CATALINA ISLAND... rocks numerous strong ties to film history, from the bison herd that calls its pretty hills home (the first bison were believed to have been brought to the island for a role in 1924's "The Vanishing American") to the Catalina Film Festival, an early-fall spectacular that draws movie stars and fans to Avalon for screenings, panels, and red-carpet-tastic events galore. But, at least in recent years, like over the last decade, minus a year or so, another movie has been strongly tied to the picturesque island in many a mind: 2008's "Step Brothers," starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. That's because, as you likely know, because you've memorized every line, the step brothers of the title pay a visit to the now-infamous Catalina Wine Mixer, and things do not go as planned. The mixer of the movie was not real, but, as so often happens around Southern California, the not-real can become the real with enough energy and magic and gumption. Which means that the real-world, it's-actually-happening...
CATALINA WINE MIXER... will spread out, with good tunes and good times, at the Descanso Beach Club over the first weekend of fall 2017. This isn't the first annual outing of the popular event, and it grows in legendaryness each year, though do note: This isn't a reunion of the film's stars. Rather, the Catalina Wine Mixer seeks to harness some of the comedic, easy-breezy energy of the flick, which gets a big-screen showing on Friday, Sept. 22 at the Avalon Theatre. A costume contest, themed to "Step Brothers," follows that night, and then the next two days? It's all about the sand, the sun, the socializing, and the sounds (from acts like The Dan Band, which covers the staples of rock in irreverent fashion). You've got your argyle sweater vest, and your favorite sibling, but do you have the details? Now you do.
