OUT EAST END
Hamptons Pride Launches as New LGBTQ Organization
Group celebrates local queer community on the east end of Long Island
BY OLIVER PETERSON
Pride is burgeoning in the
Hamptons! Right on the
heels of last Sunday’s
Dan’s Papers Out East
End Impact Awards, another debut
event celebrating the local LGBTQ+
community and its allies through
Hamptons Pride, a brand-new local
organization, offi cially kicking
off their good works next week.
“There are so many people who
are in favor of this, and they’re really
onboard,” Hamptons Pride’s Tom
House, a writer and bartender for
20 summers at Club Swamp and
its later incarnations, Star Room
and Sway, says, pointing out that
Hamptons Pride is already getting
support from East Hampton Town
and the Wainscott CAC. In addition
to making Wainscott Green a
special gathering place for the local
LGBTQ+ community and their allies,
he envisions Hamptons Pride
as offering support for LGBTQ+
youth and activities for adults and
young people in their community.
“We want to be a social resource,”
House adds, noting that he hopes to
connect with the Gay-Straight Alliance
groups at Hamptons schools,
and present concerts, movie nights
and other fun things to do.
The launch and after party is
just the beginning of many great
things to come.
Sunday’s event, from 3–7 p.m.
takes place at the former location
of The Swamp — the last
and longest-running gay club in
the Hamptons — on what is now
Wainscott Green, a park on Montauk
Highway and East Gate Road
in the Town of East Hampton. The
outdoor event, which includes beer,
wine, cider, soft drinks and light
bites, and is happening at the exact
place and time of the Swamp’s
Sunday tea dances, is truly conjuring
the club’s storied past, with former
Swamp DJ Karin Ward spinning
right over the spot where she
and other deejays spun a generation
ago. Organizers hope to honor
the past and celebrate the future at
this historic groundbreaker, ushering
in a new generation of Pride
Tom House displaying a sign for The Swamp.
for the East End’s LGBTQ+ populations
and their allies.
A Hamptons Pride Launch After
Party will follow in the main
bar of The Clubhouse (174 Daniels
Hole Road) in East Hampton,
across from the airport from
9 p.m. to midnight. The ticketed
indoor retro-disco dance night
will feature music from DJ Watts
(aka Anthony Lee) and drag performance
by the evening’s emcee
Naomi the Crown Jewel of
the Hamptons, as well as raffl es,
group dancing, hula hooping and
more. Cash bar.
Tickets to The Clubhouse
after party are available
through Eventbrite and proceeds
from both events benefi t the new
100% volunteer Hamptons Pride
non-profi t—a new Hamptons organization
devoted exclusively to
pride. All money raised will develop
the activities and programs
House spoke about for East End
LGBTQ+ people and their allies.
“And we hope that means everyone!”
HAMPTONS PRIDE
the organizer says in the
event announcement, offering a
welcoming, all-inclusive message
to the community.
Proof of vaccination or a recent
negative COVID test will be required
at check-in for both events,
and complimentary Pride masks
will be provided for anyone who
wishes to wear them.
To learn more about Hamptons
Pride, the launch, and even some
history about The Swamp, visit
hamptonspride.org.
September 9 - September 22, 2 36 021 | GayCityNews.com
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