Deep in the mountains of rural Tennessee there is a thriving, vibrant network of communities of queer people whose origins go back to the beginnings of the modern gay rights movement with the Radical Faeries.

Planet IDA, Short Mountain Sanctuary and Pumpkin Hollow are just some of the places where folks live in an open and free environment with the goal of stimulating personal growth and creativity.

Today we’re talking to two well known residents of IDA, Tom Foolery and Maxzine Weinstein from the Eggplant Faerie Players, the community’s traveling performance group.

What were you doing a week after Sept. 11, 2001? I was hanging out with Bitch in the mountains of Tenn. in drag Fausto and Marc share a kiss, Faerie Gathering at Short Mountain, Tennessee- May 1, 1999. Fausto at the 1999 Faerie Gathering, Short Mountain, Tennessee

We met Maxzine and Tom 11 years ago on the first night of the Feast of Fools Cabaret, the live performance series that gave rise to this podcast you’re listening to right now-Feast of Fun.

Listen as we talk about living in a commune of gay musicians, trans pirates, lesbian warriors and pagan witches. What are the challenges and rewards of living in a modern tribal community?

We’ve got a lot of music and fun- including a live performance of Tom Foolery’s famous song “Big Girl,” so stick around!