Palm Springs, I officially love this town. I had the pleasure of spending New Year’s 2013 in Palm Springs. It’s a resort town. It feels a lot like Provincetown, P-Town, Massachusetts. Found on the tip of the peninsula of Massachusetts, known as an LGBT East Coast Gay Beach Mecca, along with Fire Island, New York.

I have been to P-Town and Fire Island. That’s why I could feel the beautiful, gay breezes as they blew down Tahquiz Canyon Way PS main drag. There’s even a big gay hotel. There are killer vintage shops and restaurants, good theatre up and down the boulevard and beautiful people everywhere. I dropped my jaw on that first day. How can this be? I thought the only people in Palm Springs, were old, white, straight retirees. Yet then there I was walking down the boulevard, holding hands with my wusband marveling at how gay Palm Springs is.

April, however, is about lesbians. All types and sizes, all ages and colors, Palm Springs – taking place April 3 through April 7 – will be crawling with lesbians. For some it’s all about, The Dinah.  t is a 23–year tradition, a lesbian right of passage for multiple generations of women. I’ve never been to Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend, founded by Mariah Hansen (www.thedinah.com).  However,  I have had my moments in the sun with scantily clad, nubile lesbians. So, I kind of understand what I am about to experience.

There has been another tradition in Palm Springs for the last 10 years, the Dinah in Color.  Started for lesbians of color, to provide monthly events for predominantly single women of color over 30, Lucy and Gail Events has become a tradition for many lesbians of color (and those that love them). To celebrate their 10 year anniversary, Lucy and Gail have got an amazing weekend planned. The Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival (www.pswomensjazzfestival.com), a tantalizing, toe-tapping temptation to test my already overflowing social calendar.

Then there is the whole reason that this first week of April has become such a lesbian Mecca, the golf tournament. Yes, there is still a tournament going on. In fact, at 42 years, it is the longest running women’s tournament on the tour, and kicks off the LPGA tournament season. The Kraft Nabisco Championships (KNCGolf.com), formerly The Dinah Shore Classic, enticing women to watch the top females in golf compete. My golf–pro father will be so proud that I attend any portion of this tournament. I’m totally down, because here is a completely different crowd than those by the pool at party central. I’m if there will be any overlap.

Also happening this weekend – the American Documentary Film Festival and Indian Wells Art Festival, I told you Palm Springs is hoppin’! With more than 15,000 hotel rooms in the Greater Palm Springs area, I think they’ve got everyone covered. With more than 110 golf courses, 600 tennis courts, more than 50,000 swimming pools and more than 600 restaurants, leisure time is serious business here.

The Weekend is packed from the moment we arrive. The Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival jumps right out of the gate Friday morning with the screening of “The Girls In the Band”, Judy Chaikin’s award-winning film. This documentary has been described as a fascinating, moving examination of the struggles of talented female musicians to break into the male world of jazz. The day also includes jazz and cocktails poolside, followed by an evening show, the “Jazz in White” dinner concert, with an after-concert white party, each event building a layer of fun.

Calendar conflict alert: Friday night – April 5 – is also the premier of the Dinah Film Series. Adding to the already packed calendar, Club Skirts offers entertainment by lesbians for lesbians. They will be premiering the highly anticipated documentary by Page Hurwitz, “Out in the Desert.” Also debuting that evening, and I’m really excited about seeing, the first two episodes of Second Shot, a lesbian sitcom, being called the “Lesbian Cheers.” Jill Bennett producer/actress had this to say about why she’s dedicated to lesbian television productions and premiering at The Dinah:

…it’s not like we have all of these options for lesbian programming on television…other than online, there really isn’t a whole lot for women out there.  Television executives are really beginning to understand that women really do control the remote at home. There’s lots of tTV for women now on mainstream television. But that is for heterosexual women. Our stories still aren’t being told. The lesbian community does have programming online and it’s exploded and it’s fantastic…I pitched Mariah [Hanson] on doing this and she sort of jumped on board. Women want The Dinah to stay relevant, so beyond the pool parties, we want to offer something different than what they’ve been doing. I love Dinah and I love what it represents. It is an amazing energetic place to be a lesbian. I think she [Mariah] saw it and said, let’s take a chance.

I can’t wait to see it.

Since Club Skirts White Party, including a killer red carpet, and headlining Australian hottie DJ Havana Brown is also on Friday, I’ll be able to cover the whole night’s festivities without a costume change (bonus points) or much sleep.

Saturday, is a day packed with celesbians, sunshine, poker tournaments, more red carpets, VIP receptions and fabulous cocktail parties. The one I am most looking forward to is the party being held for NCLR, the annual Dinah Shore Cocktail Reception. Executive Director Kate Kendell will be on hand to give us the inside scoop on her recent trip to the Supreme Court to hear the arguments on Prop 8 and DOMA. I want to know what Justice Ginsberg looks like in person. What better way to spend time than in an intimate setting with family for cocktails and fundraising?

That’s all for now Lovelies. I haven’t even started packing. Gotta start my list…

Ciao for now!