Village People Bring Y.M.C.A.To Ridgefield (Finally!)

Photo courtesy of FYI98642

Ridgefield’s favorite Macho Men – the Ridgefield City Council – dressed as disco era everymen the Village People for the city’s Fourth of July parade. No word yet whether the Ridgefield People, as I will dub them, will be making a reunion at the Sleep Country Amphitheater in the next few weeks to grace the same stage as Kelly Clarkson, Kiss and my favorites Creed. With arms wide oooooooooooooooopennnnnnn!!!!

I can report the city, and north Clark County as a whole, still does not have a Y.M.C.A. workout facility. However, that did not matter July 4, I’m told, because the city council inspired the crowd to celebrate independence via hip-shaking and arm-waving a la the Village People. Freedom. Disco. Weight loss. What could be better?!?!?

The idea to dress as the Village People resulted from the festivities’ theme, American music. The group dressed as John Wayne in the western True Grit for Independence Day 2011. I can only imagine what they will do in 2013, if the Mayan calendar is wrong, of course. Hopefully, it has something to do with the Biebz, Justin Bieber.

Let’s meet the band (from left to right):

Lee Wells – the real-life rancher dressed as a cowboy.

Darren Wertz – initially he planned to be a policeman but ended up being a firefighter instead, councilman Don Stose told me.

Ron Onslow – the mayor went Native.

David Taylor – the longtime natural gas employee dressed as a construction worker.

Don Stose – Stose owns a Harley, and thus dressed as a biker.

Onslow told me he only knew one Village People song – “Y.M.C.A.” – prior to Wednesday.

“You do know who the Village People are?” he asked me. Then added, “You probably (know them) more than me, for sure.”

I only know two Village People songs, but I know this photo is awesome. Bravo to the council members for traveling back to 1978 and sharing “Y.M.C.A.” with a new generation of Ridgefield residents.

Here’s “Y.M.C.A.” for anyone who has never heard it. Notice in the video how bad the Village People were at dancing. I bet the Ridgefield council members could have schooled them on rhythm and governance.