The 43rd annual Cherry Grove Invasion of Fire Island Pines took place, as is traditional, on Independence Day, a blazing hot summer day, but spirits were high and the drag was higher. Invasion commemorates the occasion, in American bicentennial year 1976, when Pines entrepreneur John Whyte refused service at his restaurant to Grove thespian Teri Warren, who had come there in drag. When a dozen of her friends, cross-dressing men and women, came to the Pines to avenge the slight, they, however, were served and declared victory over the colony to the east. Invasion 2018 was led by two of the original 1976 invaders, singer Rose Levine, now Cherry Grove’s Homecoming Queen, and Panzi, the Invasion founder.
Rose numbered 15 in her royal entourage, men and women, elegant in tuxedos, with top hats and canes, and her Invasion was, as expected, filled with song. From the front of the Invasion boat, she led Invaders in singing “God Bless America” as we left the Grove. She arrived in the Pines to the tune of “I Could Have Danced All Night” and, after a short speech, belted out a festive “The Best of Times Is Now.” She greeted the Pines with, “I’ve lived I Cherry Grove for two centuries… I want to thank the people of Cherry Grove for electing me to the position of Homecoming Queen. I want to complement the Arts Project of Cherry Grove on its 70th anniversary and I want to thank the people of the Pines!” A troupe of gilded dancers heralded Panzi’s entrance into the Pines with a zesty “Everybody Put Your Hands Up.”
Among the colorful Invaders were Sandy Bottom and the ZZ Tops, mostly familiar Grove women sporting long unfamiliar beards, who were deemed “Best Group” by the Pines Property Owners Association; the Ginsberg Supremes, a trio honoring Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who won the “Most Political” award; and Beach DeBree and YaNeeda Dunes, who were hailed as “Most Cherry Grove.” Mention must be made of La Tormenta, as a centaur, armed with a golden bow and arrows, and Mr. Fire Island Leather 2018 CB Kirby, respondent in his new, mostly red leather sash.