This year I decided to DO Dinah (as opposed to last year when I ran away and went camping). It’s basically “how long can I survive in the heat before I die” and then “how long can I stay at this party before I pass out” and repeat.
Things to bring:
- sunscreen
- phone charger
- swim suit
- something to put over your swimsuit
- some sort of white-ish outfit
- donuts
- your dog (if your lodging allows)
DAY 1
LA —> Palm Springs
I had the privilege of being housed by the Stuzo Clothing team and Girls With Flair at their rental.
And we were off to the opening party.
Devmo
Back at the house, Stuzo was hard at work getting ready for the weekend.
DAY 2
We took a morning swim.
And were off to the pool party.
Goodboy
I checked into the Saguaro for some rest. I highly recommend having a place to hideaway from the action.
And then it was time for the White Party.
Us, kind of wearing white.
DAY 3
We woke up and caught some pool time at the hotel.
And headed back to the Hilton for another day in the sun.
I escaped to another friend’s rental for some quiet pool time.
He called shotgun
And back to the hotel for a nap.
And some evening bocce ball
Then it was time for the “Hollywood Party”
Angel Haze
We ended up at a house party and this happened…
DAY 4
Woke up early and headed to the Hilton to catch Madison Paige opening the final “Wet and Wild” pool party.
Madison Paige
Then I headed over to the Ace to catch some mellower vibes.
Romy
And with a milkshake from “Great Shakes”…
We were
And without a sunburn which is a MAJOR accomplishment.
I loved the pictures. Especially the one with the dog before the white party. It looks so fun but also exhausting as fuck. But it’s probably just me since I don’t dance so it would be too much for me. Until I have some alcohol that is.
What was with the chicks eating donuts?
I really appreciate these pictures! I feel like whenever I’ve seen coverage of Dinah before it was official photos, which give everything this super glamorous sheen. This allowed me to see “real people”, if that makes sense? Different ages, races, body types. Which made the event feel more accessible and fun than how I’ve been imagining it these past few years.
I spy Austin celesbians!
Wait WHERE! I just looked through twice but I’m super under caffeinated and allergy blind… Who was it!!
Ok, first off, for the baby dyke in the room, what exactly *is* Dinah? My understanding is that it’s a golf tournament that’s since turned into a massive dance party for queer women (or, as wiki described it, “Spring Break for lesbians”)- is that about right?
Secondly, it’s stuff like this that makes me really wish I’d figured myself out sooner- I feel like I missed out on enjoying a lot of this stuff properly as a wild early-20-something queer girl (since I was too busy trying to be a shy, straight-laced heterocis dude, and wouldn’t have had the confidence to even *dream* of going to something like this). Now I’m almost 30 with a soon-to-be-full-time job (doing what I love, admittedly) and a fiancee (who I also love dearly), and while I’m certainly happy with how my life has turned out, I’m not sure if I’ll ever really get that experience. Sigh.
It does look a bit like a large Spring Break party to me. I’m not really sure either though, not without Googling it first. It looks like the folks there are having fun though! =)
And if it’s any consolation, I’ve never been to it either. Being on the east coast of the US, Palm Springs, California is a bit far away from where I am.
I’ve never been either. Mainly because I don’t have a group (or anyone) to go with. And taking my sister is weird because…I wanna go join the debauchery xD
Okay I don’t know much about Dinah but I DO know that 30 is soooo not too late to go on sweet queer vacays. For one thing, maybe you can afford it now! Paid vacations and all that!
I hate spring break type stuff so Dinah doesn’t appeal to me but I am 32 and about to go to A-Camp for the first time. I think your thirties are prime time for wish fulfillment! <3
It’s definitely my hope that I’ll be able to do more “stuff” some day (I’m 28). There’s a bunch of stuff in my life that I’ve never done, and some of it would be nice to do, I guess. And maybe I won’t have someone break up with me again because I haven’t done “enough” in my life (Yeah, sadly, that happened).
Vacations can be hard to schedule though, ya know? We only get a certain number of PTO days per year, and I have this constant fear that I’ll be sick or have something I need to take care of and not have days for it (♫♫♫ Vacation, all I ever wanted, vacation, something-something-something ♫♫♫)
Yeah, PTO is a bitch. (No offense to bitches.) I kind of like the fact that at my work sick time and vacay are separate. It can still be hard to get away, though. The first three years I was here I racked up a ton of time because I was always too busy to take off!
Never too old. There were some ladies in their 60’s and 70’s getting down.
You are never too old for Dinah(though I think the minimum age is 21 cause of alcohol reasons). When I went to Dinah a few years back I was 28, and I remember seeing many women who were in the much older than I with their gfs/wives/partners having a blast. It could be something to do with your fiancée one Spring just to have that wild girls weekend. Only downside is one maybe sad on Monday cause the world isn’t this queer lady-filled and in my case gender neutral bathroom filled(like everyone where I went there was bathrooms for men, women, and gender neutral people)
Hmmm, maybe I’ll see if I can persuade my fiancee at some point, then. And glad to hear they’ve got plenty of gender neutral bathrooms (my fiancee’s gender identity is…complicated).
Oh my god…a lesbian festival of dreams!! I don’t like the sun or swimming/swimsuits, but that looks like heaven!
Wow Dinah! I’m tryna go next year for sure and am totally fangirling that you got a photo of Ari and Amber! Like!!
As always you post great pictures. I would also add to list a waterproof bag for phone or camera cause the water is where the fun’s at. I had a blast in the water and so many nice women there.
This managed to make me feel really old.
I worked all weekend while Dinah was happening!! :( oh well, there’s always next year. Le sigh…..
Loved the pictures. I always enjoy your work
I feel like I would like to go to Dinah one day but I don’t know if I would take full advantage of the event since I am partnered up
???
Fantastic photos! So many beautiful people. I’m hoping I can make it out there next year.
Such great photos! And so many amazing tattoos. <3
Thank you for this! I love seeing queer women having loads of fun. I read an article about Dinah Shore in the Guardian and while it was written by a queer woman (yay) she found it important to emphasize early on that we don’t hate straight guys, really! They’re cool and we’re cool with them! I asked her on Twitter if it why she felt the need to assuage cishet male egos by emphasizing we don’t hate them (and, uh, I don’t but speak for yourself). She said she thinks it’s still a common stereotype and it won’t go away if we don’t address it. My reaction: Why do you need to center cishet dudes in an article about Dinah Shore? I get it’s not a queer publication but dear god I get tired of what seems like queers prioritizing cishet perspectives of us. End of rant and thanks for being unapologetically queer, autostraddle!
I’d never heard of Dinah until I watched The L Word on Netflix..lol. It looks like fun, if exhausting. Having places to escape would be important, I think. Also, when I saw the pic of the gray-haired lady with the sleeve tattoo, I thought “I want to be like her when I grow up!” lol