Aviation Museum of SP: Rock around
the clock at ‘Flying 50’s Sock Hop’
April 08, 2015
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
You’ll rock around the clock at the Aviation Museum of Santa Paula’s “Flying 50’s Sock Hop” and enjoy the tunes that defined a generation of poodle skirt and ducktail wearing kids.
You’ll party like your folks won’t be home for hours at the “Flying 50’s Sock Hop” to be held Saturday, May 16 at the Museum at the historic Santa Paula Airport (830 E. Santa Maria St.).
The gate will open at 5 p.m. and “curfew” is 10 p.m. for this night of vintage aircraft and car displays, a Photo Booth, no-host bar with premium wines and handcrafted beers, BBQ dinner and dancing to the Frank Barajas & The Corsican Brothers!
Guests will decide the Best Team Dance and more prizes will be offered for the Best 50’s Fashion!
Tickets are priced to match the era being celebrated, only $50 each.
Want to be a sponsor? Special Packages include Elvis Presley ($1,000 for a reserved table of eight and plenty of goodies!), Big Bopper ($500 for four tickets and fun stuff!) and Buddy Holly (a pair of tickets and drinks!).
All proceeds will benefit area youth aviation education programs; donations from supporters of the competition Dance Teams will benefit the Museum, which preserves the stories of challenge and ingenuity as well as the recollections of Santa Paula airport founders.
Sock Hop Chairman Scott Bateman, a relative newcomer to Santa Paula Airport and the Aviation Museum Board of Directors, is looking forward to the celebration.
“Having a Sock Hop was actually Judy McCarthy’s idea,” said Bateman of the aviator that has planned numerous Museum fundraisers in the past.
“Judy thought it would be fun to change it up a bit … she didn’t have the time she wanted to put into it and the museum board asked me if I would handle it for them.”
With its heavy emphasis on vintage aircraft and classic rock ‘n’ roll music — in fact, the tunes that started it all — it was a natural for Bateman: not only does he enjoy the music but he and his wife Sharon love to dance … and the 50’s was certainly known for its dances.
Bateman noted that many at the Airport are familiar with the 50s by “Living it, that was their era,” while younger folks are familiar with the time through reruns of classic 50’s sitcoms and the more contemporary “Happy Days”.
Bateman said Santa Paula itself has a strong connection to the 50s with its Cruise Nite; and speaking of cars, “A few people at the airport have car collections directly connected to the 1950s,” that offered them for display.
Aviation lovers will flip for the aircraft display: “We’ll have a lot of antique and classic airplanes on display, at least fifteen … since it’s about the airport and the museum one of the prominent things to be excited about will be aircraft display. The aircraft and the dancing are really going to be the focus of the Sock Hop.”
Bateman was 19 when he became interested in airplane mechanics and flying.
“I’d known about Santa Paula Airport and it’s vintage aircraft for years,” and considers it a model of general aviation restoration.
Although a resident of Los Angeles County with a specialty boiler contracting business based in Eagle Rock, Bateman said, “I always wanted to get connected with Santa Paula Airport, its interesting people,” and their stories of how they are connected with each other and airplanes.
He cemented his own connection when he purchased a Santa Paula Airport hangar several years ago.
Now an era enjoyed by the airport — which was founded in 1930 — will be highlighted at the “Flying 50’s Sock Hop,” and whether you wear a costume or not, be sure to wear comfortable shoes (blue suede or otherwise!) for a night of unforgettable fun.
Going to dress up? A leather jacket (or how about a T-shirt with a cigarette pack in the rolled up sleeve), jeans and snarl never goes out of male fashion and “bad girls” had big hair and saucy cropped pants, but the 50’s also had “good girls” in sailor blouses covered by their boyfriends’ lettermen sweaters.
All in all, said Bateman, the “ ‘Flying 50’s Sock Hop’ is going to be fun!”
For more information and to use Pay Pal to order tickets, sponsorship packages and donations visit www.aviationmuseumofsantapaula.org/
