Out on the Scene: The Best Events of ’09

Whether it was a wild all-girl, weekend-long party or a march on the nation’s capital in defense of our rights, lesbians were busy this year and left with many options when it came to deciding how to spend their free time. Here is a rundown of some of the year’s most memorable events for the grrls.

1. Club Skirts The Dinah 2009 (April 1-5). From our interview with The Dinah Founder, Mariah Hanson, to our daily coverage “Dinah Downloads,” to our Fresh Ten Moments from the Dinah, and wrap up discussion with Hanson, we had the 2009 Club Skirts The Dinah covered – even if attending all of the events during it (with music by Lady Gaga, the Indigo Girls, Katy Perry; comedy by Suzanne Westenhoefer, Erin Foley, and Margaret Cho; all-day pool parties; and all-night theme parties) nearly killed us. (For info on The Dinah 2010 visit www.thedinah.com.)

2. The National Equality March (October 10-11). The National Equality March weekend took place October 10-11 and was an extremely important and historical event that showed support for full equality on the doorstep of those who can make that happen: the Congress of the United States. “The march is not our final destination. It is our first step toward building a national grassroots network that will continue organizing until we have achieved full equality,” stated the organizers. (Check out our photo coverage of the event here.)

3. Aqua Girl (May 6-10). Aqua Girl – which features incredible music, hysterical comedy, wild dance parties, and thousands of women from all over the world – celebrated its 10th year of combining excitement and fun with charity in South Beach, Florida in May. Cherry Grrl chatted with its Founder, Alison Burgos, prior to the event to talk about her very inspiring contribution to the lesbian community.

4. OutFest 2009 (July 9-19). The 27th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (Outfest) brought 182 films and videos from 25 countries in 7 different venues to Los Angeles, California for 11 days this summer. The oldest continuous film festival in LA didn’t disappoint with premieres like Hannah Free and And Then Came Lola.

5. Meet in the Middle 4 Equality (May 30). Thousands of supporters of same-sex marriage met in Fresno, CA in May for a rally that marked the beginning of a statewide and national effort toward full federal equality. Meet in the Middle 4 Equality was organized to take place in Fresno because, as explained on the website: “we will not have a better stage, a better moment in time, as the nation waits and watches, as we converge, from each section of this state, to demonstrate OUR community’s statewide mobilization for FULL equality, in the epicenter of middle American values, for US and for all our LGBT family across this great Nation.” Various celebrities, LGBT advocates, and community leaders spoke at the event.