Popcorn, posters and pride: Queer Cinema Club comes to The Triplex

Queer Cinema Club founder Champika Fernando
Robin Bankert
Queer Cinema Club founder Champika Fernando
For many LGBTQ+ people, film has always been more than entertainment — it’s been a mirror, a map and a lifeline. That’s exactly the spirit behind Queer Cinema Club, a brand-new initiative launching this month at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington with a screening of the 1999 cult classic “But I’m a Cheerleader.”
The Club is the brainchild of West Stockbridge resident Champika Fernando, a longtime film lover, queer community organizer and former software engineer, who’s looking to carve out space for LGBTQ+ folks to come together through the magic of cinema.
“I moved to the Berkshires five years ago with my partner,” Fernando shared. “I was really surprised by how vibrant the queer community is here, but the ways people gather are so different from the city.”
Fernando hails from Toronto, where they attended queer film clubs that mixed movies with drag performances, director Q&As and poster art with party vibes. That’s the kind of multi-sensory, fully alive experience Fernando is hoping to bring to the Berkshires.
On Aug. 20, the Triplex will screen “But I’m a Cheerleader,” the candy-colored satirical comedy directed by Jamie Babbit that follows a perky high school cheerleader (Natasha Lyonne) sent to a conversion camp, only to discover her queerness — and her first love. It’s a film with a dedicated following, and a fitting first feature to kick off a club that’s about self-acceptance, humor, and community connection.
“There’s something about sitting in a theater and laughing, or crying, or just feeling together,” said Fernando. “I think that matters, especially in rural areas, where queer folks can feel isolated.”
The event will open an hour before showtime for an informal pre-show cocktail hour that encourages people to linger and connect. Down the line, Fernando hopes to collaborate with local queer artists to create original movie posters, host performances tied to film themes, and even partner with Queer Soup Night, another community-based initiative known for its food, warmth, and mutual aid fundraising based in Western Massachusetts.
“I’d love to do something where we have a queer soup night followed by a screening,” said Fernando. “Or invite local folks to share what their ‘coming-out movie’ was and build programming around that.”
While “Cheerleader” is a crowd-pleasing start, Fernando’s vision also includes lesser-known international films, underrepresented voices, and stories that reflect the full range of the queer experience. Their years spent working with Scratch — an MIT-originated platform where kids learn to code and tell stories through animation — and with the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project — where they once made their own documentary — have deeply shaped their storytelling values.
“There’s such a narrow slice of queer film that gets recognized,” said Fernando. “I want to expand that. I want people to see themselves in ways they haven’t before.”
The Triplex, a community-run nonprofit, was eager to support the idea. General Manager Ben Elliott welcomed Fernando’s proposal, and the two have been co-developing the program for several months with a shared belief that the space should reflect and serve the people who use it.
Though the first event is being hosted in Great Barrington, there are hopes to expand the club to other local venues, from Millerton to Rhinebeck and beyond.
“The hope is to do something monthly or every other month,” said Fernando. “And maybe host at other indie theaters in the area — depending on where people are coming from.”
More than a screening, Queer Cinema Club is an invitation. To gather. To remember the first time a film made you feel seen. To watch something weird, or sad, or celebratory — together.
“Community is everything,” Fernando shared. “Especially in rural places, you can really feel the absence of it. I just want to help create one more space where queer people feel like they belong.”
Queer Cinema Club’s first screening of “But I’m a Cheerleader” will take place Wednesday, Aug. 20 at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington. Doors open at 7 p.m. for a pre-show gathering. Screening begins at 8 p.m. Tickets and more info at triplexcinema.com.
The LED sign in front of Amenia's Town Hall on Route 22 warns passing motorists of the current temporary burn ban, in effect from Oct. 2 to Oct. 15.
A statewide burn ban is in effect as of Thursday, Oct. 2, the New York State Governor's office announced in a press release.
The temporary ban is in effect until at least Oct. 15, and the statement released by the governor's office said the restrictions will be re-evaluated prior to the Oct. 15 deadline.
Lighting fires for brush or debris disposal and large, uncontained fires for cooking or other purposes are banned until at least Oct. 15 under the statewide order. Backyard fire pits, contained camp fires no larger than 3 feet in height and 4 feet in diameter, and small, contained cooking fires are still permitted under the burn ban.
New York State has faced dry conditions all autumn, triggering drought watches and warnings across most of the state.
Dutchess County, along with the other counties in the Catskills region, are under a drought watch according to the Department of Environmental Conservation's drought condition map.
Dutchess County is currently under a "high" fire danger rating, according to the DEC.
LAKEVILLE, Conn. — Barbara Meyers DelPrete, 84, passed away Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 11:00a.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 76 Sharon Rd., Lakeville.
A complete obituary will appear in next week’s Lakeville Journal.
To offer an online condolence, please visit ryanfhct.com.
Volunteers were hard at work putting the finishing touches on the crucial creepy decorations for the Haunted Fortress of Stanford on Sunday, Sept. 28.
