New Haven Independent

The occasion? Friday night’s Psycho Beach Party, a new addition to the annual Ideat Village Arts and Music Festival. It all fit together- the costumes, the music of surf rock band The Villains and the picturesque setting of New Haven Harbor at sunset.

The event was filmed by Chad Rains of Citizens Television, who also produces the popular Ideat Village spoof American Ideat. (To view an Ideat Village slide show by Jennifer Daylight, click here.)

“We’re trying to spoof Frankie Avalon,” Rains said about the Psycho Beach Party. “But instead of beach babes we’ll have beach children.”

Almost everyone in the pavilion at Lighthouse Point Park modeled vintage clothes. These little girls were ecstatic about dressing up in costumes provided by Fashionista Tag Sale.

Before The Villains took the stage a one-man band called Human Pontiac, pictured, brought his keyboard playing antics to the crowd.

Nancy Shea and Bill Saunders are the founders of Ideat Village. Shea also runs the Fashionista Tag Sale with a friend, out of her apartment. She calls their annual endeavor “a creative outlet.”

“Sometimes we ask ourselves why we do it. It makes us crazy and we lose money every year,” she said. “But it’s necessary.”

Some people brought their own props. Here, Isabella Hondros from Philadelphia gets her fortune told by Madame Moody, manuevered by Mary Jane Moody.

Shea said Ideat Village is a “local counterpart” to the International Festival of Arts and Ideas. “We’re a ragtag festival,” she said.

When the Villains took the stage the dance party started. Some adults were up on their feet but the real shakers were the kids. The band played a set of breezy tunes that were catchy and cute but with a rockabilly edge.

New Havener Jen Van Elswyck has been coming to Ideat Village events for four years. She brought her daughter with her and said she knew the event was going to be a lot of fun.

Friday was windy and cool, but that didn’t keep people away. Smiles were all around; these two ladies even got buried in the sand.