New Book Looks Back At Fire Island’s History As A Queer Mecca In The 1950s (PHOTOS)

The limited-edition photo book “Safe/Haven” features 77 glorious pages of seemingly carefree gay life in 1950s New York.

Pride Month may be over, but the Cherry Grove Archives Collection (CGAC) is planning to keep this summer’s celebration of LGBTQ+ history going with a trio of multimedia projects honoring Fire Island, New York’s queer-inclusive beach destination.

On July 26, the CGAC will publish “Safe/Haven,” based on the acclaimed traveling exhibit of the same name, as a limited edition photo book featuring 77 pages of Fire Island’s Cherry Grove community in the 1950s. That same day, Parker Sargent’s new film “Making Miss Cherrys,” which chronicles the 30-year history of the Miss Cherrys Allstars pageant as seen through the eyes of drag icon Sabel Scities, will be screened for the first time.

Then there’s “Queer Grove,” a new podcast hosted by Sargent which premiered in May. The seven-episode podcast features a plethora of special guests including “Fire Island” writer and star Joel Kim Booster, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” veteran Bianca Del Rio and late LGBTQ+ rights icon Edie Windsor.

In an interview with HuffPost, Sargent — who is also CGAC’s creative director — said she hoped to offer listeners and viewers “inspiration and instruction” through a careful examination of the queer folks “who struggled through neglect and hate, who fought for the freedoms that we are in danger of losing today.”

“Going back and reexamining the interviews I’ve done with community members over the last 10 years has been a comfort for me, in a time when I don’t feel very safe in this country as a trans woman,” she said. “Hearing the trials and triumphs of my elders and people I respect has helped to keep things in perspective.”