If you’re queer and you haven’t heard of The Dinah, then get your pens and notebooks ready—it’s time for a little Gay History. We learn about Woodstock, and we all know Lollapalooza, Coachella, and Burning Man, but everyone, EVERYONE, needs to know about The Dinah, aka the largest lesbian party in the entire world.
Mariah Hanson is the visionary that started it all. Thirty years ago, Hanson realized that queer and lesbian interactions shouldn’t be sequestered to dark, dingy bars. Lesbians were on the outskirts of the LGBTQ community, marginalized and invalidated by society as a whole, and even by fellow queer people. They deserved a space to celebrate their queerness joyously, openly.
The idea came to Hanson in 1991 in conjunction with a women’s golf tournament that was held in Palm Springs. She observed droves of lesbians flocking to the desert town to watch the tourney, but there was nothing for them to do after the day’s festivities ended. So, Hanson made a bold and exceedingly controversial move—she booked the Palm Springs Modern Art Museum and hosted the first Dinah event.
But getting a city behind the idea of hosting a queer super-bash in the 90s was an uphill battle, to say the least. “Palm Springs used to be a very conservative city, so the local response to our event was not always as welcoming as it surely is now,” Hanson tells OFM in 2019. “We’ve worked hard to build relationships in the city and with the city.” Even with the city’s more progressive population today, obstacles still stand in the way. Securing hotels and acquiring reasonable rates for guests continues to be a challenge each year, as the event books at capacity in 100 percent lesbian-occupied spaces.
It’s a challenge that Hanson is ready to face head-on every, single year. The Dinah has grown exponentially from its debut event, now hosting more than 15,000 queer and female attendees every year for five glorious days of concerts, pool parties, comedy shows, celebrity meet-and-greets, and more. As the fabulous week winds down, Dinah-goers return home with unforgettably unique memories of what queer celebration can look like.
“The Dinah strives to be more than a party,” Hanson says. “It serves to remind ourselves each year that we are a powerful and inspirational community, and we deserve the very best life has to offer. If we can change one life and make one person feel like they belong, we’ve done good work.”
This year will be The Dinah’s 30th anniversary, and it’s promising to be the COVID-safe blow out we’ve all been craving. Although the festival headliner list has yet to drop, tickets are already going fast as lesbian, nonbinary, trans, and allied folx from across the world rush to snag their spot at the surreal soiree. Every guest must present a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination before being granted access to the event.
As the number of attendees grows, so too must the location, with this year’s host being the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Dinah’s website is already chock-full of fantastic festival activities for you to plan out your perfect queer vacation, so snag your tickets while they’re still available!
Photos courtesy of @TheDinah on Facebook
