Discover Why The Dinah 2010 Should Be Your Must Attend Lesbian Event Next Year

Ladies, Queeried has a question for you, what are you doing March 31st through April 4th next year?  Go on, go check your diary and find out, we can wait.

Discovered you’re free? Well that’s excellent news, because it means you’re free to attend Club Skirts The Dinah 2010 event in Palm Springs, California, and if you’ve yet to attend one this is the perfect year to pop your The Dinah cherry because 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of this incredible event.

Put together, as always, by the amazing Mariah Hanson, a woman who not only knows how to put on a great event, but has a brilliant business head on those shoulders, and is something of a lesbian icon to boot, this event promises to be the biggest and best yet.

So Why Is The Dinah Called the Dinah?

Well that’s down to one woman, Dinah Shore. A TV personality, singer and golfer, Dinah (who was actually born Frances Rose Shore back in 1916) was a woman with as many strings in her bow as Mariah, and that included putting on events, in her case – the Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Tournament in Palm Springs back in 1978.

At first this was an event that was all about the golf, but by 1986 women flocked to Palm Springs as much for the social element as the sport, and saw the first unofficial Dinah Shore weekend took place with the after dinner parties following the golfing filled with women more than happy to combine having fun with raising funds for worthy causes including the Human Rights Campaign and the AIDS Service Foundation.

And it was this social part of the event where Hanson saw an opportunity in the shape of one massive spring time party that would bring together the LGBT community to overdose on some of the best entertainment they would ever experience, and who better to dedicate it to than the woman who lead to occurring in the first place.

What Makes The Dinah Different From Other Lesbian Events?

Well apart from the fact it runs from 5 days as opposed to the usual half day you’ll find with most other events, the real thing that makes The Dinah stand out is that it’s not just another event where people book into lots of different hotels then spend half the time trying to find each other.

In fact calling the Dinah an event acts to undermine it, this social networking and entertainment getaway is much more than that. It’s an experience, with Hanson, in talking about the first event in 1991 when she hired out the Palm Springs Museum, reinforcing just explaining “I wanted to create an experience where the hotels were 100 percent occupied by guests instead of only a room block … the guests needed to feel like they had died and gone to entertainment heaven. The concept worked.”

It Sounds Great But Isn’t It Just A US Thing?

Wash your mouth out with soapy water, no it most definitely is not. Mariah has done an incredible job in making The Dinah one of the biggest lesbian events in the world, and works to make it as inclusive as possible, not only with the sponsors she gets on board, but more importantly by making sure the entertainment is something that is going to appeal to women from all corners of the globe, and she’s definitely achieved that with previous attendees to the event coming from as far as Australia, France, England, Germany, Scandinavia, Asia, Canada, Russia and South America to see line ups that have included the Pussy Cat Dolls, Kate Perry and one of the hottest tickets at the moment, Lady Gaga.

So Why Should You Make The Trip in 2010?

Where to begin. Firstly there’s the fact that the event ties in with the 30th anniversary of National Women’s History Month giving us all even more reason (if we didn’t have enough already) to celebrate the female species.Then there’s the addition of some very exciting activities including the Dinah Comic, an American Idol like contest to select THE best stand-up comedian, and a new partnership with the trademark brand “The Hottest…”that will host its “Hottest Lesbian” finals at the Dinah for the winning prize of $5,000.

Add to this the fact that The Dinah 2010 will see a Sunday Pool Party event put on by Hansen and celebrity photographer Adam Bouska and his partner Jeff Parshley – the creators of the duct taped No H8 Campaign – that will allow you to have your face painted with the symbolic NoH8 black and red logo, have your photo taken and become a part of a Dinah group picture that will be added to the ongoing campaign and you’ll not only be able to have fun but make sure you’re making a difference in the process.

Oh, and then there’s the small matter of an amazing entertainment line-up that’s going to be released later on this year, which we’ve heard on the gay grapevine (it’s like a normal grapevine but just a lot more stylish) that it’s one of the best yet, which is saying a lot when you check out the names that have previously graced The Dinah over the least 20 years!

- The Pussy Cat Dolls
- Lady Gaga
- Katy Perry
- Indigo Girls
- En Vogue
- Robin S.
- Crystal Waters
- Pat Benatar
- Cast of The L Word
- Margaret Cho
- Colbie Caillat
- Joan Jett
- Carmen Electra
- Lisa Lisa
- Suzanne Westenhoefer
- Ilene Chaken
- India Arie
- Kathy Najimy
- Mo Gaffney
- Sophie B. Hawkins
- Pepper Mashay
- Bonnie Pointer
- Camilla Grey
- Sandra Bernhardt
- Betty!
- Kristy Swanson
- Maive Quinlin

You can find out more about next year’s event at The Dinah website, as well as keep yourself bang up to date with all the latest news via the Dinah Shore Twitter account and Facebook group.