Fire Island 2011: End of an Era

Hurricane Irene certainly made her presence known on Fire Island last weekend, but she could not spoil the unofficial last days of season for those who are fortunate enough to summer on the beach.

This past weekend also marked the end of an era for this reporter. After six seasons with the Fire Island News, it is highly unlikely that I will return to the beach for a seventh. I am not a person who particularly enjoys long and drawn out goodbyes, but it was certainly emotional to leave Ocean Beach earlier this morning. Memories, anecdotes and people from the past six years who come to mind are simply too numerous to list. That said, however, the beach and those who define it will remain with me forever.

Here is my last official correspondence that ran in this season's last edition of the Fire Island News that hit the beach last Thursday, Sept. 1.

I have never been one for long, drawn-out goodbyes, so I hope that our loyal readers will understand my desire to keep this final official correspondence of sorts short and to the point.

This issue could very well prove my last as managing editor of the Fire Island News. I am moving to Washington, D.C, at the end of this month. While I am certainly looking forward to living in the nation’s capital with my beloved partner Andrés, it is profoundly bittersweet to think that I may very well not return to the beach in the spring.

It is impossible to list all of the anecdotes, memories and mishaps that come to mind when I think back on the six seasons I have worked on Fire Island, but a handful deserve some sort of honorable mention. These include watching the sun rise while dancing among thousands of revelers at the Pines Party, climbing to the top of the Lighthouse, covering the Invasion in something that resembles full drag while wearing six-inch heels, knocking on the door of an Atlantique hostel on a rainy early May afternoon wearing a shredded trash bag looking for Ocean Beach after I had just walked through the village on Midway, dancing the night away at Cherry’s or simply enjoying a leisurely hour on the beach in Robbins Rest.

Fire Island can certainly prove a difficult and treacherous place to live, work and play as Hurricane just proved to us all. This truly unique place and those who define it, however, have allowed this humble journalist from New Hampshire to come of age amid the backdrop of one of the world’s most spectacular natural settings.

In closing, I think back to a phrase that repeatedly popped into my mind a couple of weeks ago ahead of Ascension weekend in the Pines: You belong on Fire Island if you feel you belong on Fire Island. The beach and those who continue to define it will remain with me forever.

Fire Island 2011: All About Ascension!

Started writing at 9:12 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21, while listening to the rain and thunder from inside Ocean Beach and reading Tweets about the increasingly likely downfall of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

It’s another rainy Sunday night here in Ocean Beach, but the weather is nothing like last weekend’s deluge that left the village waterlogged for days.

The weather fortunately (or unfortunately, depending upon one’s perspective) did not damper Countess Luann de Lesseps’ performance at the Ascension kick-off party in Fire Island Pines on Friday, Aug. 19. Kelly Killoren Bensimon joined her “Real Housewives of New York” cast mate on the balcony. Congressman Barney Frank made a brief appearance, while Bensimon had an impromptu performance of her own when she climbed onto the bar at High Tea and began to dance.

A flip flop malfunction did not stop us from reveling among the cute boys with minimal bathing suits at the Ascension pool party on Saturday, Aug. 20. A complimentary cocktail from the Absolut vodka boys at Canteen proved a refreshing respite from the day’s festivities as we watched the world pass along Harbor Walk on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. And the Ascension tea dance and fireworks over the day rounded out a perfect Saturday in the Pines.

As if Saturday didn’t feature enough revelry, the beach party on Sunday, Aug. 21, proved Ascension’s seminal event (at least for these two non-circuit queens.) The weather held out long enough for Dragonette to perform “Hello.” Actor Wilson Cruz, porn star Arpad Miklos and Reichen Lehmkuhl of “The A-List: New York” were among those whom prying eyes spotted throughout the day.

It’s almost time for bed, but snarky source’s astute observation seems particularly appropriate: Mother Nature certainly proved herself a fag hag over the weekend.





Sunset from the Ascension tea dance on Saturday, Aug. 20.



Ascension detritus.



At the Ascension pool party on Saturday, Aug. 20.



Hanging out on the dock in Fair Harbor on Wednesday, Aug. 17.



Awaiting the fireworks at the Ascension tea dance on Saturday, Aug. 21.

Fire Island 2011: Cherry Grove Welcomes FIBO

Started writing at 8:24 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14, while cooking dinner in Ocean Beach.

The torrential rains that inundated the area throughout the day have finally relented—at least temporarily, but I remain sore after slipping and nearly falling into the bay as I walked to catch a water taxi from Ocean Beach to Fire Island Pines earlier in the day. That said, the weekend largely went well until the downpours commenced and I nearly spurred an amphibious rescue.

Thousands of LGBT people of color (and their admirers) packed the beach in Cherry Grove for the ninth annual Fire Island Black Out. FIBO organizers presented the Cherry Grove Fire Department with an $800 check at the Belvedere Guest House on Saturday, Aug. 13, while the Ice Palace hosted the Bump and Dip Dance and Pool Party later that night. Revelry aside, one of my favorite moments of the summer is spending an hour on the beach among FIBO participants and their elaborate tents and soaking up the positive energy, camaraderie and abundant eye candy. This year certainly did not disappoint!

With umbrella and wounded pride in hand, I trudged over to the Pines earlier today to interview Lt. Dan Choi at a fundraiser for possible New York City Council candidate Yetta Kurland. I also sat in on a conversation between Gawker's Brian Moylan and Steven Petrow, author of "Steven Petrow's Complete Gay and Lesbian Manners," at the Blue Whale before heading back to Ocean Beach.

On a somber note, long-time Grove resident Michael Guerette died on Friday, Aug. 12, while hiking in Maine. News of the former Garden Grove owner’s tragic death spread quickly throughout the tight-knit hamlet and put a damper on the weekend long before the rain arrived. I extend my deepest condolences to those in the Grove and elsewhere who knew and loved Michael. He will surely be missed.



This sign on Surf Road in Ocean Beach reminded Fire Islanders that the impact of the ongoing Verizon strike continues to be felt on the beach.



Saturday, Aug. 13, proved the perfect beach day for thousands who flocked to the Grove for the ninth annual Fire Island Black Out.



Some eye candy on the beach in the Grove during FIBO.



From the Belvedere shortly after sunset on Saturday, Aug. 13.



The torrential downpours on Sunday, Aug. 14, spurred a mass exodus from Ocean Beach and other Fire Island communities.

Fire Island 2011: From Gillibrand to the Concerned Women of the Grove

Started writing at 4:42 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7, as the bus on which I am traveling to Boston passed Exit 72 on Interstate 84 in northeast Connecticut.

Aside from the fight that suddenly broke out at High Tea in Fire Island Pines last night, it was a good day on the beach.

Yesterday’s packed schedule began with an interview with U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand at Canteen before she attended the first of two fundraisers for her 2012 re-election campaign. To say that Standard and Poors’ decision to downgrade the country’s credit rating loomed over the day is a gross understatement, but her Pines supporters gave her a largely warm welcome at Michael Lin and Jim Spencer’s home at the Blue Whale.

The day continued with the Fire Island Pines Arts Project’s Biennial Arts Show at Whyte Hall and a fundraiser for the LGBT Community Center at the far east end of the Pines. The Concerned Women of the Grove held their annual fundraiser for breast cancer research at Heaven n’ Earth in Cherry Grove. The sushi, shrimp and wine were certainly abundant, and a drag queen who stepped off a Cherry Grove Fire Department truck actually upstaged the real women who accompanied her with her ability to walk on the boardwalks in heels. Only in the Grove would one even consider this scenario anywhere near normal!



The flamingos go marching one-by-one in the Pines.



One of the works of art that Dr. Lori Zeller showcased at FIPAP's Biennial Arts Show at Whyte Hall.



The bayscape from Heaven n' Earth in the Grove.

Fire Island 2011: A Magical Night in the Pines

Started writing at 8:49 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, after dinner at the cottage in Ocean Beach.

Always a bridesmaid, but never a bride?

Well I was able to finally pretend to be one at the Pines Party in Fire Island Pines over the weekend. My wedding veil certainly proved popular among the Smurfs, Princess Beatrice, the Playboy cocktail waiter, devils, unicorns and other fairy tale-inspired revelers who took to the sand off Coast Guard Walk. Lady Luck was also on my side: I won $17 at the Arts Project of Cherry Grove’s Casino at Whyte Hall and the sunrise that Mother Nature bestowed upon the beach was nothing short of magical. A post-Pines Party breakfast at Floyd’s in Cherry Grove capped off what can only be described as an amazing night with a wonderfully positive energy.

I continue to come back to life after a very long post-Pines Party walk to Ocean Beach amid a nearly continuous onslaught of sand flies. Some will unfortunately find something about the Pines Party to knit-pick, but this reporter certainly had a thoroughly good time.

Now only if someone would put a ring on it…



Roses in Fire Island Summer Club on Friday, July 29.



A fire gong in Saltaire.



Some beach art near the Fire Island Lighthouse.



Miss Coco Love at the Pines Party Casino at Whyte Hall on Saturday, July 30.



Downtown Cherry Grove shortly before 8 a.m. on Sunday, July 31.



Early morning on the beach near the Sunken Forest on Sunday, July 31.



The mass exodus from the Grove continues with the arrival of the 7:50 p.m. ferry on Sunday, July 31.

Fire Island 2011: Eye Candy Amid a Calamity of Errors

Started writing in Marble Hill at 4:48 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26.

The eye candy proved particularly sweet in Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines on Saturday, July 23. A combination of Calcutta-like weather, mosquitoes, an incompetent water taxi dispatcher and a laptop malfunction, however, conspired to create a less than ideal weekend on the beach for this increasingly exacerbated reporter.

Now that I have that rant out of my system, it’s on to the things that actually went well over the weekend. These included welcoming wounded veterans to a sultry Ocean Beach on Friday, July 22, attending the Hetrick-Martin Institute’s annual Pines pool party and Dancing on the Bay on Saturday, July 23. I rounded out the day with Jonny Mack at the Ice Palace in the Grove.

News that Amy Winehouse had been found dead in her London apartment spread like wildfire across Fire Island on Saturday afternoon. Porsche paid homage to the troubled British chanteuse at her Saturday night show at the Ice Palace. “Back to Black” and “Rehab” provided an appropriate, if not tragically ironic, soundtrack for the post-Dancing on the Bay walk between the Pines and the Grove.

In far more positive news, the state’s marriage equality law took effect on Sunday, July 24. I was standing on the dock in the Grove at the stroke of midnight—and I learned that Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd had successfully become the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York when I saw pictures of their wedding at Niagara Falls streaming on Facebook and Twitter while I was on a Seaview-bound water taxi. Two gay couples from Fire Island exchanged vows later on Sunday after they obtained marriage licenses at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville. The New York Times posted a picture on their website of newlyweds Jim Kelly-Evans and Dan Evans from the top of the ferry as they returned from the mainland.

Congratulations Jim and Dan and other same-sex couples on Fire Island who either married on Sunday or plan to tie the knot in the near future.



Passing south of West Island on the 12:45 p.m. ferry to Ocean Beach from Bay Shore on Friday, July 22.



At the Grove Hotel pool on Saturday, July 23.



Looking towards the bay from inside the Belvedere Guest House in the Grove on Saturday, July 23.



Sunset from Dancing on the Bay in the Pines on Saturday, July 23.



Porsche pays tribute to Amy Winehouse at the Ice Palace in the Grove on Sunday, July 23.

Fire Island 2011: All About the Dance

Started writing at 1:04 p.m. on Sunday, July 17, while lying on the Grove Hotel’s pool deck.

