2025 NYC Pride Guide - Flipbook - Page 52
PINES
By Jenn Jacobs, NYC Pride March Coordinator
PARTY
Protest comes in many forms. It can be a brick thrown as an act of defiance and self-preservation. It can
be a quilt to commemorate the lives lost to a terrible and unforgiving disease. As we Rise Up and find our
Pride in Protest this 2025 Pride season, we look to a different form of protest rooted in giving back to the
community and celebrating one’s authenticity: the Fire Island Pines Party.
The Legacy Begins
The seeds of the current day Pines Party on Fire Island – off the
southern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York – were first
planted in 1999. Pines Party Creative Director Robert Montenegro
states, “The early years were grounded in a sense of community, driven by activism, and tradition.” The Pines Party rose from the ashes
of the Morning Party - a fundraising event put on by New York City’s
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) in response to the AIDS epidemic
from 1983 to 1998. After the Morning Party’s cancellation in 1998, the
Pines community knew they had to step in to fill the fundraising void.
And with that, the Pines Party was born.
The inaugural party - with an “Arabian Nights” theme - raised half a
million dollars. Pines Party Co-Producer and Designer Guy Smith remembers, “It was a magical night - unlike any I had experienced, with
people of all ages and all backgrounds dressed up in creative outfits
and dancing until dawn.”
As its legacy continued to build throughout the 2000’s, each Pines
Party grew bigger and more grandiose. Concepts such as Colossus,
Heroes & Villains, and Mardi Gras made thematic dress-up a staple of
the parties, helping shape what they are today. Pines Party Marketing
Manager Tim Dejsirudom reflects on his first Pines Party saying, “I
still remember the energy of that first ferry ride [from Sayville across
the Great South Bay] - full of excitement and anticipation. When we
arrived, friends greeted us in South Pacific looks, ready to help us get
into ours. We made it to the beach just as the night hit its peak - and
it was pure magic. The joy on the dance floor, the sunrise over the
water - it was unforgettable.”
The Legacy Grows
In 2012, the party entered a new era, evolving from a one-night extrav-
aganza into an all-weekend, multi-event bash. That would lead to the
return of the Morning Party in 2015, an important recognition of the
party’s roots in the community.
Even as the event expanded, the heart of the Pines Party remained community and philanthropy. Executive Producer Allan
Baum reminds us, “The annual Pines Party raises critical funds for
our beneficiaries - The Pines Foundation, Stonewall Community
Foundation, and our Seashore Defense Fund. Over the 25 year
history of our event, more than $4.5 million has been raised for
these organizations, with over $1.5 million donated to Stonewall
to support its operations and its ever more critical grant-making
program for LGBTQIA+ non-profit organizations.”
The Legacy Continues
Looking ahead at the future of the Pines Party, the team behind
the magic have turned their attention towards uplifting the most
vulnerable members of the queer community. Smith notes, “The
party is continuing to evolve, and I see us putting more of our
fundraising efforts to uplift trans and BIPOC Queer people, and
creating a safe space for them to get involved in our magical little
community, and to enrich it with their unique points of view.”
This year’s Pines Party: Dreamscape is set to be their largest
party yet. Smith continues, “This party weekend will provide a
beautiful surrealistic escape … I am excited to see our community come together to support one another, love each other, and
learn how to lean even more into our uniqueness and our spirit.”
As the party continues to evolve to meet the moment before us,
its original essence will remain. The Pines Party is a space to bring
the community together in celebration and joy as its own form of
resistance and protest. Dejsirudom states, “Each era has brought
something distinct to the dance floor but the one constant has
been the unmistakable Pines Party magic: the feeling of being
part of something bigger, something joyous and community
driven, under the stars, where ocean meets sky.”
Dejsirudom says of this era of growth and expansion, “[...] the production became more immersive, themes expanded, and the event grew
from a cherished local gathering to a globally recognized celebration.”
The music pivoted away from the traditional circuit genre to a greater
focus on house music - and the introduction of globally acclaimed
DJs. Among them were one of our 2025 Grand Marshals, DJ Lina
Bradford, who said of her time on Fire Island, “Participating in the
legacy of Fire Island for 10 years, I was always very aware of the Pines
Party and how special it was and how it brought people from different
countries and communities out.”
To learn more about the history of the Pines Party,
visit www.pinesparty.com/history.
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