Ahead of Club Skirt’s The Dinah (September 20th weekend 2023), OutNews Global Editor, Maz Gordon, caught up with The Dinah’s CEO & Founder, Mariah Hanson
What made you want to start The Dinah back in 1991?
At college I threw a lot of queer women’s parties. Then I made a career in the nightclub community. I wanted to start an event for women who like women in a really amazing place. I set out to create an exciting, community building, life affirming stellar experience for women. I’ve always loved Palm Springs, so we chose the world-renowned Palm Springs Modern Art Museum for our first Dinah. It sold out. Women drank martinis surrounded by millions of dollars of artwork.
How many women attend The Dinah?
We get between 5,000 – 10,000 women from all over the world. The Dinah is considered to be the largest lesbian / queer Women’s event in the world.
Is The Dinah an inclusive event for trans women and non-binary people?
We call The Dinah a women’s weekend, not a lesbian weekend as it’s for women that like women, including trans and non-binary people. All genders are welcome at The Dinah but it’s primarily a women’s weekend and we are proud of that.
What’s the vibe like in Palm Springs at the moment for trans women?
Sadly, we’ve seen how quickly things can go backwards in America and how much we need to fight for our rights. The Dinah has an ethos of inclusion and empowerment, where we aim to leave politics of the outside world at the door. We feel that we should be tolerant and compassionate to others, whether their views match ours or not. We have all had different life experiences but quite simply we want everyone to be respectful, and treat each other with the respect they deserve.
What we hear so much is “The vibe here is amazing”. We are here to serve our community.
If you can bring all of our diverse communities here for 5 days to party together, you can model how the world can be.
The Dinah appears to have women of all ages. How do you keep attracting women of every age?
Women who came to The Dinah 20 – 30 years ago are now older. Some will return every year to see their friends and because we try to keep things fresh and make sure we keep appealing to them. So for instance we might get the Indigo Girls playing, who will appeal mainly to women over 40.
Each year we try to showcase fresh talent, so we might have performers who play the latest music that is on the radio. This will attract our younger attendees.
The Dinah is a global bucket list
What kind of performers do you get at The Dinah
The Dinah is an event that helps make legends. Over the years we have had celebrities including Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Lizzo, Tegan and Sarah, Lea Delaria, Margaret Chow, Kate Moenigg and Leisha Hailey We often showcase new artists before they’ve hit the big time.
What’s the 2023 lineup at The Dinah like?
We have a new generation of queer performers. Princess Nokia is headlining. We also have Doechii, Plem, G Flip, Black Box, DJ Alex D and a whole 5 days of music.
Princess Nokia is an electrifying, gender – nonconforming, queer NY rapper. Her single “I like Him” racked up over 890,000 likes, becoming Princess Nokia’s first single to earn a RIAA gold certification. The New York born, Puerto Rocan, MC, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and style icon is a symbol of possibility and a well deserved headliner for The Dinah’s Saturday night.
Most of our readers are in the UK. Do you get many coming over from the UK?
We get women coming to The Dinah from all over the world. You’ll meet Americans, Australians, women from the UK, Asia or other parts. Many plan their Dinah trip a year ahead. Join our facebook group HERE. Many women post from other countries, looking to meet others before they arrive.
For tickets and information about The Dinah 2024 – CLICK HERE. 2024 tickets will be on sale soon!
