Thirty-two years into running the Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend, aka The Dinah, held each year in late September in Palm Springs, California, Mariah Hanson’s learned a thing or two about the evolving culture of lesbian and bisexual women (and their allies) and about what makes a great experience for LGBTQ2S+ people.
This year’s festival, which runs September 20 to 24, will feature performances by gender-nonconforming queer New York rapper Princess Nokia, Florida rapper Doechii, L.A.-based queer indie singer Phem, non-binary Melbourne-born, L.A.-based performer G Flip and, for a breath of retro, 1990s dance sensation Black Box, as well as several other acts.
We asked Hanson about being in charge of one of the biggest female-focused festivals in the world, about her home base of Sonoma County, her party base of Palm Springs and where she herself loves to go on holidays.
On the changing female-identified scene since she started organizing parties in the 1990s.
We were a community that wasn’t always comfortable 32 years ago of being out, bold and living out loud. The generational change has been powerful to watch. We went from sending advertisements out in envelopes, because people were worried about what the postal carrier thought, to that being a moot point. The biggest change I’ve seen is gender fluidity, how comfortable and empowered individuals are to be their true, authentic selves, which goes beyond our community. We’re predominantly what we call now a female-identified event, but we have never, ever said men couldn’t come. And so trans men are thoroughly welcome. Women have male friends and they should be able to hang out with them when they’re attending. Yet we still manage to keep it 95 percent female-identified, so something’s working.
On whether The Dinah, or something like it, could happen in other cities.
It could. The name has cachet. But I have always said no to that because I would feel like I’m cannibalizing the brand. Its home is Palm Springs. One of the pitfalls that any business owner who has created a successful model falls into is, “Wow, this is successful, let’s do it bigger and better in this location and that location.” I don’t necessarily think that’s always the best thing.
On how she keeps it fresh.
Every year is filled with so many different challenges that I don’t think I ever have a dull moment. We had a new hotel last year—it wasn’t easy. The world’s changing and social media is something any business has to deal with. There may not be such a thing as bad publicity, but we don’t want to encourage drama. The mission statement for the event is very strong and only people who understand the mission are invited to work it. The lineup this year is almost 100 percent queer women, non-binary people. They’re making such inroads in the music industry and leading the way, creating stories in their music and videos that reflect our lives. This lineup wouldn’t have been possible even two years ago. It’s like queer music explosion. It’s exciting and trans.
On Coachella, the hipster music festival that’s held just up the valley from Palm Springs each spring.
Does Coachella radius-clause me [a clause in an artist’s contract that prohibits them from booking gigs within a certain geographical radius]? Yes. They radius-clause me every year, which I take as a great compliment. My greatest loss to Coachella was Hayley Kiyoko. They wouldn’t let her play for me and now she’s impossible to get.
On how Palm Springs, where Hanson has a vacation home, has changed over the years.
It’s more polished these days because LGBTQ2S+ people have come to live there, revamping all the homes and bringing a little bit of that style that Palm Springs was once so famous for, back in the golden era of Hollywood. The resurgence in the interest in modernism has attracted people interested in looking at these incredibly unique homes which our community has restored and celebrated. We try to go four or five times a year. My partner’s mom lives there.
On her must-dos (aside from The Dinah) when she’s in Palm Springs.
You’ve got to drive to Idyllwild [about an hour away, in the San Jacinto Mountains], which reminds me of Brigadoon. It’s a magical little mountain town that’s relatively undiscovered. The hiking, the mountain climbing, the rock climbing there—all first class. It’s the cutest town in the world with really friendly, welcoming people. I’m a horseback rider so I know the trails up there really well. I’m a nerdy gay person. I rode mountain patrol for the National Forest Service. I’ve got my little vest and badge. How about that!
On what to check out in Sonoma County.
This whole area is so amazing. I would really check out Sonoma wines. Napa is better known, but the Sonoma wine-tasting experience is incredible. If I had to pick one winery, it’d be Buena Vista, which is one of the oldest wineries, founded in the 1850s. The wines are excellent, but the whole property is stunning. Remember that you need reservations just to get into some of these places, it’s become so popular. The towns and surrounding areas are so quaint and speak to early California history. You can’t miss Jack London State Historic Park, but there’s also Trione-Annadel and Sugarloaf Ridge parks for retreats back into nature—so many places where you won’t see even a house. There is the Mission San Francisco Solano and the Sonoma Barracks from the Mexican-American War [both part of Sonoma State Historic Park].
On her favourite place to visit outside the U.S.
I’m Greek, so I love the Greek islands, and I love how eco-friendly they are. I just love how you’re walking down the street, you turn a corner and there’s an ancient Greek ruin. I love how they live. I’m always reminded that we’re a little too fast-paced here in the States and that we need to learn the lessons of balance that Europe teaches us. Mykonos, of course, is fun because it is just so gay. But Santorini is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. I know there is a catch-22 in these places: you have a beautiful place to live and it gets discovered and the tourist trade is an excellent way to make an income, but then you lose something when it comes to the saturation point. But the truth is that there’s nothing permanent and that we’re always losing something and we’re always gaining something.
