DANCING TO AID MUSEUM MELODY RANCH HOSTING SWINGING SOUND-STAGE BENEFIT.

Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer

NEWHALL - A benefit concert Saturday at Melody Ranch will offer some old-fashioned swing dancing against a backdrop of movie sets and memorabilia from western movies and television shows.

Wylie and the Wild West Band will perform at the Country Western Swing Dance, from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday in the Melody Ranch Studios Sound Stage, 24715 Oak Creek Ave., Newhall, to raise funds for the expansion of the Melody Ranch Motion Picture Museum.

``They (the band) played at the Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival and were great, so we asked them to come back,'' said Melody Ranch owner Renaud Veluzat.

The museum houses Santa Clarita's largest collection of one-of-a-kind movie memorabilia from the past five decades, including re-created movie sets, photos from movie and television shoots, vintage cars, military tanks, and original props.

Located in the studio prop house, the museum made its debut in March and is still a work in progress. The next project is the restoration of the historic Hopalong Cassidy Bunkhouse, Veluzat said.

Built in 1923, the bunkhouse served as a home for ``Hopalong Cassidy'' star Bill Boyd while the series was filmed at Melody Ranch. John Wayne also spent a lot of time in and around the bunkhouse while filming the 34 westerns he made at the studio.

``Over the years it has deteriorated, so we want to restore it back to how it once was,'' Veluzat said.

The museum will be open during the dance, and visitors can also walk down Main Street at the studio to look at the various Old West movie sets and buildings used for filming.

Tickets for the event are $25 and include free parking at the ranch, admission to the concert and dance, and a tour of the museum. Ticketholders are asked to bring a can of food to the dance in support of the Santa Clarita Food Pantry.

For information or tickets, call Melody Ranch at [phone] or [phone].

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Though still a work in progress, the Melody Ranch Motion Picture Museum, above, already displays an array of memorabilia from the site's history as a western movie backdrop In addition to vintage cars and photographs, right, the museum has re-created movie sets, military tanks and other original props.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer