Queer Grove Podcast: A Safe Haven For Queer People

Groups that have been discriminated against, ostracized, and persecuted need a safe haven. For example, the Green Book was a guidebook for African American roadtrippers. It was founded by Victor Hugo Green, an African American postal worker from New York City, and was published annually from 1936 to 1966. This was during the era of Jim Crow laws, when open and often legally prescribed discrimination against African Americans, mainly, and other non-whites was widespread.  

The Cherry Grove Archives Collection (CGAC) is another example of offering a safe haven, in this case, for LGBTQ+ people. The CGAC promotes global appreciation of the rich and creative history of the earliest known haven for LGBTQ+ people and their allies in the United States -- in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, NY.

Its summer 2025 programming includes Queer Grove -- a new podcast documenting the life and times of the Grove through the voices of those who helped create the LGBTQ+ safe haven -- including Joel Kim Booster, Bianca Del Rio, Jimbo the Drag Clown, and more).

The summer program also includes Making Miss Cherrys, a documentary film that chronicles an All-Stars iteration of the legendary Cherry Grove drag pageant.

 

Furthermore, Safe/Haven is a limited-edition book showcasing an exhibit that has been displayed at the Stonewall National Museum and the New-York Historical Society, and presented as a walking tour in Cherry Grove. Through Art Walks, the Cherry Grove Archives Collection showcases its community's histories through the works of three incredible Fire Island photographers.

The CGAC is dedicated to the preservation of the social, political, and cultural history of Cherry Grove, Fire Island, New York. Its mission is to collect, preserve, and share this history through the archival protection and storage of Cherry Grove's historic artifacts, including documents, photographs, and film. “Save the past. Make it last.”

This summer, the Cherry Grove Archives Collection will present a range of exciting and thought-provoking programming, including but not limited to a brand-new podcast, a film premiere, art walks, and much more. 

A roundup can be found below.

CGAC’s Creative Director, Parker Sargent: “The Cherry Grove Archives Collection is thrilled to present a full summer of events and exhibitions that bring the history of the Grove to life through photos, audio and video. Art Walk Exhibitions, our bi-annual Archive Show Weekend, celebrating 50 years of the Invasion of the Pines and a relaunch of our wildly popular Safe/Haven photography book- there’s so much of our history being presented this season. Cherry Grove is a community that runs on volunteerism, and we spend our summer’s hosting fundraisers for everything from the Community House to the dunes on the beach. So the Archives is always trying to find new ways to engage visitors- to inspire involvement and hopefully generosity, to help us reach our fundraising goals to continue our important work of preserving and presenting the Grove’s history. No matter when you’re in Cherry Grove this summer, there will be something exciting on display to educate and entertain.”

QUEER GROVE - A NEW PODCAST

Queer Grove is a brand-new podcast presented by the Cherry Grove Archives Collection exploring a small beach community that has been a safe haven for queer people for almost 100 years, is hosted by acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Parker Sargent. Through her work over the last decade, Sargent has created projects that celebrate the character and history of queer communities on Fire Island and beyond.

In the tradition of oral history, Queer Grove documents the life and times of the Grove, through the voices of those who have helped create this safe haven and those who are keeping it thriving today. Even in a world where LGBTQ+ people have more civil rights than ever before, Cherry Grove remains a vital queer space. 

Queer Grove explores the past and present with interviews from Cherry Grove residents, as well as special guests including Joel Kim Booster, Esther Newton, Bianca Del Rio, Daniel Nardicio, Jimbo the Drag Clown, Thom “Panzi” Hansen, Bob “Rose” Levine, and Edie Windsor. New episodes are released on Fridays. Visit queergrove.com to listen.

MAKING MISS CHERRYS - A FILM PREMIERE

Making Miss Cherrys is a documentary film by Parker Sargent that chronicles Timothy Byars, also known as Sabel Scities, as he competes in the Miss Cherrys All-stars pageant in 2022. Produced in coordination with the Cherry Grove Archives Collection, the film celebrates the thirty-year history of the competition, which began in 1992, to honor local drag artists who were creating a thriving queer culture in Cherry Grove, Fire Island.

