On Highway 101 through Hopland, the Victorian hotel at 13401 is lit up again on weekend nights. A short drive away on Old River Road, there's a barn with century-old beams where line dancers learn the grapevine a few steps from actual grapevines. Both buildings date to 1890. Both sat neglected for years. This Halloween and through November, they hold most of what's on the town's social calendar.
That history matters for this season. The town's new gatherings take place in buildings that people had to bring back first. And one of the most popular events in those buildings sends its door money to groups like the Hopland Fire Department and Sanel Valley Academy.
Two Buildings That Waited for Someone
According to the Thatcher Hotel, William Thatcher opened it in 1890. The Press Democrat reported that the hotel closed after years of neglect. Gary Breen and Mark Rogero bought it in 2017, put in a renovation of nearly $5 million, and reopened it in October 2019. This fall is its eighth season since reopening.
Campovida's comeback started a little earlier. In a 2013 profile, the Ukiah Daily Journal described the property as Fetzer's former Valley Oaks estate. It had sat neglected for five years before Campovida opened its gates for the spring 2010 Hopland Passport, with the buildings restored. Campovida's own history says the land was a farm that grew fruit, olives, hops and walnuts before it became an organic vineyard. The page also recognizes the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians' ancestral connection to the land.
The barn goes by more than one name. Campovida's event listings call it a reclaimed hop barn, and the Ukiah Daily Journal calls it the historic horse barn. Both give the same year, 1890.
Here's the season as both venues have posted it:
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 to 11 p.m. | Halloween Party: Spirits & Spirits | Thatcher Hotel, 13401 Hwy 101 | See hotel |
| Thursday, Nov. 5, 6 to 9 p.m. | Sunset Sessions Open Mic | Thatcher Hotel | Free |
| Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Thriftmas first look for Stewards | Campovida, 13601 Old River Rd | Ticketed via Tock |
| November Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Thriftmas Holiday Barn Sale | Campovida | Ticketed via Tock |
| Monthly through Dec. 12 | Campovida Country Nights line dancing | Campovida's 1890 barn | $10 at the door |
Halloween Night Inside the Victorian
Halloween is on a Saturday this year, and the Thatcher has turned it into a costume night. The hotel's calendar lists "Spirits & Spirits" from 7 to 11 p.m., with haunted stories, special brews and cocktails, and a costume contest with prizes. A building that's been standing since 1890 is a natural place for haunted stories.
The next Thursday, Nov. 5, the hotel holds a quieter evening that comes back every month. According to the Visit Mendocino County listing, Sunset Sessions Open Mic Night runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month through December, paired with Stock Farm To Go Thursdays. It's free. That leaves one more session after this one, on the first Thursday of December.
The hotel's daily spots are open between events. On its website, Café Poppy is listed as serving coffee, tea, pastries and toast, Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bar Thatcher pours cocktails, wine and beer with light fare starting at 2 p.m. daily. It's posted as open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and until 9 p.m. the rest of the week. Stock Farm, the pizza, salad, beer and wine restaurant behind the Thursday to-go tie-in, is its own business, not part of the hotel.
A $10 Door That Funds the Fire Department
The restored Thatcher gives the town a place to gather. Campovida's barn goes further, because the events there raise money for local groups.
The Ukiah Daily Journal reported in April that Campovida Country Nights grew out of one idea from Anna Beuselinck, Steward of Campovida. She asked local dance and fitness instructor Mo Mulheren to lead line dancing in the barn. Mulheren offered to teach for free, so the format became a modest admission, with each month's proceeds going to a different local nonprofit. Beuselinck explained the idea to the paper:
"I wanted to create something that felt joyful. Gathering in community was at the top of the list."
The same article listed the groups that had received the door money so far:
- Sanel Valley Academy, Hopland's charter school
- Oscar's Place donkey sanctuary
- Hopland Fire Department
- Hopland Research and Extension Center
- Inland Mendocino County Humane Society
The paper said the next night after that article would benefit the Good Farm Fund, which supports local farmers and agricultural education. The Oct. 16 session on Tock featured the Mendocino County Safe Space Project. The list keeps getting longer.
The Hopland Research and Extension Center on that list is having a milestone year of its own. The Mendocino Voice reported that the UC center is marking its 75th anniversary in 2026. It was established on land the University of California bought in 1951. That makes the 1890 barn, which has raised money for the center, about six decades older than the station itself.
Here's how a night works, based on the Tock listing. Doors open at 5 p.m. for a glass of wine and an introduction to that month's nonprofit. Lessons start at 5:30, and Mo of Rise and Thrive Line Dance Fitness Ukiah teaches three dances over about an hour. It's $10 at the door, with all proceeds going to the featured group. The event is 21 and over, and outside food and drinks aren't allowed. Campovida's events page shows the series running through Dec. 12. Check Tock for the November date and beneficiary before you go.
November Saturdays in the Barn
Once the dance floor is cleared, the same barn becomes a holiday sale. Campovida's events page describes the Thriftmas Holiday Barn Sale as offering "hidden treasures, furniture, fixtures, books, cellar finds and more," plus special wine promotions. Stewards get first look from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 7. After that, the sale is open to the public on Saturdays in November from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 13601 Old River Road.
The listing invites shoppers to "take home a little history." On a property that has been a fruit and walnut farm, a Fetzer estate and an empty one before becoming what it is now, the phrase fits. Tickets go through Campovida's Tock page.
Before You Head Out
A few practical notes:
- Check hours the day of. Café Poppy, Bar Thatcher and Stock Farm post their hours on live pages that change with the season. Stock Farm's own site lists seasonal Friday through Sunday hours from noon to 8 p.m., while another local page lists Thursday through Sunday.
- Bring cash or plan ahead for Country Nights. The $10 is collected at the door.
- Plan around the 21+ rule. Country Nights is adults only, so households with kids may want to make it a date night.
- Mark the first Thursday. After Nov. 5, the open mic series has one more session on the first Thursday of December.
Old buildings like the Thatcher and Campovida's barn are a big part of what makes Hopland feel like Hopland. Many properties around southern Mendocino County come with their own barns, outbuildings and long histories. If you've been wondering what your own place might be worth, or what it would take to find one with that kind of character, I'm always happy to talk it through. Diane Pennington. Let's Connect.
