For nearly two decades, Hillary Brown has spent one Friday every summer on the sand at Sound View Beach in Old Lyme, Connecticut, doing something that sounds disarmingly simple: she takes the day off. No work, no children underfoot, no errands pressing. Just a circle of friends, a stretch of beach, some games and shared food, and the company of Long Island Sound. It began as a small outing for a few dozen women who wanted a moment of rest, and it grew quietly into a tradition people planned their summers around. This year, that tradition found itself at the center of a very different kind of attention — and, in the end, it found itself on a different beach entirely.
The event Brown created is called the Black and Brown Experience End of Summer Beach Gathering, an all-day wellness outing she describes less as a party than as a shared act of self-care. "It is an experience: taking a day off, enjoying sitting by the water, enjoying each other's company, sharing food, and empowering each other just to keep going," she told NBC Connecticut. Over the years the gathering has grown from that original circle of women to roughly a hundred people and expanded to include men, all drawn to what one longtime participant, Beth Murphy of Bloomfield, described in almost Zen-like terms: "It's just a regular day at the beach with a bunch of friends. That's it. That's the whole purpose: to take a day off from work — no kids, no work, no problems — put all your worries aside, go sit by the water, and enjoy yourself with friends."
Brown, who is Black and attracts a largely Black following but welcomes people of every background, ethnicity, and sexuality, has held the gathering at Sound View for nearly two decades. For most of that time it passed largely unnoticed. Only in the past two years did the event begin including a DJ, and Brown insisted the music was hardly raucous; in fact, she recalled, even the police and state troopers who kept an eye on the gathering got into the spirit, requesting songs and dancing along with the crowd.
That all changed in August 2026. The organizers had already held a gathering in June — with the same DJ — and then planned a second, end-of-summer gathering for Friday, August 28, with a theme asking attendees to wear black and brown attire so they could recognize one another on the beach.
The theme was an innocent, practical choice, but it collided with a town's growing concern about sound. First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker said police and community members had raised concerns about the upcoming event, including the potential size of the crowd and the presence of a DJ, and at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, August 17, she proposed a last-minute permitting requirement with the intent of stopping the event.
At the meeting, Shoemaker did not hide her intent. When a fellow selectman wondered what could be done if the event went ahead anyway, she reportedly replied, "I mean, we can also pray for rain." She wanted the permit requirement in place so she could block the August 28 event, worried about the potential size of the crowd.
Republican John Mesham criticized the plan. The board ultimately tabled the proposal, agreeing to let the Sound View Commission hold a special meeting. On Thursday night, the commission voted unanimously to recommend a ban on DJs, amplified music, amplified voices, PA and sound systems, generators, and catering or food service on the public beach. Co-chair Michaelle Pearson, a Democrat married to Selectman Lampos and a Sound View resident, defended the move. Members of the commission noted that the beach's regulations dated to 1960 and needed to catch up with the times. "Unfortunately, we've been more reactive than proactive with a lot of this stuff because, you know, we didn't have a rule against paddle boards because who had paddle boards back in 1960? Nobody," Pearson said. "So, as these things occur we need to kind of react to them." Co-chair Frank Pappalardo, a Republican, began the meeting by stating it was not intended to address any particular event, and cut short a commission member who raised the event's advertising.
Brown, meanwhile, said no one from the town ever reached out to her about the dispute or offered a compromise. She learned of the deliberations only when the news spread across social media, and the controversy became a firestorm. Posts by BLM 860 and others fueled claims and denials that the effort was motivated by racism.
Shoemaker said her concern was noise and the potential size of the crowd. Brown chose not to fight. Instead of resisting the town or the proposed rules, she took what she called the high road and moved the event to Ocean Beach Park in New London for Friday, August 28. "Currently, I just don't feel I owe Sound View anything at this point," she told the CT Examiner. "Just time to move on and explore other beaches in the area." She added, "Everything happens for a reason. Everything has a time and a place. And every new day brings fresh opportunities to live a good life." She reaffirmed that the black and brown theme was about clothing and attire, not skin color, and that her events are open to everyone regardless of color or sexuality.
Brown noted that Ocean Beach, like Old Lyme's proposed rules, does not allow DJs, but its rules are stated clearly on its website, so she is at peace with it. "Plus, there's more to do and engage in, so it makes for a great day off to enjoy and that's what matters — that we are focused on our self-care," she said.
There was something almost symbolic in the move. A gathering that had quietly existed for nearly twenty years on the Connecticut shore suddenly found itself talked about in rooms it had never been invited into. Its organizer wanted nothing more than a day at the beach with friends, and in the end she still got it — just on a different stretch of sand where she says she feels welcome.
Brown said she spoke with Shoemaker prior to the commission meeting and was assured that the new rules were not intended to stop her event, but that she could not bring a DJ.
For Murphy, the outcome was simple. "It's going to be just a fun time, just like it was going to be in Old Lyme. It's just moving to a different location now," she said. And on a Friday at the end of summer, that had been the point all along.