Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend

Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend
Genre Electronic music
Dates each Spring for 5 days
Location(s) Palm Springs, California
Years active 1991–present (unofficial starting in 1986)
Founded by Mariah Hanson
Attendance ≈20,000
Capacity varies per venue
Website
TheDinah

Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend, popularly known as “The Dinah”, is a five-day weekend getaway and music festival catering to the lesbian community that takes place annually in Palm Springs, California in the United States. It is considered the largest lesbian event in the United States and the world. Held each spring, the event offers a series of pool parties, night entertainment, live concerts by Top Ten Billboard recording artists, comedy shows, sport-games and social networking opportunities.

Primarily catering to the lesbian demographics, The Dinah celebrates the tapestry of women around the world attracting some 10,000-plus participants from countries such as Australia, Russia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, China, South Africa, Belgium and Spain. Over the years, it has gradually rallied the corporate support of market leaders such as Miller Beer, MTV/LOGO Networks, here! TV, Sirius Radio, Showtime, O.B. Tampons, Shake Weight and Bacardi among others.

History

First events

Pool Party 2011

The Dinah Shore Weekend was named after the late Dinah Shore – a singer, TV personality and renowned golfer, born Frances Rose Shore, in 1916, who lived in the Coachella Valley and is credited for having founded in Palm Springs the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle. The Dinah now coincides with the Kraft Nabisco Championship women’s golf tournament. The first unofficial Dinah Shore Weekend took place in 1986 when women began to flock to Palm Springs in conjunction with the tournament. After-dinner parties following the golfing turned benefits for the Human Rights Campaign and the AIDS Service Foundation.

Official debut

The first Dinah Shore Weekend was produced in 1991 by Mariah Hanson under her Club Skirts Presents The Dinah Marquee at the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Recent years

In 2006 Guinevere Turner featured the event in the TV documentary A Lez in Wonderland (original title: Broute-minou à Palm Springs).[1]

Timeline and highlights

Year Highlights
1993 First Major magazine to sponsor The Dinah: Out Magazine
1994 First long term contract with a major hotel: The Riviera Resort
1994 Expanded to Sunday night making it a four-day event
1995 Ellen DeGeneres attended as guest at the Friday night White Party
1997 Received proclamation from Republican and Conservative Mayor Kleindienst acknowledging March 29 as Gay Tourism Day Dinah Shore Weekend Day
1998 Signed ten-year contract with The Wyndham
2000 Added Doral as second overflow hotel
2001 Added Wednesday night, making it a five-day event
2003 Added Wednesday night, making it a five-day event.
2006 The Dinah joined forces with Planet Out to produce the exclusive Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend. Headline performances by The Pussycat Dolls, En Vogue, and Joan Jett.
2007 The Dinah teamed up with The L Word creator Ilene Chaiken to produce an exclusive L Word event with actresses Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey and Jane Lynch called “be Scene”. Headliners featured India.Arie and Uh Huh Her.
2008 Colbie Caillat, Lisa Lisa and Pat Benatar headlined The Dinah. The official LOGO Networks and here! TV Red Carpet events launched
2009 The Dinah booked Grammy nominees Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Indigo Girls, as well as Margaret Cho and Uh Huh Her to headline the night parties/concerts.
2010 The Dinah celebrates its 20th milestone anniversary. Headliners featured Salt-N-Pepa, Ke$ha, Martha Davis and The Motels, and Paradiso Girls. Celebrity photographer Adam Bouska and[Jeff Parshley hosted a “NOH8” Sunday Pool Party.
2011 Chely Wright, Natasha Bedingfield and Dev and The Cataracs headlined The Dinah. Actress Brittany Snow and MTV/Logo hosted a “Love is Louder” Sunday Pool Party to raise awareness on school bullying and discrimination. Celebrities attending included Laurel Holloman (“The L Word”), Fernanda Rocha (The Real Housewives of Orange County), Whitney Mixter and Rose Garcia (“The Real L Word”).

Activism and humanitarian endeavors

White Party at Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend 2011

The Dinah has become a platform to mobilize the lesbian community around LGBT-oriented humanitarian projects and social issues. Hanson has teamed up with a variety of organizations and lent her support to various humanitarian causes and activist movements such as GLAAD, NOH8, LOVE IS LOUDER, The San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Community Center, The Women's Building, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Jon Sims Center, Ladies Philharmonic, Uhuru Movement, HRC, Lyon Martin Health Clinic, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Center, and Equality California. Hanson just ended her second term on the Board of Equality California and also sits on the "Women's Night" committee for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. Both organizations are named charity recipients of The Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend.

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ↑ A Lez in Wonderland at the Internet Movie Database

External links

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