Recently, Tressa Young and Jodie Goldstein were sitting at a table in Koala’s, a small restaurant in Guerneville whose marquee boasts sushi and burgers. The lesbian couple, who live in Santa Cruz but come to Guerneville frequently, were beaming over the reason for this particular visit.
“We’re here for a wedding,” Goldstein, 52, declared.
“They met at Women’s Weekend last year,” Young, 57, chimed in about their friends getting hitched.
Of course, not everybody who attends Women’s Weekend can expect to find true love, but they can anticipate four days of fun both in and out of the Russian River sun. Goldstein, a co-producer with Young of this year’s gathering, said the event is open to all.
“Everybody is welcome. We don’t turn anybody away as long as it is a safe space,” Goldstein said in a Zoom interview with the Bay Area Reporter.
The couple said they are hoping for a big turnout at the event, scheduled from Thursday, May 15, through Sunday, May 18. Last year, the weekend attracted 2,000 people from 20 states and four countries. But the women acknowledge that things are different this year, and some people might be afraid to travel, especially those who are foreign-born or who have passports that align with their gender identity. The Trump administration has made it uncertain for many people to decide if they want to travel.
Still, and maybe even because of people’s fears, they are planning a weekend where everybody can feel safe to be themselves and have a fabulous time.
“With the state of the world, we are still moving forward, still making a safe place,” Goldstein said. “It used to be a very white lady event,” she explained. “But we welcome all ages, all races, and all genders.”
Making sure everybody can enjoy the festival means more than just welcoming women, men, trans people, nonbinary people, and everybody else who wants to participate.
One of the Women’s Weekend board members, who goes by their drag king name, Luke Modelo, explained, “There will be [American Sign Language] interpreters at the events. And we will be providing programs and other written materials with large print. There will also be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic bars at the events.”
Drag is, in fact, how Goldstein and Young became the producers of this year’s Women’s Weekend. Three years ago, former producers of the event needed a drag act for one of the shows and hired Young, who has performed as drag king Madd Dogg since 2006. Then they asked her if she would like to take over organizing the weekend, and she agreed.
Young asked Goldstein if she was willing to share the load. She said “yes,” and this is now their third Women’s Weekend production. Although the couple live in Santa Cruz, they love Guerneville and often visit twice a month.
“It is so genuine. There are so many unique individuals,” Goldstein enthused.
Goldstein also performs in drag as Miss Shugana, a “faux queen,” a woman who dresses and acts super feminine on stage. Both Young and Goldstein said that being women in drag is “challenging” because it has for years been “a man’s world.”
Young will be strutting her stuff as Madd Dogg at Women’s Weekend. There are many other events planned, such as pool parties, dancing, miniature golf, karaoke, darts, a trans meet-up, Friends of Bill (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings, hiking, biking, yoga, bingo, a scavenger hunt, and even a concert in the local bookstore.
“We love being able to take over the legacy of Women’s Weekend,” Young said.
And that legacy will be front and center at Women’s Weekend this year. Modelo, 33, is creating a database for people who want to share their memories and souvenirs of past Women’s Weekends. Called the Women’s Weekend Archiving Project, the database welcomes oral histories, films, flyers, other types of images, and anything else people might have to offer.
“We want people to have a better understanding of the generations that have gone to Women’s Weekend. Women’s Weekend has a history as big as Lazy Bear Weekend,” he said, referring to the summer party for hirsute people and their admirers. “Wouldn’t it be cool if you could see posters from every Women’s Weekend?”
Long history
Women’s Weekend has a 47-year history on the Russian River, dating back to an outdoorsy event for women held at the former Fife’s Resort in 1978, organized by Santa
Rosa chiropractor Ann Kaplan. Things continued low-key for several years, until the late Carmen McKay, a comedian, actor and producer, led a bunch of women from the West Coast Women’s Music Festival in Yosemite to the little village of Guerneville in 1986.
Apparently a fire had broken out at the festival, and McKay, who was attending, donned her Wonder Woman costume, jumped on her motorcycle, and brought some 600 women to the former Atlantis Resort. It turned out to be such a wonderful party that the former Woods Resort and Fife’s Resort owners asked her to do it again.
In the 1990s, McKay turned production over to the local community, and Women’s Weekend had its ups and downs. Then, in 2014, McKay took back the reins, along with Dale Jenkins, a lesbian who lived in Guerneville at the time.
“It was an amazing festival,” Jenkins recalled, “with popular lesbian performers like the comedian Robin Tyler.”
Young and Goldstein are now the 10th team to produce Women’s Weekend, and they said they hope to continue for another 10 years.
“It’s a joy for us to do a women-owned for-profit, even though it doesn’t make a profit,” Goldstein quipped. “It’s our soul work.”
Women’s Weekend is for those 21 and over. Registration ranges from day passes at $108.55 (Friday and Saturday) to $81.88 (Sunday). Other VIP and beverage packages are also available.
For more information about Women’s Weekend, a list of activities, to register, or to participate in the database, visit the website at womensweekendrussianriver.com.
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