Revelers Enjoy Music, Dancing at Western Gala

The black Stetson hats worn by scores of Simi Valley residents Sunday might have led some to believe there was a new cowboy movie being filmed in the nearby hills.

But locals donned their 10-gallon hats, Wrangler jeans, five-pound silver belt buckles and fancy boots to partake in the last day of the Country Western Music Festival that kicked off Simi Valley Days, which runs through Sept. 28.

The first ever Country Western Music Festival, organized by the Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise, preempted the traditional Simi Valley Days barn dance, which will instead be held at the end of the month.

The event, staged at Los Angeles Avenue and Tapo Canyon Road, also replaced the chili cook-off and car show, which used to be held during the second week of Simi Valley Days.

“We thought this would be a natural, because country and western music has become so popular,” said Rotary Club member John Shannahan, who helped organize the two-day festival.

The majority of those who came on Sunday to watch rising Nashville star Chris Ward--a former Simi Valley police officer--and Ventura County bands Cactus County and Larry Dean & the Shooters agreed wholeheartedly.

“With a lot of people I’ve encountered, it seems like this was made for them,” 19-year-old Josh Kelly of Simi Valley said from under his black-brimmed hat.

“As far as I can tell, this fits pretty good in this town,” he said, before sauntering back to the dance floor.

Scores of dancers of varying abilities did the line dances known as the Electric Slide, the Power Jam and the Jaywalk. The wide wooden dance floor, set up in front of the stage, was shaded by tarps to provide some relief from the late summer sun.

Along with line dancing, Kathy Bailey of Thousand Oaks, a dance instructor for the parks and recreation programs in Simi Valley, Moorpark and the Conejo Valley, taught audience members the West Coast swing and partner dancing between band sessions.

“These bands are awesome. You couldn’t ask for anything better than this,” Bailey said. “People prefer line dancing because you don’t need a partner, and its easy--and if you mess up, you don’t mess anybody else up.”

Shannahan said between 600 and 700 people showed up Saturday and as many as 1,500 were expected Sunday.

The Rotary Club expected to raise as much as $10,000 for nonprofit organizations through the event, Shannahan said.