Grove & Pines Film Festival takes place September 18-19-20, 2026 across two iconic venues — Whyte Hall in Fire Island Pines and the Cherry Grove Community House in Cherry Grove.
Three days of queer cinema, community, and culture, set against one of the most storied landscapes in LGBTQIA+ history.
ABOUT FIRE ISLAND
↓Fire Island is a narrow barrier island off the south shore of Long Island, New York — and for queer Americans, it has always been something more than a destination. Since the mid-twentieth century, Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove have served as sanctuaries: places where queer people could live openly, love freely, and build community on their own terms, long before the rest of the world was ready to let them.
Cherry Grove holds the distinction of being one of the oldest and most enduring queer communities in the United States. It was home to artists, writers, and activists who shaped LGBTQIA+ culture at a time when visibility elsewhere came at great personal cost. The Pines, just a short stretch of beach away, developed its own identity — glamorous, creative, fiercely communal — and together the two communities became inseparable from the story of queer American life.
That history lives in the architecture, the shoreline, the people who return year after year, and the ones who came before them. Grove & Pines Film Festival exists in conversation with all of it.
GETTING HERE
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Fire Island has no roads or cars. Getting here is part of the experience — and once you arrive, the island’s boardwalks and beaches do the rest.
Ferry from Sayville
The primary route to both Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove is via the ferry from Sayville, NY. Current schedules are available at the link below. Ferry tickets are purchased in person.
By Train
The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) runs regularly from New York to Sayville station. From there, Colonial Transportation provides a shuttle service that can take you to the ferry.
By Car
If you’re driving, paid parking is available near the Sayville ferry terminal. We recommend arriving with extra time, particularly on festival days.
A couple things to know before you go
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Plan your commute backward, starting from the departure time of your preferred ferry.
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The ferry’s to Cherry Grove and The Pines run on separate schedules. Please ensure you view the correct schedule.
The ferry will leave on time!
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The shuttle from the Long Island Railroad Sayville station takes approximately 20 mins.
The fare is $6 CASH ONLY
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To view the latest schedule and save time purchasing LIRR tickets, download the MTA TrainTime app.
The LIRR departs from Penn Station, Grand Central Station, Atlantic Terminal, and JFK.
Festival Venues
↓Cherry Grove Community House
The Cherry Grove Community House and Theatre are among ten National Historic Landmarks representing LGBTQ+ civil rights struggles in the United States. That distinction alone signals what this building means — but the story behind it runs even deeper.
In 1946, the Cherry Grove Property Owners Association floated a carriage house across the bay to construct a community house, and a 1949 addition became the Cherry Grove Theatre. What followed was extraordinary: it became the first American venue to feature productions by gay people for gay and straight audiences. Veteran directors and theater performers including Frank Carrington, Cheryl Crawford, and Carson McCullers provided creative direction, while Broadway and Hollywood actors performed on its stage.
In 2013, the Cherry Grove Community House and Theatre was named to the National Register of Historic Places for the enormous role it played in shaping what gradually evolved into America’s first gay and lesbian town. The Cherry Grove Theatre remains the oldest continuously operating gay summer theater in the United States.
To screen films here is to screen them inside a piece of American queer history.
Whyte Hall
Where Whyte Hall stands, there has always been something worth gathering around. The site traces back to 1854, first as a life-saving station in what was then called Lone Hill, later taken over by the Coast Guard, and then repurposed as a patrol headquarters during World War II. When the Fire Island Pines community took shape in the postwar decades, the building became its communal heart — a place for civic life, health services, community gatherings, and performance.
The hall was named in 2002 for John B. Whyte, the model and real estate entrepreneur who did more than almost anyone to shape Fire Island Pines into the iconic queer destination it became. Funded largely by his estate, a completely reconstructed Whyte Hall was completed in 2007.
Today, the Brandon Fradd Theater is a 172-seat theater that can be configured in a variety of ways for screenings or performances, and the Albert Lepage Outdoor Pavilion is a stunning canopied outdoor deck suited for open-air performance or events. With over 200 events hosted each season, Whyte Hall has been home to Broadway Cares’ Broadway Bares in the Pines, the Fire Island Dance Festival, and Women’s Pride in the Pines, among many others. Grove & Pines Film Festival is proud to bring queer cinema to this stage.
WHERE TO STAY
↓Accommodations on Fire Island are intimate and book quickly, particularly in September. We recommend securing lodging early. Options exist within both Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove.
A curated list of recommended accommodations will be available soon.
Accessibility
↓Fire Island’s boardwalk terrain and ferry access present some considerations for attendees with mobility needs. We are committed to making Grove & Pines as accessible as possible and will publish detailed accessibility information for both venues ahead of the festival. If you have specific questions in the meantime, please reach out via email hi@groveandpinesfilmfestival.com
