Celebrating 30 years as the largest and most iconic all-girl music festival in the world, The Dinah welcomes John Waters to their canon of incredible comedy talent.
“As a proud ‘lezbro’ who’s never been scared of women smarter than me, I’m happy to be the comic relief in a sea of partying ‘all-girl’ music festival fans. Thanks to The Dinah, I will finally be a true outsider!” – John Waters
Celebrating 30 years as the largest all-girl music festival in the world, the famous Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend is thrilled to bring you their biggest event yet in 2020. Ring in a new century with amazing musical performances, comedy shows, pool parties, nighttime soirees, celebrity meet and greets, contests, DJ Battles, fun and games, and so much more.
One of the many things that makes The Dinah stand out among your standard music festival is the inclusion of stand-up comedy each year, and for the 30th anniversary, Dinah is proud to present the one and only John Waters, the iconic man who has made fringe the new normal. We are proud to celebrate the beauty of all people who support inclusivity without judgment and expand our canon of performers to include this icon of an ally to the queer community.
Tickets for John Waters at The Dinah available HERE. (will have link when avail)
“When I heard John mentioned The Dinah in his one-man show in 2017 in Palm Springs, I thought, OMG, wouldn’t it be great to have him headline at The Dinah in a show he creates specifically for us. I loved the idea of showcasing a man at The Dinah especially one who has done so much for our community to further equality and to normalize those of us who in the past may have felt on the fringe. So I contacted him and he loved the idea. I’m excited to include him in our 30th-anniversary programming.”
– Mariah Hanson, Founder, Producer, CEO
The Dinah has grown into a globally celebrated festival, famous for picking the next big thing in music. Founder and producer Mariah Hanson has year after year tapped the most promising up and coming talent that have gone on to become world-renowned performers and recording artists. Top 10 Billboard charting singer and rapper Lizzo, who graced The Dinah stage in 2017, is one of the most notable recent superstar transformations. The Dinah celebrated her body-positive message with throngs of women who identified with a new lexicon, free from the constraints the patriarchal music industry has imposed upon female artists. Just three years later, we see Lizzo nominated for eight Grammy’s in 2020, proving The Dinah once again to be a legendary platform for superstars just before they break.
Other past Dinah performers include Tegan and Sara, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Bebe Rexha, Snow Tha Product, Jessie Reyes, Meghan Trainor, Iggy Azalea, Eve, Chaka Khan, Salt ‘N Pepa, Christina Perri, Natasha Bedingfield, and so many more. Talent announcements for 2020 will be coming soon and you won’t want to miss this year! Visit TheDinah.com for updates and info.
The official Dinah Shore Weekend only takes place in Palm Springs, California and has become a beacon of diversity for the city, which awarded Hanson a key to the city for all the work she has done for the community. “The Dinah has had a tremendous impact on Palm Springs over the past 30 years, helping make Palm Springs one of the top LGBT tourist destinations and places to live in the world. The City, our businesses and residents welcome the Dinah and the hundreds of thousands of women who have attended and had a wonderful experience over the past three decades. We so appreciate all Mariah has done for Palm Springs and the women who have found a place where LGBT people are treated equally and celebrated.” – Geoff Kors, Mayor of Palm Springs
Not just a party, The Dinah’s aim is to provide a safe space for all womxn to express their true authentic selves, feel confident in their own skin, and connect with other people from around the world in a communal sense of love and empowerment. You’ll find people of all different backgrounds, races, creeds, shapes, ages, and everything in between coming together to create a palpable sense of acceptance and unity while having the most memorable weekend of their lives.
Hanson has also used the platform of this event to give back to the community, having done work with organizations such as NCLR, The San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Community Center, GLAAD, HRC and so many more. “Mariah is a cultural icon for our community and has made being a lesbian fun, hot and bangin. She is also a really great human with a huge heart and passion for justice.”
– Kate Kendall, former Executive Director of The National Center for Lesbian Rights
John Waters has written and directed sixteen movies including Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Hairspray, Cry Baby, Serial Mom, and A Dirty Shame. He is a photographer whose work has been shown in galleries all over the world and the author of nine books: Shock Value, Crackpot, Pink Flamingos and Other Trash, Hairspray, Female Trouble and Multiple Maniacs, and Art: A Sex Book (co-written with Bruce Hainley), Role Models, and Carsick. The gift book, Make Trouble, published by Algonquin Books in 2017, features the text, with illustrations, of Waters’ commencement speech delivered at the 2015 Rhode Island School of Design graduation ceremony and was subsequently released as an audio album in 7” single format by Third Man Records. Mr. Know-It-All, The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder, was published in May 2019.
John Waters is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Additionally, he is a past member of the boards of The Andy Warhol Foundation and Printed Matter, a former member of the Wexner Center International Arts Advisory Council, and was selected as a juror for the 2011 Venice Biennale. In 2017, Waters was honored when his “Study Art” series was selected to be featured at the Biennale in Venice. Waters also serves on the Board of Directors for the Maryland Film Festival and has been a key participant in the Provincetown International Film Festival since it began in 1999, the same year Waters was honored as the first recipient of PIFF’s “Filmmaker on the Edge” award.
In September 2014, Film Society of Lincoln Center honored John Waters’ fifty years in filmmaking with a 10-day celebration entitled “Fifty Years of John Waters: How Much Can You Take?” featuring a complete retrospective of his film work. In the Fall of 2015, the British Film Institute honored John’s fifty-year contribution to cinema with their own program called “The Complete Films of John Waters…Every Goddam One of Them.” 2019 brought two more awards, the Locarno Film Festival Golden Leopard and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival Golden Alexander. The French Minister of Culture bestowed the rank of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters to Mr. Waters in 2015. In February 2017, John Waters was honored with the Writers Guild of America, East’s Ian McLellan Hunter Award honoring his body of work as a writer in motion pictures. “Indecent Exposure”, a retrospective of Waters’ art was exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art from October 2018, to January 2019, and on view at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus OH, from February 2 to April 28, 2019.