Mother Nature has once again blessed the beach with beautiful weather—a deep blue sky with low humidity and a refreshing ocean breeze. In other words, it is the perfect time for this reporter to write by the pool between the Cherry Grove Community Association’s July meeting and the Fire Island Dance Festival in neighboring Fire Island Pines.

This weekend’s busy schedule included Larry Kramer’s talk at the Blue Whale in the Pines, a late night moonlit walk from the Grove to Ocean Beach after Daniel Nardicio’s underwear party at the Ice Palace on Friday, July 15, the Fire Island Pines Fire Department’s annual block party and Gay Men’s Health Crisis’ reception at Whyte Hall in the Pines on Saturday, July 16. The day’s schedule ended with SAGE’s annual Grove fundraiser.

On this busy mid-July weekend, it seems appropriate to acknowledge some of the characters whom I observed and/or encountered since I arrived on the beach early Friday afternoon. These include the two-year-old boy who was holding court in downtown Cherry Grove on Friday night who will become a future mayor of the hamlet one day, the long-time Grove archivist who remains proud of his community’s history, the sexy Complexions Contemporary Ballet dancer who wowed this reporter and other FIDF supporters at Whyte Hall on Friday night and the “A-List” crew members who were shooting scenes around the Pines harbor on Saturday morning. Five drag queens—Ariel Sinclair, Jason Cosmo, Dallas Dubois, Logan Hardcore and Sabel Scities—also boarded my Ocean Beach-bound water taxi in the Grove while I was on my way home from FIDF. They were scheduled to perform at the Island Mermaid at 9 p.m.

Welcome to summer on Fire Island!



Moon over Point O' Woods around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 16.



Grove beach scene on Sunday, July 17.



Some gusty winds in the Grove!



At the Fire Island Dance Festival in the Pines on Sunday, July 17.



Members of the Complexions Contemporary Ballet at Whyte Hall on Friday, July 15.

Fire Island 2011: Disaster Averted!

Started writing at 3:11 p.m. on Sunday, July 10, at the pool at the Grove Hotel in Cherry Grove.

It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon here on the beach with a deep blue sky, low humidity and DJ Chuck spinning Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” before Ariel Sinclair’s first number.

This post-July 4 weekend included Congressman Tim Bishop talking about marriage equality in New York, the Defense of Marriage Act and other LGBT-specific measures on Capitol Hill and local beach management. Lambda Legal’s annual Fire Island Pines fundraiser took place on Saturday, July 9, while Logan Hardcore thankfully did not nearly drown anyone at the Grove Hotel this weekend. And a group of Islip lifeguards who were trying to raise money to attend an upcoming lifeguard tournament on Saturday night quickly learned that Cherry's patrons are far more generous to those who take off their shirts.

On a far more serious note, Grove firefighters thwarted a potential catastrophe on Friday, July 8, when they quickly extinguished a fire at Xanadu at Lewis and Gerard Walks. The blaze only damaged the second floor of the complex’s guesthouse, but it could have been far worse. Those sitting here at the pool show watching Sinclair prance around the pool in a gold-sequined dress may not realize that one spark or one carelessly tossed cigarette butt can quickly become a raging inferno.

Mother Nature—there was no wind and it was raining when the fire broke out around 6 p.m. on Friday—certainly spared the Grove from a potential disaster. One Xanadu resident summed it up best while praising firefighters’ quick response and local residents who helped with the cleanup.

“The heart of the community showed that night,” she said.

Indeed.



Impromptu modern art at a Pines home on Saturday, July 9.



At the pool show at the Ice Palace on Saturday, July 9.



Another beautiful sunset from the Grove's dock on Saturday, July 9.



Ariel Sinclair at the Ice Palace's pool show on Sunday, July 10.

Fire Island 2011: Oh Mary!

Started writing at 8:06 a.m. on Tuesday, July 5, while uploading Invasion pictures in Ocean Beach.

My voice remains hoarse, my feet are somewhat covered with mosquito bites, I still have bright pink nail polish on my finger and toenails and I am in somewhat of a desperate need for a shower, but it was certainly one hell of a July 4 weekend on Fire Island.

