Thousands Of Women Converge On Palm Springs For “The Dinah”

At Palm Springs area hotels, the cars are lining up, they’re checking in at the front desks, and chairs poolside are filling up with women.

“I am meeting new people. I work a lot so it is nice to get out and meet the people who created this event and those who support it,” said visitor Whitley Johnson.

Johnston and her cousin Teralee Johnston, both from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada are attending their first “Dinah” weekend.

Thursday afternoon they checked in at the Riviera Palm Springs Hotel, which will serve as ground zero for the events and series of parties, put on by Palm Springs based Club Skirts, now the sole major promoter of Dinah events.

At the Riviera, Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Ginny Foat issued a special proclamation for the weekend and welcomed Club Skirts owner Mariah Hanson.

“We’ve attracted to the city another group who love this city as much as we do,” said Foat.

The competition “The Dinah” in Palm Springs is now facing this year comes from a new event set for late April in Las Vegas.

That event is called “Dinah Shore week 2012” sponsored by Girl Bar, which until last year, also put on events in Palm Springs during “The Dinah”.

Hanson says she’s not worried about competition.

“I’ve just never considered that competition. We are the big guy. There are always smaller parties in Palm Springs. When you think of Dinah Shore week, you think of Club Skirts,” said Hanson.

Rival events or not, “The Dinah” is good for valley business.

The General Manager of the Riviera Palm Springs says his hotel and others downtown are sold out.

“This has to be close to the largest event in the city and perhaps one of the most important events,” said General Manager Geoff Young.

When asked about attendance this year, Mariah Hanson would only say it is “in the thousands”, and said it would be up over last year by “thirty percent”.