INGERSOLL, ONT. -- Imagine a whole town dancing all at once, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. For those who live along Chisholm Drive in Ingersoll it’s their next goal.
The idea springs from two long-time residents and a young couple, who happen to own the town’s music store.
They organized a neighbourhood driveway dance-off this past Wednesday and now have greater plans.
A video circulating on social media shows what they pulled off this week.
Nearly every neighbour, on the winding tree-lined street, is out front at the designated time, with most swaying their hips to the song 'Dancing in the Streets.'
It all began about two weeks ago, when 28-year Chisholm Street resident Nancy Moulton was sitting on her porch with 46-year resident Margaret Marchant. That's when the pair decided to put a ‘twist’ on COVID-19 block parties frequently seen in the spring.
“We needed to try and see the community and see the people we haven’t seen since COVID, and check on them."
With the plan in place the pair sought out the help of a couple living nearby.
Karen Quegebeur and George McMaster not only live on Chisholm Drive, they also own the local music store in Ingersoll.
In the video, McMaster can be seen playing the drums in the online video as residents, in this case, ‘cut a sidewalk’ in dancing styles to fit every generation.
After the music was complete, residents shared a COVID-19-safe ice cream for their efforts distributed by another innovation of Chisholm - a hockey stick with a colander attached to the end.
The success of the dance-off has inspired the residents to plan a new challenge involving all of Ingersoll.
They’re in early talks with a local radio station asking that 'Dancing in the Streets' be played at 6:30 each Wednesday so that everyone in town can take part.
If that happens, could a Guinness World Record be next?
“I would love for every street in Ingersoll to meet the challenge and do their own performance,” McMaster tells CTV News.
