How would you like to go on an all-inclusive vacation, complete with three meals a day, live entertainment, an amazing assortment of workshops and classes — all designed to educate, enlighten or entertain — swimming, karaoke, parties and lots of women? All totaling $300-$400 on a sliding-scale fee — and less if you BYOT (bring your own tent).
Contrary to the belief of some, SisterSpace is not a place for those who want to rough it. For glampers like me, they have cabins with electricity and hot showers. On my last weekend there, my cabin was the party cabin, complete with pumping music and a blender where I mixed our cocktail of the day. There’s truly something for everyone (almost everyone — sorry fellas, the weekend is for women only). The Art Space is filled with enough supplies to get your Georgia O’Keefe going. Join a pickup game of basketball or flag football or take a hike to the nearby Susquehanna. Cool off in the Olympic-sized pool or just hang out poolside and socialize. Hit the Saturday night dance party. You may find me hanging out at the late-night karaoke, and you can come sing a duet with me. Or if you want the spotlight to yourself, grab the open mic on Saturday and show everyone what you can do! Get lost in a movie at the video lounge. The workshops cover everything from financial planning to car maintenance to salsa dancing. The Sexuality Space returns for the third time, a safe space for anyone (over age 18) to discuss, explore, witness and participate in consensual erotic play. And for the first time, women can get married at camp!
This week, we caught up with longtime camp-goer and SisterSpace board member Jo-Ann McIntyre.
PGN: Tell me a little about your humble or noble beginnings. JM: I grew up in the Caribbean. I was born in Grenada but spent most of my time in Dominica and think of that as my home. My family moved to New York City when I was 11 and I spent a lot of time in New England after that because I went to high school boarding school there.
PGN: That’s a big change. Do you remember the first time you saw snow? JM: Oh my God, yes! The first time we saw snow, my sisters and I got bundled up and went outside to play. We didn’t expect it to be as cold as it was. We made snowballs — well, in New York they were dirty snowballs — and had a good time. I was still young enough to be impressed and awed by the experience. But after boarding school in New England, I got tired of the snow pretty quickly!
PGN: So tell me about growing up on a warm island. JM: I come from a family of six: mother, father and three younger sisters. We moved around a lot because my father was a bank manager. They would send him to struggling banks to get them on their feet and once he got it done, they would send him to a different bank on a different island. We also did a lot of traveling so I’ve seen quite a lot of the Caribbean.
PGN: What was it like being the oldest of four girls? JM: Being the oldest of four worked out for me. I’m a bit of an organizer; I wouldn’t say bossy but I like to take charge. Or maybe that’s just my personality because of my birth order. We’re all three to four years apart and we do everything together — family vacations, you name it. In addition to my sisters, I also had a lot of cousins and extended family. These days, everybody’s all spread out but we’re still very close.
PGN: Any notables or famous relatives? JM: I don’t know if they would be famous to Americans but one of my cousins is the youngest person to become a Supreme Court judge in Canada or something like that. An uncle was a famous surgeon and basically restructured the health-care system in Dominica. A number of the other islands have adopted his system. When our island gained its independence, another uncle was the first prime minister and the ambassador to the United States through Reagan and the first Bush. He was also the longest-standing ambassador to England. He was at Diana’s wedding and went to Fergie and Andrew’s wedding and was seated at the table of honor for one of the queen’s big celebrations — 60th birthday or something. We’ve had relatives in positions of power in politics and medicine.
PGN: What were you like as a kid, other than bossy? [Laughs] JM: Ha! Actually, I was pretty quiet because I liked to read books a lot. Oh! I forgot about my own celebrity moment! From ages 8-10, I was the co-host of a children’s radio show called “The Children’s Hour.” We would do reviews and talk about books. It was on every Sunday and pretty popular. I remember one time I was with the family driving out in the country and we got a flat tire. My father went to the nearest house to get help. He introduced us and the little girl in the house yelled, “Jo-Ann McIntyre! I know you!” So I had a few moments of celebrity.
PGN: Any extracurricular activities? JM: Not really back then. I took swimming lessons and was a junior lifeguard but I wasn’t really into sports. Back then they didn’t encourage girls to get into sports on the island. Now they do, but I didn’t discover athletics until high school and then it was all in for me. At boarding school, both of my freshman roommates were into soccer. I thought it was so cool to see them walking around with a soccer ball so I tagged along and fell in love with the sport. I played soccer, then basketball, softball and lacrosse. Later in life, I coached all of those sports except softball.
PGN: While we’re on the topic of fun things to do, let’s talk about SisterSpace. When did you first start going? JM: I first went in 2000. I had done concert production in Ithaca for the lesbian performer “Suede” and loved working with her. I looked her up and saw she was performing at SisterSpace. I’d never heard of it but I volunteered for the stage crew. The second year I was there I became the lighting designer, and have gone for 13 years.
PGN: What was a favorite moment? JM: A couple of years ago after the Saturday night concert, we were breaking down the stage. The crew was pulling up cables and taking down lights and we had music on, which we do to keep our energy up since it’s 12 o’clock at night. Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” came on and every single stage-crew member dropped everything and started dancing in the auditorium. It was awesome. Just a moment of bonding, one of many throughout the weeks and years at SisterSpace.
