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Double organizers, double the parties for Dinah Shore
JOAN JETT, Taylor Dayne among entertainers
from: thedesertsun.com
by Nelsy Rodriguez
The Kraft Nabisco Golf Tournament is upon us, and for thousands of people, mostly lesbians, that means the entertainment has arrived.
And this year, the festivities known as Dinah Shore Weekend are even bigger, thanks to a split in organizational groups.
In January, the two main production companies that had staged events together for more than a decade - Club Skirts and Girl Bars Inc. - severed ties, and each is now presenting a separate lineup.
Their bills this year collectively offer 21 title parties, compared with 10 last year. The events - which include cocktail and pool parties, tropical-themed barbecues and concerts, comedy shows, and a variety of glam soirees - will run from noon today through Sunday night.
"The game plan is to take the 'end' off the word 'weekend,'" said Sandy Sachs, who runs Girl Bars with Robin Gans. "And what we're really shooting for is the Dinah Shore week."
The festivities, which run at the same time as the major LPGA tournament that formerly bore Shore's name, attract as many as 15,000 people to the world's largest lesbian gathering. The party scene grew from the golf tournament, which has made Palm Springs a popular destination for the largely lesbian golf following since the 1970s.
The city also has a gay-friendly reputation, and census figures show it has more same-sex couples per capita than San Francisco or West Hollywood.
"Before it was to go watch the golf," said Joanna Funaro, co-owner of Casita Laquita, a gay resort that typically sells out months before the Dinah Shore Weekend. "Now it really is becoming a circuit-party thing for the women, which is great. We need that."
With the split, Funaro said she expects that the competing party circuits could raise the attendance level.
"It's like double the bang now," she said of the lineups. "I could always find a hotel to refer (people) to, but now I'm kind of scrambling looking for places for people to stay. The hotels are really full."
It all starts with public cocktail parties today at Riviera Resort and Wyndham Hotel.
The fun continues tonight with the first Dinah Film Festival at Riviera, hosted by Club Skirts, and the Funny GirlZ comedy show, featuring comedians Suzanne Westenhoefer and Jennie McNulty, at Hotel Zoso and hosted by Girl Bars.
Other performers include singer JOAN JETT, En Vogue, Pussycat Dolls, Margaret Cho and Taylor Dayne.
"It's a dream lineup," said Mariah Hanson, executive producer of Club Skirts. "What's not to like about it?"
And the performers appreciate the audience, too.
"Our music is for the ladies," said Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt. "Girls are our biggest fans and I hope they enjoy us."
Celebrity appearances will include Carmen Electra, cast members of Showtime's lesbian-themed series "The L Word" and Mariel Hemingway.
Hanson said advance tickets for her productions have already exceeded last year's ticket sales to this point. "We've gotten an incredible response," she said. "People have been amazed at the lineup."
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