STANFORD — Greg Arent led a devoted team of volunteers on Sunday, Sept. 28, in a final push to prepare Stanford’s Haunted Fortress for opening day.
Final touches included cleaning the bottomless pit, scrubbing the pirate ship, raking the graveyard and dressing the dolls. By 2 p.m., about 20 volunteers had assembled to creepify the beloved local landmark.
Many of the volunteers have been coming back for years, Arent said, dedicating time and valuable skills to the town-owned haunted house that was constructed by the artist Peter Wing.
Arent has been building sets in his free time for forty years, but he started out volunteering with the Haunted Fortress in 2014 when his children wanted to get involved, he said. At that time he would help out one or two days a year. That grew into a leadership position over the course of a decade.
On Sunday, Arent was touring the decrepit grounds checking light bulbs, soundtracks and other set details to contribute to that perfect spooky ambience.
Nathan Miller
When it’s all said and done, the Fortress will be ready to welcome visitors starting on Friday, Oct. 3, with shows running from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sundays. The Haunted Fortress is entirely staffed by volunteers, Arent said, including the actors that don costumes to scare visitors. Anybody aged 6 and up can volunteer to act in the horror show, and families often will volunteer to take over a scene.
“I love it because every scene is different every night,” Arent said. “Sure there are going to be vampires in this scene, but this family is going to do it different from these three kids from Bard, who are going to do it different from these three middle school kids.”
The sets themselves were all built from recycled material to be as creepy and decrepit as possible, Arent said. Concrete culverts adorn the sides of a bridge over a stream, stacked vertically with a cone on top to elicit a fortress’s spires. Reclaimed lumber bolted to a fence evokes a dark and scary forest blocking any escape. A rusting tractor with a steel box welded above the seat sits on a set of rails with two cars attached to it, mimicking a wrecked train with it’s inner mechanisms exposed and blowing steam on passersby.
This year the Haunted Fortress is following a haunted circus theme featuring clowns and other carnival staples alongside the classic settings of the Fortress.
The team of volunteers is dedicated and numerous, and the Stanford Highway Department lends a hand too, Arent said, but there’s always a need for skilled labor at the local attraction.
And the group appreciates all the help they can get. “Whatever you’re interested in and capable of doing,” Arent said.
The haunted pirate ship marks the spot where groups of visitors are paired with their ghastly guides for the remainder of the Haunted Fortress tour in Stanford.Nathan Miller
From left, Jim Milton, Spencer Parks and William J. Clark stand with Joseph Olenik on their first day working under him as the head of Public Works on Monday, Sept. 29.
MILLERTON — The Village announced a leadership change at the Highway Department on Friday following the resignation of Superintendent Peter Dellaghelfa. Police Chief Joseph Olenik will step into the role, effective immediately, officials said.
Olenik will continue to serve as Police Chief.
The decision was made Friday, Sept. 26, during an emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees following Dellaghelfa’s resignation.
Mayor Jenn Najdek said the “amicable split” with Dellaghelfa was part of an ongoing annual employee review process, adding that turnover is not uncommon in small municipalities. She expressed her gratitude for Dellaghelfa’s service over the last four years.
The Board went into Executive Session on Aug. 26 and Sept. 9 for “matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a particular person,” but village officials could not comment on the specifics of those discussions.
The leadership shift will allow the Village to “better respond to the changing needs of our residents and community,” announced the Board in a press release shared with The News. “The Mayor and Board are excited to see Joe expand his impact on Millerton and we’re confident this change will bring lasting improvements to operations, communications and community engagement.”
Police Chief Olenik, who will continue his leadership role within the Millerton Police Department, said he is looking forward to the added responsibilities.
“I am excited to help move the department forward and rebuild it after the devastating fire,” Olenik said. “I am also looking forward to working with the dedicated staff and helping the residents of Millerton by making needed changes and repairs.”
Though Olenik will assume additional responsibilities as he leads the Highway Department, the Millerton Police Department will continue to operate separately — but with the same shared goals of supporting the village community.
William J. Clark installs the leaf container he and his colleagues built. Leaves from the Village will be delivered to McEnroe’s Organic Farm for composting.Aly Morrissey
Mayor Najdek added that Olenik has extensive supervisory and administrative experience that, given the imminent need to rebuild the Highway Department building, will be critical. In addition to managing the upcoming construction, his first orders of business will include making sure the village is on track for leaf pick-up and snow removal, working to ensure the right equipment and personnel are in place.
Olenik held his first meeting with the Village Highway Department on Monday, Sept. 29 and discussed a new leaf container — built by Millerton’s Highway Department — that will support efforts to collect leaves. The leaves will then be turned over to McEnroe’s Organic Farm for composting. While the team configuration — which includes Jim Milton, William J. Clark, and Spencer Parks — will be new, Olenik said they are not strangers. “They’ve always helped me out and I’m looking forward to working with them more closely.”
The Board said in a statement the Village is in good hands moving forward. “Joe’s leadership style — hands-on, structured, and community-focused — makes him well suited to guide this department through the transition.”