgery in April. His third and current CD, “From the Heart,” was recorded and titled three months before his operation.

Determined not to become a “cardiac invalid,” Stone added vigorous exercise to his golf game. And the self-proclaimed, grease-aholic equipped his tour bus with a special kitchen where he often enjoys cooking heart-smart meals.

Stone has declared he feels better than ever. Fans will tell you he does not hold back during live performances--which are what he enjoys the most.

The velvety-voiced baritone has gained many female fans with a string of chart-topping romantic ballads: “I’d Be Better Off In A Pine Box,” “I Thought It Was You,” “Come In Out of the Pain,” “Made for Lovin’ You,” and his personal favorite, “In a Different Light.”

“When he sings those love songs like Julio Iglesias, he makes you feel so good--like he’s just singing to you,” said Patty Cantarini, 58, of Ventura. She caught Stone’s act last year in Branson, Mo., and still hasn’t come down to earth. “He’s definitely got it ,” she added.

But, guys, don’t let Stone’s image as a romantic crooner fool you. His hit singles also include the rocking anthems, “A Juke Box with a Country Song,” and “Warning Labels.”

Stone, who also plays guitar, piano, bass and fiddle, told the press recently that his next album reflects his background as a hard-hitting drummer. He said the music is still country, but it’s right on the edge.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to ask him about the new album. When he called me from his tour bus somewhere in Arizona, the telephone line kept breaking up.

But you can trust Cantarini because she’s vice president of Country Lovers Western Dance Club. She said Stone “can also sing right on the edge of rock ‘n’ roll and country-Western. And he gives a top energy performance.”

CLUB NEWS: See this column next Thursday for details of some special dinin’ and dancin.’ You won’t want to miss the Grand Opening on Oct. 22 and 23 of Jay Bee’s Bar and Grill, 5050 Cornell Road, Agoura Hills, in the Whizin’s Center, (818) 706-2802. There will be dance lessons, a favorite regional band, and they are even offering alligator on the appetizer menu. That’s no croc. But if I spill the beans too soon about hot or cold cappuccino or 16 kinds of beer on tap, you might not respect me in the morning.

Friday, Oct. 29, brings the long-awaited opening of Borderline Bar and Grill, 99 Rolling Oaks, in Thousand Oaks, 446-4435. Expect a weekly swing-dance night and lots of special events starting with that Halloween weekend. From what I saw during remodeling efforts, the 1,200-square-foot dance floor promises to make Borderline in T. O. one of the best country dance clubs this side of Gilley’s. Get the full scoop here on Oct. 28.

MORE “WARNING LABELS”: For every country club that makes it, there is one that goes belly up, which makes no one happy. Several local club owners have been grumbling about their dance patrons temperance. While no one is promoting alcohol consumption, owners have received numerous complaints from patrons who don’t want to pay cover charges or buy bottled water.

Rob Webber, owner of Cinnamon’s West in Camarillo, said he recently had to discontinue country nights because he was losing money. “You have to pay the band or the D. J. and the dance instructor. And most line dancers don’t drink. So it was like running an activities class,” said Webber, who had been planning to open a larger dance facility nearby but is rethinking the venture.

Yet after hearing that Alexander’s in Ventura may reinstate its Wednesday country night, I remain eternally optimistic. So the next time a club posts a cover charge or makes you pay for water, don’t take it personally. They need to pay their rent too.

Until next week, keep boot scootin’.

Robyn Loewenthal, an avid two-stepper, welcomes all news of country doin’s around the county. All submissions should arrive at least two weeks before the event. Write to her at 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura, 93003, or send faxes to 658-5576.

Details

* WHAT: The Third Annual Gold Dust Gala.

* WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 16

* WHERE: Ventura County Fairgrounds, Agriculture Building, 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura.

* HOW: Tickets are available at The Wharf, 908 E. Front St. in Ventura (648-5035), Ojai Valley Feed, 1114 So. Tico Road in Ojai (646-5442), and during weekday business hours at Community Memorial Hospital, 147 No. Brent St., in Ventura (652-5009).

* COST: $50 per person ($28 tax-deductible).