We made our way to Dinah Shore Thursday April 4. Our first stop was the opening night party at Zelda’s Nightclub and it was packed. You could barely move around without bumping into someone. We got to see K. Rose perform her hit “Sleep When I’m Dead.” We decided to get some air after her performance and there she was signing autographs and taking photos with some lucky fans.
The next morning Kim’s work brought us back to San Diego. Luckily we had our white outfits ready for the highly anticipated White Party. We arrived at the Zoso Hotel a little after midnight and the crowd was still strong. We went to the main dance floor and caught some of the dancers mingling with the crowd. There was an outside patio where others went to chat it up and/or light up. The outfits ranged from cut off shorts to some people who were dressed to the nines. We then made it to the Latin dance floor and danced to bachata, salsa and some reggaeton. In our opinion, it’s the sexier night of the five dance events.
Saturday we brought out the bathing suits for our first dip in the pool at the Zoso Hotel. Play Boy School, Life Down Here and Love’s Darling performed while the ladies danced, tanned and sipped their drinks. When the performances were over we saw a few girls in the pool trying to get their friends on their shoulders. Once they succeeded they began to have chicken fights. They didn’t last more than a few seconds. Needless to say it was fun to watch from the sidelines.
Saturday night’s party took place at the Palm Springs Convention Center. There was a Monte Carlo theme that included a celebrity poker tournament where 100 percent of the proceeds were given to the HRC. A red carpet was set-up for the celesbian arrivals. There was also a performance by Karmin and Leah LaBelle.
Sunday we made our way to the front of the main stage at Here TV and Shewired’s Wet and Wild Pool Party for a 4 p.m. performance by international superstar Diana King. She introduced her girlfriend and spoke a little bit about how happy she’s been since coming out. You could see the glee in her eyes as she looked at the crowd of proud and out women. A sight she could never see in her native country, Jamaica. A sound interruption occurred during her last song and one of her most popular, “Shy Guy” so she pretended. King started smiling and surprised everyone when she began to sing the song as “Shy Girl, a remix.”
The closing party at the Zoso Hotel was a wonderful way to end the five-day event. There was a performance by Katy Tiz, dancers on four platforms, and a great crowd. However, one of the funnier moments of our night was finding a flask in the upstairs couches. The owners stared and whispered at each other but didn’t dare ask us for it. When they left we moved to the other side of the couch and sure enough they came back a few minutes later. They sat down pretended to stretch and grabbed it from the “secret” spot.
Prior to driving back Monday morning we drove by the Forever Marilyn statue on Palm Canyon and Tahquitz Canyon. The sculpture created by American artist and Johnson & Johnson heir Seward Johnson is 26 ft. tall and was previously located at Pioneer Court along famed Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
This was our second time attending Dinah Shore and certainly not our last. Seeing women everywhere holding hands without fear, taking over the entire hotel, dancing, laughing and toasting to a wonderful time, it’s an experience you’ll be sure to dream about after.
