the “L” effect by morgan m. hurley –
I am both excited and honored to have been asked to write a column for The Rage Monthly. Be sure to watch this space every quarter for my musings.For this inaugural April issue, I’d be remiss not to muse on what is without a doubt the busiest month of the year for the Coachella Valley.
Four of the largest gatherings of different genres take place this month: Dinah Shore Weekend for lesbians (Wednesday, April 3 through Sunday, April 7); Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival for music and trend seekers (Friday to Sunday, April 12 through 14 and 19 through 21); Stagecoach for country music fans (Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28); and the White Party Palm Springs for gay men (Friday, April 26 through Monday, April 29). The influx of people to the region is an eye-popping 375,000 total, for what is normally a sleepy little valley.
This doesn’t even count the ANA Inspiration LPGA Championship (Monday, April 1 through Sunday, April 7), which, starting as the Colgate-Dinah Winner’s Circle tournament in 1972, first began attracting lesbians to the Palm Springs area on an annual basis. Lots of lesbians play professional golf—especially back then, though closeted—which in turn drew large crowds of lesbians, all who needed a place to stay.
I’ve been making the annual pilgrimage to Dinah Shore Weekend myself since the late 1980s, long before the cottage industry it is today. In those early years, standing inches from professional golfers was the goal, and hopping from one hotel to the next in search of San Diego lesbians hanging poolside was just the sidebar.
Thanks to promoter Mariah Hanson, things eventually morphed into a more structured set of pool parties, taking place at either the Riviera or the Wyndham (now Renaissance) every other year in tandem, with the Doral always the second host hotel, just a quick shuttle bus away.
“I remember seeing Ellen Degeneres do comedy, women’s lube wrestling at Daddy Warbucks, running frantically to claim a lounge chair at the pool, painting my breasts with latex-based paint, dueling Dinah’s when the promoters (Girl Bar and Club Skirts) split, the Easter Sunday earthquake sloshing water out of the pool, and breakfast at Sherman’s.”
Soon a lesbian comedy night was added, along with our own “White Party” dance. Eventually musical performers and deejays arrived, all of which truly made it a destination event, rather than simply a dip in the pool with a few close friends.
By then golf had become the sidebar, but I still rarely missed walking the “back nine” of the championship final on Sundays, watching the winner jump ceremoniously into the pond (as Dinah had done), and hanging out in the clubhouse afterward, partying with all the players.
It’s important to note that the weekend was first named after Dinah Shore specifically because of her attachment to the golf tournament, not because the former crooner and 1970s talk show host preferred the company of women; and rumor has it she was not happy to be associated with a lesbian gathering of any sort.
Sadly, Shore passed in 1994 and her name was eventually removed from the tournament-turned-major championship in 2000, but the homage paid, based on the millions of women travelers she inspired, lives on.
For years, the annual weekend generally drew lesbians from California, Nevada and Arizona, but once it was featured on Showtime’s The L Word, attendance exploded, attracting women from all over the world. It has, arguably, not been the same since. Today, The Dinah is hosted annually at the Hilton Palm Springs with dance parties and musical performances at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
I have so many memories of past Dinah’s. Some of my favorite trips were the rare occasion when the men’s White Party fell on the same weekend and Toucans would be overflowing with fun. I remember seeing Ellen Degeneres do comedy, women’s lube wrestling at Daddy Warbucks, running frantically to claim a lounge chair at the pool, painting my breasts with latex-based paint, dueling Dinah’s when the promoters (Girl Bar and Club Skirts) split, the Easter Sunday earthquake sloshing water out of the pool, and breakfast at Sherman’s. I also remember when Palm Springs was quite conservative; they currently have an all-LGBT City Council.
While times have certainly changed, Palm Springs will always be a go-to destination for this lesbian, especially in early April.
Morgan M. Hurley is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer. You can reach her at morganmhurley8@gmail.com.