For three decades, community members have packed the outdoor bar and restaurant, Cherrys on the Bay, to watch local queens perform and compete for the Miss Cherrys crown. Over the years, it has become one of the summer’s most anticipated events, celebrating the camp and glamour of the Grove.

After thirty years of the competition, the Miss Cherrys Allstars Pageant was launched in 2019 to bring back past performers who have snatched the crown, and Timothy Byers (and Miss Cherrys 2013), would be crowned the Allstars winner, after a long road of trials, tribulations, and triumphs. Sabel’s determination outlasted the Covid-19 crisis; she continued to create and craft her performance package with her team over great distances after moving to Hawaii, and she would be going up against some of the most talented drag performers working in the industry right now.

Follow Sabel’s journey and learn about the fabulous history of the Miss Cherrys pageant, with appearances from previous winners such as Charity Charles, Ginger Snap, Brenda Dharling and Boudoir LeFleur.

A live screening premiere of Making Miss Cherrys will take place at the Cherry Grove Community House and Theater on Saturday, July 26th at 8pm ET. If you can’t attend the in-theater screening, you can watch the simultaneous live-streaming of the film. In-theater screening tickets are on sale now on the Cherry Grove Archives Collection website for $40, and live-streaming sales will begin June 19th. All proceeds from the screening of “Making Miss Cherrys” benefit the Cherry Grove Archives Collection Inc., a 501c3 organization.

About Sabel Scities

Sabel Scities (Timothy Byars) is a drag performer and community advocate who has spent the past two decades finding ways to connect, create, and give back through her art. Her journey began at The Escape, an all-ages nightclub in Portland, Oregon, that became a second home for many. It was there that Sabel, along with a chosen family of artists and outsiders, explored creativity, identity, and what it meant to build something together.

In Austin, Texas, she helped shape the local drag community by starting a class that welcomed new performers into the fold—more than 40 of whom went on to take the stage themselves. While living in Hawaii, she worked in harm reduction and public health, offering syringe exchange services, HIV/STI testing, and honest, stigma-free education around sexual health and substance use.

Now based in New York, Sabel holds the title of Miss Hell’s Kitchen, through which she’s helped raise funds for The Center—supporting mental health services, gender-affirming care, and spaces that uplift BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices. She’s grateful to be featured in “Making Miss Cherrys,” a documentary by Parker Sargent, and to share in a story that celebrates community, resilience, and the queer legacy of Fire Island.

SAFE/HAVEN- A BOOK REISSUE

The SAFE/HAVEN exhibition, curated and presented by Cherry Grove Archives Collection, has received rave reviews from Time Out, Vogue, Newsday, CBS News, The Advocate, and The New York Times. “SAFE/HAVEN” has been displayed at The Stonewall National Museum, at The New York Historical Society, and presented as a Walking Tour in Cherry Grove, Fire Island.

The CGAC has created a limited edition book of the SAFE/HAVEN exhibition photos in a high-quality 77-page book that also includes amazing ephemera and interactive audio clips from longtime Grove residents, all of which showcase the joy and complexity of gay life in the 1950s Cherry Grove.

Purchase SAFE/HAVEN on the Cherry Grove Archives Collection website beginning July 26.

ART WALKS - UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL TOURS AROUND EXHIBITIONS

The Cherry Grove Archives Collection will showcase its community’s history through the works of three Fire Island photographers – with outdoor Art Walking Tours from May through September 2025: a curated collection of photos from Warren Boyd Wexler (May 9–June 1), koitz (June 6–July 6) and Susan Kravitz (August 1-25). Their work will be accompanied by audio clips from Cherry Grove residents and icons, sharing stories about various events and traditions celebrated in the queer community.

The Cherry Grove Memorial Fund has generously sponsored the summer exhibition schedule, enabling the CGAC to present amazing large-scale installations throughout town, so residents and day-trippers alike can experience the beauty, freedom, and legacy of this historic queer sanctuary.