PGN: And what is your role there now? JM: I’ve been on the board of directors for the past two years and this year I am one of the two planning liaisons on the board.
PGN: So describe SisterSpace for someone who has never been. JM: It’s a weekend that’s filled with women having fun, enjoying being together. There’s always something to do — music, workshops, partying, relaxing. But the most important thing about SisterSpace is the friendships and relationships that you make. You leave having joined a larger community of women and you can’t wait to come back the next year to have that feeling again. It’s like being transported to a different world that’s free of the oppressions of the outside world for one weekend.
PGN: Speaking of being transported, you are quite the traveler. JM: I worked for nine years at a therapeutic boarding school. In the summer of 2008, we took 11 of the girls and traveled the country in a van. We started in Massachusetts, went to Niagara Falls, came down through Pennsylvania, went all the way across the country on the top to the state of Washington, down California and back across the bottom of the states. It was awesome because we got to see so many incredible places and have amazing experiences. It was terrible because on our second day the air conditioning went down. We spent a lot of time stopping at gas stations and watering down every piece of fabric that we had, including stuffed animals! It was the summer after 9/11 so there were a lot of security issues we had to deal with. Going to see Mount Rushmore and the Hoover Dam proved difficult because we had a van with tubs of possessions on top of the van and they kept insisting we unpack everything.
PGN: My neighbor just got back from Canada and said to me, “It was great, but coming back to Philadelphia I realize how beautiful this city is.” I don’t think we always appreciate our own country as much as we should. JM: I absolutely agree. Boston and Philadelphia are two of my favorite cities. I can’t drive into Philly without falling in love with it each time — the history, the tree-lined streets and brick houses, all of it.
PGN: [Laughs] If you like Philly so much, how come the Red Sox and the Patriots are on your Facebook page? JM: Oh! Because I spent so many formative years in Boston. It’s hard to give that up. But the Philly teams are my secondary teams. I’ll root for the Eagles any time … as long as they’re not playing the Patriots.
PGN: When did you come out? JM: When I went on a visit to the boarding-school campus, this girl walked by. Somebody pointed her out and said, “Oh, that’s Eve and her girlfriend.” It was said so casually and no one raised any eyebrows. I was like, OK, that was interesting. Coming from the islands and a Catholic family, I never really thought about anything gay. You hear horror stories about Jamaica and Haiti and some of the homophobia, but in Dominica, they don’t really approve but no one makes a fuss. We have a really good sense of humor and take things in stride. It’s there but no one’s going to go beat someone up about it. But at school it was no big thing. The first time I realized I was absolutely gay was when I was sitting in the hallway after study hall and a senior walked in. She had been out in the rain and walked over and rubbed noses with me. My heart did that jump and my stomach did that flip and I realized I was gay. I never did anything about it until I got to college. Then I started hanging out with people in the gay student group and slowly started coming out to them.
PGN: And the family? JM: While I was in college, I started writing articles and my parents noticed more and more gay content. Finally, my mother just asked me and I told her, yes, I was gay. She wasn’t happy but told me she loved me. It’s accepted and I’ve had girlfriends come to family functions but it’s not like you’re going to find them at a PFLAG meeting. My sisters were fine with it.
PGN: Tell me about your production work. JM: I originally studied TV and radio production and then switched to theater and sociology. At the boarding school, I did a number of things — residential-life stuff as well as being the technical theater director, athletic director, yearbook supervisor and coaching. In 2008, I decided to go back into theater and stage management with a focus on running lights. Most recently I’ve been working at the Penn sports network directing and running camera and with Bootless Stageworks in Delaware.
PGN: Random questions. A sentimental item you wouldn’t sell for $1,000? JM: A big stuffed bear that I won at Great Adventure back when I was a sophomore in high school. It’s almost my height!
PGN: Something fun with the family? JM: We are all back in the same area for the first time in ages, so every Sunday we all have dinner together. Each week we go to a different person’s house, and that person cooks dinner for the family. Even though we are close, I lived away from home from the time I was 13 until 2008, so it’s nice to all be back together again.
PGN: What would be the title of your autobiography? JM: “You Can Always Turn Around.” It’s something I always say when people are facing a problem. Like if you find yourself getting lost and miss your exit, you can always turn around. It’s never too late to fix things.
PGN: We really need to support SisterSpace Weekend or, like Sisters, we’re going to lose it. What are some of the new things designed to attract people back? JM: There’s a lot. On Friday night we’re having a meet-and-greet with speed dating for singles and a newlywed game, which should be fun. It will be nice to have everyone together to kick off the weekend. We have some great entertainment too: comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer, musician Christine Havrilla, international group Cocomama, performance artist Innocence Bello, Cassendre Xavier and much, much more! Please come and bring a friend … or 10!
SisterSpace Weekend runs Sept. 5-7 in Darlington, Md. For more information, visit www.sisterspace.org.
To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email [email protected].