The weekend of August 13 to 15 was the eighth annual Fire Island Black Out (FIBO) weekend, with events in Cherry Grove and at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ronkoma, and a huge and diverse crowd of African-American men and women and their lovers and friends came to the Grove to enjoy the beach and the community and to patronize its restaurants and bars, hotels and guesthouses, and other businesses. FIBO President and CEO James Wellons, Esq., from Philadelphia, estimated the attendance at 4,000, an appreciable increase over the 3,200 who registered last year.

Numerous colorful tents, belonging to vendors, organizations, groups of people, and individuals, dotted the beach on the perfect afternoon of the 14th. I visited the FIBO Hospitality Tent, and a tent where women sold jewelry, and I bought a pair of glittering rainbow wristbands/bracelets from them. That night, I went to the Ice Palace, where a capacity crowd gyrated at the Bump & Dip Dance-cum-Pool Party, and saw a number of familiar faces.

Other components of the FIBO weekend included a volleyball tournament, a writers' panel, and a poetry slam.