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"The biggest party of the summer, the
biggest party of the summer" - that's
what we kept hearing on the tongues of
every straight boy who boarded the
trains bound for Sayville.
Now that's saying something - when the
straights know our party schedule and
know enough to pay respect. "Party down,
boys," they called to us, as dozens of
us disembarked for the jitney to the
ferry. You almost felt as if they wanted
to join us. (Moments like that it's easy
to imagine that we really have had a
good influence on those curious straight
boys.)
For those who have yet to hear, the
biggest party of the summer is
Ascension. What started six years ago as
an afternoon fundraiser for the Fun in
the Sun Foundation has now become a
comprehensive weekend of the kind
associated with the circuit at its peak.
With no less than five sanctioned
parties, including a launch party, a
pool party, a tea dance, an after-party,
and the main event on the beach, as well
as an entire weekend of ancillary
parties and house parties and
full-length concerts by the likes of
Kristine W. and Crystal Waters,
Ascension Weekend has earned its
sobriquet "Biggest Party of the Summer."
Saint-at-Large Black Party set designer,
Adam Koch, created a white columned,
open-air walkway, fluttering with
cerulean blue flags, that led to
Ascension's signature reflecting pool
surrounded by a grass lawn. Two summers
ago, Kelly Rowland wowed the sell-out
crowd with that year's summer anthem,
"When Love Takes Over," while this
year's Ascension included a message from
Britney Spears, as well as a performance
by Dragonette, singing her summer smash,
"Hello," which had the boys jumping and
pumping their arms in the air while
singing back the chorus, "Hello, hello,"
like a choir of tropical toucans.
Songs of the summer are the ones that
make you feel like romping in the sand
(rather than drowning in the ocean) -
and DJ Lee Dagger of Bimbo Jones
followed his Saint-at-Large May Day
debut with an uplifting set that kept
the boys happy and summer-dazed on the
purpose-built dance floor that blanketed
the sand. The natural beauty of the
Pines provided a perfect backdrop to the
rainbow revelers, who were dripping with
enough glittery fashion detritus as to
mount their own Alexander McQueen
retrospective at Whyte Hall. This year's
Diesel gift bags were particularly
noteworthy, with an entire party
weekend's worth of necessities,
including Diesel boxer briefs, Lady Gaga
shades, t-shirts, energy drinks, go
cups, Gaga tote bag, flashlight (battery
included), and sex kit (boy not
included). As in years past, winged
kicks and Asian fans were de rigueur for
the fashion set, while heavy chains and
b-boy caps decorated the bodies of the
insanely buffed. "Rise Up" read the
underwear on the bums of the go-go boys.
In short, beauty was everywhere - no
matter where you looked.
Helmed by founders Hal Rubenstein, David
Nickle, Eric
von Kuersteiner, Anthony Roncalli, and
producer Sean Patrick Ryan,
Ascension never fails to bring out a
surfeit of circuit and industry heavy
hitters, which this year included Alegria producer Ric Sena laughing with
DJ Susan Morabito, and Saint-at-Large
chieftain Steve Pevner hugging lighting
genius Guy Smith, and Nurse cackling
with DJs Paulo and Ted Eiel, as well as
DJ Tony Moran in the booth with Brett
Henrichsen, and Jake Resnicow and the
Matinee boyz, DJs Hector Fonseca and
Billy Lace, and Wilson Cruz, and the Task Force family
represented by Alex and Russell, and
Pines diva Erin Stacey V., and also
Pines stalwarts Beto and Jonathan, and
Steve Weinstein, and Michael Lavers, and
Abel, and Oliver, and DJs Kevin Graves
and Corey Craig - as well as the
ever-ebullient Ascension mascot and
majordomo, Adam Weaver.
All of this good fun wasn't just idle
frolicking on the beach, for the day's
beneficiaries included the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force, as well as
numerous other worthy organizations
supported by the Fund in the Sun
Foundation, which provides funding for
the maintenance of Fire Island Pines, as
well as grants for LGBT organizations
such as the Community Center, the Trevor
Project, Live Out Loud, and others.
With temperatures in the low eighties
and just enough cloud cover to keep the
sun from blistering so much beautiful
skin, Ascension was the beneficiary of a
radiant summer day. Outside the
perimeter of the party, people walked
their dogs along the water while others
danced on the dunes. Meanwhlie,
overhead, a plane flew above the beach
with a banner professing love and a
happy anniversary. As personal as the
message was, the sentiment also served
as a fitting tribute to a party that
brings us together in celebration.
Rise up, Ascension; Happy Sixth
Anniversary!
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