GOINGS ON : Wild Outfits Come Out of Closet for Halloween : Many of the costumes for the Orange and Black Bash are designed by artists who let their imaginations run riot.

Here are your Halloween instructions:

Go to the closet, dust off the old costume you paid so much for about 10 years ago and haven’t worn since and, if it still fits, wear it to the third annual Orange and Black Bash, Saturday, at Santa Barbara’s Paseo Nuevo shopping center.

And don’t be afraid if the costume is particularly outrageous. That’s the name of the game.

“We had a spewing volcano head last year,” said Joan Crawford of the Contemporary Arts Forum, co-sponsor of the gala. “The costumes last year were unbelievable. . . . they were designed in many cases by artists who are very imaginative people.”

Santa Barbara businesses, in fact, are sponsoring artists who are designing elaborate costumes for this year’s bash. Those artists and the general public will compete for prizes in what will undoubtedly be a spectacular and bizarre costume contest.

There will also be music, dancing, a no-host bar, and eats courtesy of the California Pizza Kitchen. The party will run from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. under a tent on the upper terrace of the shopping center. Admission is $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Call 966-5373 for reservations. The shopping center is located at State and De La Guerra streets.

The Paseo Nuevo will also host a little Halloween fun for the kids. On Sunday, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., some stores in the shopping center will offer free candy to visiting trick-or-treaters. There will also be music, juggling, face painting, and other merriment. For more information call 963-2202.

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Hollywood movie musicals of the 1930s and 1940s will be spoofed in the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera production of “The Great American Backstage Musical,” opening tonight at the Granada Too (the upstairs level of the Granada Theatre). The show will run through Nov. 7. Show times are tonight and Friday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Nov. 5 at 8 p.m., Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 and $15. The theater is located at 1216 State St. Call (800) 366-6064.

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UC Santa Barbara’s University Art Museum tonight will introduce an exhibit of 211 etchings by renowned 18th-19th Century Spanish artist Francisco de Goya.

The collection, on loan from Pomona College through Dec. 12, includes four series of Goya etchings. In “ Los Caprichos ,” the artist presents his interpretations of good versus evil. In “ Los Desastres ,” he documents the atrocities of war. In “ La Tauromaquia “ he looks at the art of bullfighting. And in “ Los Disparates ,” Goya takes a grim view of life through social and political criticism.

Tonight’s opening activities will begin with a 5 p.m. lecture on Goya’s work by Janis Tomlinson, associate professor of art history and archeology at Columbia University. It will be held in the university’s Arts Building, Room 1426. The talk will be followed by a reception at the museum from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, in conjunction with the UCSB art exhibit, will present “A Tribute to Francisco Goya,” Sunday at the Presidio Chapel at 2 p.m. The program for piano and violin will include Pablo de Sarasate’s “Navarra” and Edouard Lalo’s “Symphonie Espagnole.” A slide show of Goya’s work, prepared by the University Art Museum, will be shown before the concert. The event is a benefit for the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation. General admission is $35. The Presidio is located at 123 E. Canon Perdido St. Call 965-0093.

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Lions and tigers and ghosts, oh my.

The Santa Barbara Zoo will feature a haunted house, trick-or-treating, and a “spooky” train ride, Saturday evening, as folks and animals get into the Halloween spirit. The zoo’s Nocturnal Hall will be open, so don’t be surprised if a bat or two takes part in the festivities. The party will go from 5:30-8 p.m. General admission is $3. One adult per child will be admitted free. The zoo is located at 500 Ninos Drive.

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More than 250 cats are expected to be entered in the Cat Fanciers Assn. annual Halloween cat show Saturday and Sunday at Santa Barbara’s Earl Warren Showgrounds. An estimated 32 breeds will be represented--expect everything from your basic birman to your typical Tonkinese. The show will run Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and children under 12. Call 684-5244 for more information.

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If a weekend cat show isn’t your thing, how about a weekend horse show and art sale? The Whitney Ranch in Carpinteria will host the horses Saturday (Western Division) and Sunday (English Division) from 8 a.m. to sundown both days. On the first day, look for actress Bo Derek and her horse in a special demonstration.

Throughout the show, horse portraits by Kelly Stevens will be on display. Sale of art will help Stevens pay for her cancer treatment. For more information call 733-5043 or 927-3080.