Queer Community Space in Barryville Celebrates Year of Connection and Visibility

A monthly queer gathering in Barryville, NY, is marking a milestone this Pride Month, celebrating one year of what organizers say has become a steady, informal anchor for LGBTQ+ community life in the Upper Delaware River Valley.

The Pussycat Lounge returns Friday to Stickitt Inn Cafe for a special anniversary edition featuring live music from Basic Bitches, the duo of Naomi Scott and Krystal Grow. The event also doubles as a birthday celebration for Scott, adding another layer of personal meaning to a gathering that has grown, in part, out of the organizers’ own lives in the region.

What began as a simple idea—to create a consistent, welcoming space for queer women, trans women, non-binary people, and allies in a rural area—has developed into a monthly fixture that organizers say fills a gap in local social life.

“We just saw an opportunity to create a space, you know, a sort of casual but consistent space for, you know, women, queer women, trans women, people who sort of identify as non-binary or sort of more fem presenting, just like an open, welcoming space for people to come and hang out and just kind of get to know each other, and really start to build that community,” Grow said.

They added that part of the motivation was addressing a long-standing imbalance in queer spaces. “Historically, women have been sort of on the margins of the broader gay community,” Scott said. “We just wanted to try and make space for that.”

Over the past year, they say the gatherings have grown into something both social and practical: a place where people meet, reconnect, and sometimes build unexpected connections that extend beyond the event itself.

“We’ve met a whole bunch of people that we didn’t know were out there,” Scott said. “And we’ve also sort of got to hang out with people that we did know but not particularly well.”

They also pointed to how the events have helped counter a sense of isolation in rural areas, especially for LGBTQ+ residents who may not always have visible or nearby community spaces.

“It can feel quite isolating up here,” Scott said. “Social media brings out the best and the worst in us and it’s not always the best way to make community. Looking people face-to-face, having a conversation, sharing values is how we should truly make community.”

At the same time, they emphasized that the gatherings are meant to be fluid and welcoming rather than formalized events with strict expectations. Attendance has ranged from regulars who return each month to newcomers who discover it by chance.

That openness extends to the structure of the events themselves, which have included everything from karaoke and tarot readings to comedy and book swaps.

“We’re easy,” Scott said. “We’re also, you know, happy to listen to if anybody’s got any ideas for events. Hit us up.”

For the band Basic Bitches, the monthly gathering is closely aligned with their own approach to performance and community. The duo—Naomi Scott and Crystal Grow—describe their sound as energetic and accessible.

“We I like to say we’re sort of loud, fast, and fun,” Grow said. “We’re leaning more into kind of a garage rock style with some hints of feminist punk rock. We want people to have a good time.”

But they also framed the performance in broader terms, connecting music to the purpose of the space itself.

“Queer joy is important. It’s necessary. It’s needed,” Grow said. “Any opportunity that we can provide for us to sort of congregate and celebrate and be loud and take up space is worth it and is important.”

Image: Naomi Scott and Krystal Grow perform in the band Basic Bitches. (Mike Vorassi)