Dylan Mulvaney surprises LGBTQ+ young adults at Provincetown fundraiser

Sometimes, putting out a sign actually works.

Young adults at the LGBTQ+ program Summer of Sass got quite the surprise Friday when Dylan Mulvaney unexpectedly showed up at the organization’s annual Strawberry Social fundraiser in Provincetown.

It started when Salem, a Summer of Sass participant who works at the Provincetown Theater, learned that the transgender actress and influencer was in town and planned to attend a nearby show that night. Salem had an idea: Why not invite her to the Strawberry Social?

Juniper Kristal Starling, another participant, suggested putting up signs leading to the Sass House.

“Ultimately, I don’t think anyone expected it to work,” Juniper tells Out.

An hour or two into the social, someone burst through the door with some unexpected news: “The sign worked.”

“I’ve never screamed and fangirled for a celebrity appearance before,” Juniper says, “but I absolutely did then.”

Mulvaney arrived in Provincetown less than a day earlier when she spotted the invitation in her tagged Instagram Stories.

Summer of Sass participants put out an invitation for Dylan Mulvaney to attend their Strawberry Social after learning she was in Provincetown.Photo courtesy Stephen Walker

“I see a video of this gorgeous house saying, ‘Dylan Mulvaney, come to our Strawberry Social,’” Mulvaney told Out’s Provincetown-based reporter Stephen Walker. “And I was like, well, I have to go to the Strawberry Social.”

Founded by comedian and activist Kristen Becker, Summer of Sass brings LGBTQ+ young adults from less supportive parts of the country to Provincetown, where participants receive housing, employment support, mentorship, and the opportunity to spend a summer surrounded by an affirming queer community. Juniper is part of Second Summer, a new extension of the program for young adults ages 21 to 24.

For Juniper, Mulvaney’s arrival was especially meaningful. She has followed Mulvaney’s journey on and off since the beginning of her “Days of Girlhood” series and says watching Mulvaney publicly step into herself helped give her the courage to do the same.

“Her persistence and her optimism as she continued to step into herself as a woman was a big reason of many that I eventually decided to transition myself,” Juniper says.

“When I looked at her then, I thought, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’”

Suddenly, the woman Juniper had once watched from afar was standing in front of her.

Dylan Mulvaney with Summer of Sass participant Juniper Kristal Starling at the Strawberry Social in Provincetown.Photo courtesy Juniper Kristal Starling

“She took the time to meet anyone who came up to her, and she was so lovely about it all,” Juniper says. “She was constantly smiling, and so were most of us as she went around and chatted with everyone.”

Juniper says the encounter also gave her a new way of looking at Mulvaney’s influence — and her own future.

“I look at her now with so much both behind and ahead of me since then, and I think, ‘If she can be this radiant, encouraging inspiration to others, so can I.’”

Mulvaney, meanwhile, left the Strawberry Social as a new fan of Summer of Sass herself.

“I really hope that we all show up for Summer of Sass because it’s a really special organization,” she told Out, “and I’m so glad I know about them now.”

It's been an eventful year for Mulvaney, who wrapped her Broadway run portraying Anne Boleyn in Six the Musical in May. She unexpectedly made mainstream news headlines in July when President Trump attempted to make her the butt of a transphobic joke at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner — after which Mulvaney delivered an epic comeback.

“To the president, thank you for reminding me that I am more powerful than I even knew,” she said.

This year's Strawberry Social raised over $10,000 for Summer of Sass. Learn more at summerofsass.org.