Mascara, Mirth and Mayhem

Mascara, Mirth and Mayhem: Independence Day on Fire Island is a rollicking photographic document that celebrates four decades of an event known as "the Invasion of the Pines" by members of the neighbouring LGBT community of Cherry Grove.

Initially planned to shock their staid neighbours and protest their snobbery, this queenly invasion on every July 4th, is a moment on Fire Island equal to Stonewall in Greenwich Village.

It has grown in size and extravagance each year to become an earthquake of creative cross-dressing and a true independence day party. The history of the original protest invasion, along with selected interviews of participants, then and now, augment Susan Kravitz's photographs of this flamboyant event taken over a period of 30 years.