Dancing at Cherry’s in Cherry Grove was a recurring theme over the last few days, while DJs Susan Morabito and Lina provided additional soundtracks at Low Tea and Sip n’ Twirl. Some scantily clad Mormon missionaries found their way onto the dance floor at IndepenDANCE at Reflections in the Pines. And I also found myself dancing with new friends from Fort Lauderdale whom I met at Andy Tobias’ annual July 4 clam bake at High Tea and the Pavilion. I had so much fun that the water taxi literally turned around to pick me up. It certainly would have been a long walk back to Ocean Beach, but a higher power sometimes works in rather mysterious ways.

July 4 on Fire Island would not be complete without the annual Invasion—coming into the Pines harbor with thousands of people cheering for the hundreds of drag queens on the ferry is without a doubt the best moment of the summer. Miss Fire Island News sported a floral frock with pink Gucci knock-off sunglasses (from Canal Street) with a matching wand and transparent handbag. She also sported a curly white wig and six-plus inch platform shoes that nearly caused multiple footwear malfunctions. All in all, she survived the treacherous Pines and Grove boardwalks and reveled in the moment alongside Lady Gaga, Sarah Palin, Mona Lisa, the late Princess Diana and hundreds of other queens who made the journey.

Miss Fire Island News thanks Alejandro for finding her fabulous frock among the $10 rummage pile at the Drag Tag sale in the Grove and Doreen for coaching her on how to properly walk in heels.

Fire Island 2011: Fire Islanders celebrate marriage equality

Began writing at 10:21 p.m. while sitting on my desk in Brooklyn.

The happiness over last night's historic marriage equality vote in Albany was palpable on Fire Island today. Those who attended Porsche's show at the Ice Palace in Cherry Grove last night began to cry when they learned the state Senate passed the measure in a 33-29 vote. A large banner reading "Thank you, New York. We do!" hung from the High Tea deck in Fire Island Pines, and state flags flew at Low Tea. Drag queens, cross-dressers, couples and almost anyone else who marched in the Grove's annual Pride parade earlier today rejoiced in the fact that marriage equality will soon come to Fire Island and the rest of New York.

Congratulations to gay and lesbian Fire Islanders who will soon be able to legally marry in the Empire State.



At the Grove's annual Pride parade.



A tranquil day at the beach in the Grove.



Happy Pride from the Grove!



A potential sign of things to come in the Pines.

Fire Island 2011: Discount shopping and yet more drag queens

Started writing by the pool at the Grove Hotel in Cherry Grove at 1:38 p.m. on Sunday, June 19.

This weekend’s ambitious agenda included deeply discounted shopping in Fire Island Pines and purchasing the perfect third-hand Invasion frock at the Ice Palace in the Grove, attending Miracle House’s annual Pines fundraiser and Women’s Pride in the Pines at Sip n’ Twirl, covering Porsche’s 10th anniversary show at the Ice Palace and watching a spectacular sunset from the Grove’s dock. Summer has certainly arrived in all its splendid glory!

The last two days have also once again reminded me that there are some truly incredible and amazing people who live, work and certainly play on Fire Island. I remain honored to have the opportunity to share their stories.

Here are three votes and observations from the previous weekend.
1) Grove definitely has a unique way of dealing with idiots and those who become idiots while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
2) Avión may love it hard, but aerial advertisements above the beach certainly do not arouse those who loathe them.
3) The Grove is arguably the only place on earth where one can buy a dress for $10. Accessories and even shoes are sometimes included!



You know it's summer when the Fire Island Ferries parking lot is full by 10 a.m.!



Shopping on Saturdays at Whyte Hall in the Pines.



A bulletin board along Bay View Walk in the Grove.



From atop the roof deck at 548 Beachcomber Walk in the Pines.



The sunset from the Grove dock on Saturday, June 18.



This shopper was busy perusing the racks at the Drag Tag Sale at the Ice Palace in the Grove on Sunday, June 19.



A dress and accessories in a bag!