THE DINAH ARCHIVAL PHOTO
For 34 years, The Dinah has been the world’s premiere event for lesbians and queer women. Featured in numerous films and TV shows, including The L Word, the annual Palm Springs festival has been a beacon of visibility, a matrix for identification and self-expression, and an undisputed, iconic celebration of queer women, lesbians, and nonbinary folks recognized worldwide.
And now it was ending? Would this five-day oasis of pool parties, concerts, and celebrity appearances vanish like a desert mirage?
I caught up with Mariah Hanson, founder and producer of The Dinah, to get the lowdown on what was going on and to find out if the event did, in fact, have a future.
The charismatic and endlessly energetic Hanson was driving home to Sonoma after the conclusion of The Dinah 2025, which she described as “our best”—no doubt partly because it was packed with women wanting a last taste of the festival under her administration.
MARIAH HANSON WITH CELEBRITIES AT THE DINAH, INCLUDING (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT):
THE L WORD CAST, MARY LAMBERT, KATY PERRY, THE CAST OF THE L WORD, KESHA, PAT BENATAR
“People were so receptive to the joy of the event, my retirement, and the possibilities moving forward with a new management,” Hanson tells me.
“It was so life-affirming and life-purpose-affirming for me. I got wave after wave of love all week long. It was incredible.”
Hanson recalls “standstill, breathless moments” when she realized that, despite the challenges of producing the gathering and the many roadblocks she encountered, “every single minute of it was worth it.”
That is high praise for an event that has featured the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Lizzo, Meghan Trainor, Macy Gray, Pat Benatar, Chaka Khan, Salt ‘N Pepa, Bebe Rexha, and more. Not to mention 15,000 LGBTQ women partying against a backdrop of pools, palm trees, and sunshine.
This year also saw its fair share of megawatt Sapphic talent.
“Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig were incredible and generous with their time, very interactive with our customers,” says Hanson, who is appreciative of their stars’ support for Club Skirts’ The Dinah, stretching back at least 15 years. And in many ways, the event’s longevity dovetails with the rise of lesbian visibility.
“The Dinah has a 34-year history, so it’s seen a lot of changes. It went from a party to a life-affirming statement of purpose for the community,” says Hanson, who had the epiphany more than a decade ago that it “was so much more than a weekend; it was a movement.” The most significant change she has seen is in queer women’s self-worth—a belief that we decided we deserved more than a small party in a back alley bar.
“I wanted to do something that said our lives are valued and they’re authentic. From that starting point to my ending point, our community has grown significantly, and the collective self-worth of younger people is evident as they are very proud of who they are, reducing the shame that was once so prevalent.”
MARIAH HANSON WITH (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT):
WADA SYKES, TEGAN & SARA, SARAH SHAHI, SUSAN FENIGER, CARA DELEVINGNE, CHRISTINA PERRI
A turning point came when Hanson successfully attracted corporate sponsors and broke through to music management to book top talent—proof that the lesbian demographic was a viable force. She went from not getting her calls returned from major agencies to “really hitting the nail on the head when I booked Lady Gaga and Katy Perry and having their careers take off simultaneously—and the music industry understanding that we’re partly responsible for that trajectory; it was our community that was making the difference.”
Given that Hanson managed to continue the event past the pandemic and avoided the fate of Lilith Fair (which ended due to burnout, finances, and logistics), I ask her why she is ending her tenure now.
“I’m aging out. I don’t feel burnt out; I feel less able to handle the stress. I loved it when I was younger. My reaction to stress was superpower-like, you know, like, ‘Give it to me, that’s gonna make me work harder.’ Now I’m really very conscious of the effects on my body.
“I feel like I have tons of passion and energy to do different things, but I don’t know that I want to produce an event that requires 150% of my life force. Our motivation changes as we grow older; our level of energy changes, and we have to recognize that and accept it, and make choices.”
Hanson has chosen to step aside and hand the event to a new generation of producers. The 2025 edition of The Dinah was her last, and she’s expecting an offer (or several) of purchase imminently.
The day of our conversation, The Dinah had announced the 2027 edition, so what gives? “Well, until someone buys my company, I have to move forward,” says Hanson, who is thoughtfully holding that space open for the next lesbian impresario.
There will be no Dinah in 2026.
Whoever’s hands the Dinah baton is passed to, Hanson says they will need “passion and good sense,” but in between taking time out to travel, tend to her farm, and pen her memoir, she will be around as a consultant. And she’ll continue to enjoy the party.
“There’s a woman who goes to The Dinah,” she tells me. “She’s in her 70s, and she goes every year, and she goes because it’s so life-affirming to her. She remembers a time in her life when the kind of freedom that we experience today was not evident. And she loves to be part of The Dinah because it’s a reminder to her of how much liberty we have and not to take it for granted.”
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Photos: Mona Elyafi/The Dinah
