On August 11, 2007, nearly 1,500 LGBT people of color converged on the shores of Cherry Grove for what has become one of the “unofficial end-of-summer events” in New York – Fire Island Black Out (FIBO).

Celebrating their fifth year, FIBO defines itself as an event geared towards same gender-loving people of all colors, bringing together women and men of various ages, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds, for a day of fun and networking at the beach. The mantra for this year's FIBO event was ‘Be Yourself,’ speaking directly to the essence of FIBO’s clientele: upwardly mobile, educated professionals of all genders who can identify what a good time is.

From as early as the 8 a.m. ferry, continuing steadily throughout the day, and well into the night, hundreds of revelers arrived with their bathing suits, umbrellas, beach tents, and other necessities, ready to enjoy a day of relaxation and camaraderie with their brothers and sisters. While soaking in the rays, taking a dip, playing volleyball, or catching-up with old friends and making new ones were on tap for many, others set up their tents and simply laid out to watch the rolling waters of the Long Island Sound...while watching the sexy bodies go by.

At 7 p.m., FIBO’s annual dance – “The FIBO Bump” got guests off the beach and onto the dance floor of the island’s legendary Ice Palace dance club for an insane nine-hour party, where guest DJs Storm, Carlos Dali and Vince K joined FIBO resident DJs Wayne Louis and Jon Martin in spinning the hottest tracks. During the “Bump,” FIBO founder, John Goodman, raffled off numerous gifts, including many DVD box sets, as well as CDs provided by Naked Music.

“Thanks to the hard work of Team FIBO, we have once again produced an event which exposes brothers and sisters to Fire Island and helps to overcome the notion that this venue is not for ‘us’,” said Mr. Goodman. He also thanked sponsors – CLIK Magazine, Bleu Magazine, and Kuttinedge Online, for their contributions to the event.

Feedback from attendees has also been overwhelmingly positive. One guest said, “I think that the whole event was beautiful. Everyone seemed to have gotten along with each other and unity seemed to play a good part of this event. I thank FIBO for putting an event like this together where we can go out and be amongst our own gay and lesbian black/white/Puerto Rican/ yellow and green people. I definitely look forward to the next one.” Another guest said, “I had a wonderful time. I bought my nephew and my business partner for their first time and they absolutely enjoyed themselves. All my friends enjoyed the event also. Next year is a definite. The hospitality committee was great. Thanks a million.”

Mr. Goodman also thanks all the GBMNews readers who attended and invites them to visit the FIBO website at www.fireislandblackout.com and complete the 2007 FIBO Attendee Survey. He says, “it is only through attendee feedback that we learn how to improve and make our event better.”

The date for the Sixth Annual Fire Island Black Out has been set to begin on Friday August 8, 2008 – 08/08/08.