By Crystal Harrell
Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend, popularly known as “The Dinah”, will continue its tradition as a five-day weekend getaway and music festival catering to the queer women/non-binary/lesbian community from September 20 to 24.
32 years ago, The Dinah founder Mariah Hanson did more than just kick-start the event. She launched what would become her enduring legacy to the City of Palm Springs and the LGBT, lesbian event community. From a small, one-night event at a Palm Springs museum with 1,500 participants, 30 years ago, to booking lavish locations at deluxe hotels over five days of epic pool parties and world-class entertainment with some 15,000-plus attendees and significant corporate sponsors today, Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend has evolved into one of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley’s largest tourism boosters and undisputed biggest lesbian pool party event in Palm Springs and the whole world.
This year’s lineup features a variety of fantastic performers, including Princess Nokia, Doechii, G Flip, phem, Black Box, Keeana Kee, and Xana—along with sets by DJ Alexa D, DJ China G, DJ Gracy, DJ Les Ortiz, DJ Mo, and DJ Tatiana .
“The Dinah has a magical existing formula that we don’t deviate from too much. The event starts on Wednesday and it ends Sunday or arguably Monday morning. We follow the same format, so we’ve got a meet and greet. Thursday is an opening party, Friday’s pool party and the black and white ball. Saturday is another pool party, Saturday night is the Hollywood party, Sunday is a pool party and Sunday night is a closing party,” explained Hanson.
Thanks to her efforts to create unity through an international celebration, Hanson has received the coveted key to the City of Palm Springs, presented by openly out Mayor Ron Oden in 1998. She has appeared in Out 100’s list of influential lesbians, received numerous awards and accolades, including the nationally renowned Athena Award, a Legacy Award by Palm Springs Pride and a Lifetime Achievement award by The Coachella Valley LGBT Community Center. She received an Achievement Award with Lily Tomlin by NCLR in 2015 and before she fell in love with her partner, Special Education director Maureen Vanderpool, she was voted #36 most eligible single lesbians by lesbian.com.
“The Dinah is the most recognized Queer women event in in the world, really. I think the marriage of The Dinah in Palm Springs has been a formula for success. Palm Springs is a welcoming progressive city and The Dinah certainly is an inclusive, welcoming and important event for queer women. It’s important to be aligned with a city that embraces values that reflect diversity, inclusivity, and Palm Springs has done such an incredible job of taking a stand for the importance of that,” stated Hanson.
In the 32 years The Dinah has taken place in Palm Springs, there was a significant surge in popularity when The L Word Showtime series filmed a couple of episodes at The Dinah, putting the Palm Springs event on a global stage. The Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend is also committed to topnotch talent, having had some very famous names on its stage that—combined with the sunshine and beauty of Palm Springs—has been a recipe for success. Past headliners have included Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, the Pussycat Dolls, the Indigo Girls, Ke$ha, and many more.
“I think it’s an important time more than ever for cities to be embracing events like The Dinah.
I think that in what is becoming an increasingly conservative climate in the United States, welcoming women and welcoming queer women is a sign of not only commitment to the inclusivity and diversity that we look for, but also to humanity. So kudos to Margaritaville and to Palm Springs for not only welcoming the group, but ensuring that this is its home and they’re proud to have us here,” said Hanson.
Visit the dinah.com to learn more about the history of this groundbreaking event and the hotel packages available to ticket holders.
