Based on the event from the movie Step Brothers – the first ever Catalina Wine Mixer took place Sunday. Nearly 1,000 people jumped at the chance to spend the day guzzling wine while singing along to Sublime covers played by headliner The Dan Band, known for their appearances in bro films like Old School and The Hangover. Sounds like fun to me!
Description of what it was really like by Vice writer Zoë Klar who actually attended said mixer (see her full write-up here)
The island of Catalina is an hour-long ferry ride from Los Angeles. When I first got on the boat, it was remarkably difficult to distinguish between Mixer attendees and your run-of-the-mill Catalina-goers—both looked like they could be background extras on The Real Housewives of Orange County. That was of course until people started chanting “The Fucking Catalina Wine Mixer!” and consuming copious amounts of Bud Light before 10 AM.
The ferry was my first exposure to the type of person that would attend an event based on a scene from a Will Ferrell movie released in 2008. The main characteristic of Catalina Wine Mixees seemed to be their willingness to get embarrassingly drunk in public, coupled with their insatiable desire to act like frat boys (regardless of age, gender, or sense of common decency).
Admission was $35, which offered access to the event area as well as an empty plastic cup. Wine, food, and inflatable animal floaties were available for purchase once inside the event. Most of the Mixer took place on a grassy hill that both looked and felt like a university quad.
The beach was on the other side of the quad, where you had the option to throw down some more money on renting a cabana. Shirtless bros and various scantily clad hot people laid out in the sun while eating poke bowls and sipping down $10 Rosés. Paying homage to the fictitious Catalina Wine Mixer, a helicopter was available to lease or at the very least available to take a selfie with. “Pow!”
Wine vendors from across California were lined around the quad and charged between six and twelve dollars a glass. The pours were a little light for my liking, but the other attendees didn’t seem to mind. At 2 PM, one girl shouted, “YAAAAS” when the first band played the opening chords of “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Mixer attendees alternated between drinking wine, dancing around barefoot, and swimming in the ocean for most of the afternoon.
Other than references to Step Brothers on various hats and t-shirts, there wasn’t much of the movie at the event itself. My guess is that the beach club was probably in the process of organizing a public social event that happened to feature wine in some capacity, when someone realized they could brand it as the Fucking Catalina Wine Mixer, book the Dan Band, and let the novelty-seekers scramble over each other to attend the thing.
Regardless of the event’s tenuous connection to the movie Step Brothers, people remained hopeful well into the event that there would be cameos from John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell, or at least Adam Scott. Rumors circulated that other celebrities might show up. My favorite of which was when I overheard, “Zooey Deschanel may come, but it won’t be until later.”
No Step Bro cameos?! Hope The Dan Band at least took a stab at Por Ti Volare! Artstomp is more my speed anyway – least we got to feel the grapes between our toes in the Stomp Tub! Here’s to next year.. -Mandi@1063RL