Our General Manager, LEILANI REYNOLDS, Reveals Why The Dinah is Like The Hotel California: "You Can Check Out Anytime You Like, But You Can Never Leave"!

Our General Manager, LEILANI REYNOLDS, has been committing her time, effort and professional skills to Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend for almost a decade.

And even though after her first Dinah Shore Weekend "working" experience back in 2006 she nearly quit, eight years later she's still at it, working her Dinah management magic to make sure YOUR Dinah experience is successful and unforgettable.

Today she shares why Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend is like The Eagles' Hotel California:
"you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave"!

Mariah Hanson, Monica Salamy, Leilani Reynolds, Briana Stockton and Veronica Cruz-Martinez: Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend 2012

"Dinah 2013 will mark my eighth Dinah Shore event. And when I look back on the last seven Dinah events, it is the memories I have of my very first Dinah that reminds me of why I come back every year. 

Narrowing it down even further, I can tell you that my very first interaction with a Dinah guest was what hooked me. During a casual conversation with a guest about her flight to Palm Springs, she told me she was a teacher from a small town in middle-America and that she was so excited to be in Palm Springs for Dinah Shore because she was not “out” in her town. 

In fact, her town and school believed she was on the West Coast at a teacher’s conference. The look on her face was priceless and it’s a look I have seen many times over the last seven years – a look of pure excitement, wonder and … RELIEF.

Leilani Reynolds at her first Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend back in 2006

At that moment, from a conversation with one person, I felt incredibly fortunate that I do not have to hide who I am. But more importantly, I realized that outside of liberal bubbles, like the Bay Area and New York, there are so many people who don’t have the ability to express their love, or themselves, freely. 

And this changed my whole thinking around why I was at Dinah that year and why I would return year, after year. 

Leilani Reynolds, CeCe Peniston and Briana Stockton

Now don't get me wrong, my first Dinah cannot be summed up by this one great story. Honestly, my first Dinah was messy. I slept a total of four hours a night, saw numerous break-ups, there were lots of tears (not of joy), and I was threatened by guests (not just once). 

And initially, when the big boss, Mariah, asked me if I would come back the following year to help with operations I laughed because I thought she was crazy. But then I thought about the conversation I had just five days prior with a woman who came to Palm Springs so she could be completely free for one week. And in my mind I knew that no matter how crazy things could probably get (and they do), being able to see that awe-inspiring look on so many faces every year would outweigh it all.

Leilani Reynolds and Chris Lacasse at the 2009 Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend

 Looking back at Dinah 2006 I realize that I expected to see a crazy week long party, a "lesbian spring break" as it's often referred to - complete with random hook-ups, inappropriate interactions and things some people would probably wish had never happened. 

And although my expectations were met to a certain point, the love and understanding that this event exudes makes Dinah so much more than that for everyone. 

It did, and still does, for me at least."

Chris Lacasse, Leilani Reynolds, Briana Stockton, CHAKA KHAN, Mariah Hanson and Mona Elyafi at the 2012 Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend.

CLUB SKIRTS DINAH SHORE WEEKEND TAKES PLACE IN PALM SPRINGS, CA  APRIL 3-7, 2013

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AT: www.TheDinah.com