Steppin’ Out at a Nice and Easy Dancing Pace : Historic Santa Paula inn is a place to learn or practice steps without being jostled by fast-moving crowd.

If you’re looking for a mellow place to pick up a dance lesson or practice steps without the fast-paced dance-floor crowd that intimidates most beginners, check out the new Country Night on Wednesdays at Santa Paula’s historic Glen Tavern Inn.

Country crooner Bill McIllwain provides enough ballads and new Top-40 tunes to please line-dancers and couples. The well-ventilated room with tea tables and twinkle-lighted ficus trees is an inviting Victorian setting. You can learn a dance from 7 to 8 p.m. with Teresa Young or just enjoy McIllwain’s music from 8 p.m. to midnight without a cover charge. The inn is at 134 N. Mill St. Call 933-3777.

*

Rounding out the KHAY Country Band are new players Jim Thrift on drums and Robert Pond on bass. You can catch the group in back-to-back gigs this weekend in Ventura. On Friday, they’ll play for a dance at the American Legion Hall and on Saturday it’s Country Dance Night at Ventura Theatre. (See the 11-DAY CALENDAR for details).

Or you can hear the band for free from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday during an outdoor show with deejays Ray Taylor and Charlye Parker at Nesen Motors, 3601 Auto Center Drive in Thousand Oaks. For information, call 642-8595.

*

The term spaghetti Western takes on a new meaning tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. at a bimonthly Country Western Family Night at the Jack Boyd Community Center, 510 Park Road in Ojai. Entertainment includes dance instruction by Cynthia Broaddus, music by deejay Debra Lee and a game room with Ping-Pong, billiards and air hockey. Advance admission is $3 per person, $4 at the door. Spaghetti dinner is an additional $4. Call 646-1872.

*

The public is invited to dance East and West Coast Swing on Friday. Sponsored by the Ventura County Swing Dance Club, the smoke-free event begins at 8 p.m. with a lesson by Melinda Comeau. The Soul Twisters band will play until midnight. The cost is $8. The 2,500-square-foot dance floor is located in the Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Blvd. in Ventura. For details, call 643-3114.

*

Free outdoor country entertainment at Ventura Harbor Village this weekend will feature the Geary Hanley Band on playing from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday on the Carousel Marketplace stage. A different country band or duo will perform from 6 to 9 p.m.

On Sunday, Buck Page and the Original Riders of the Purple Sage bring a page of our cowboy and western musical heritage alive with their humor, unique harmonies and hits, including “Ghost Riders in the Sky” and “Tumbling Tumbling Weeds.” The band plays 1 to 4 p.m. at Ventura Harbor Village, 1559 Spinnaker Drive. For information, call 644-0169.

*

The City Line Night Club located in Santa Barbara’s San Marcos Bowl has gone country on Tuesdays. Patti Fortin teaches at 7:30 p.m. and deejay Vince Fiske provides the dance music starting at 8:30 p.m. City Line is at 4050 Calle Real in Santa Barbara. Call 967-5631.

*

Proceeds from a country-pop-rock music fund-raiser Wednesday at the Borderline Bar & Grill will go to help family and friends continue the search for Thousand Oaks resident Philip (Taylor) Kramer, who has been missing since February. The event features a buffet dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. and entertainment by Footprints with Chrissy Lomax, Jerry Carr & Midnight Train, Wild Mercury, Al Randolph, and Kathy Kramer with Michael Littlefield. Donation is $10 per person. The club is at 99 Rolling Oaks Drive in Thousand Oaks. For details, call 376-8025.