We eat, drink, and be Mary. <bfg>

Seriously, we spend a few days just being ourselves and take in the sights and activities of Las Vegas. There's shopping, dining, shows, clubs, sightseeing, socializing, and, of course, gaming. Read on for some examples of what you can expect.

Diva Las Vegas is a vacation, not a convention.

Diva Las Vegas is not based on the model used for almost all of the other major TG gatherings.

Some of the differences between Diva Las Vegas and the others include:

• Diva Las Vegas is more informal and more real-life. It's an opportunity to celebrate life and to enjoy each other's company.

• Most of the others occur under very protected and controlled conditions. Diva Las Vegas occurs mostly under mainstream general-public conditions.

• Diva Las Vegas is not centered around a hotel. DLV activities occur all over the Las Vegas metro area.

• DLV activities are, with few exceptions, participative, social, and recreational in nature, as opposed to the "sit there and listen to somebody speak" type of activities.

• Diva Las Vegas offers multiple dining options most evenings.

• Diva Las Vegas tends to be less expensive than the others, when considering the total out-of-pocket cost to attend and participate.
  • No registration fee or participation fee!
  • No "one price fits all" pricing!
  • You don't pay for things you don't want to do.
  • Reasonably-priced accommodations available.

Dates for DLV 2018 are Sunday, April 15 thru Friday, April 20.

These dates may be considered final.

The event we know as Diva Las Vegas began in 1997. This coming year (2018) will be our 22nd. year!

No. Never has been, never will be.

Diva Las Vegas is a social event for members of the TG community and their friends and guests. It is not sexually oriented.

That's somebody else trying to ride our coat tails. We have nothing to do with that. If it doesn't appear on our schedule, it's not part of DLV.

No, our yearly schedule is not fixed as to a certain week within a certain month or anything like that. There are too many variables and too many unknowns to make this possible.

By precedent, DLV has always happened in the spring. The exact dates of each DLV event are set several months in advance by a vote of the active volunteers.

The correct name of our event is:

"Diva Las Vegas"

Three words.

"Diva" Singular, non-possessive, four letters, no "s" at all.

"Las Vegas" Two words, both capitalized. No "o" at all anywhere in our name.

No apostrophe anywhere in our name!

"Of" does not appear in the name of the event at all. Neither does "the", and we don't prefix it with "A" to get the top listing in the phone book. :)

The name was intended as a word play on the Elvis' Viva Las Vegas song and film title. It's often shortened to "DLV" or just "Diva" at times.

Keeping in mind that the totals between 1998 and 2001 are approximate since we did not have a formal registration and check-in process, here are the numbers we have:

1997: 5
1998: 16
1999: 35
2000: 50
2001: 65
2002: 88
2003: 104
2004: 118
2005: 126
2006: 118
2007: 136
2008: 176
2009: 149
2010: 179
2011: 169
2012: 155
2013: 166
2014: 156
2015: 133
2016: 140
2017: 142
2018: 134

Dates of our events in past years are:

1997: Friday, May 9 - Sunday, May 11
1998: Friday, May 8 - Monday, May 11
1999: Friday, May 14 - Tuesday, May 18
2000: Thursday, May 11 - Tuesday, May 16 
2001: Wednesday, May 2 - Monday, May 7
2002: Tuesday, April 30 - Sunday, May 5
2003: Tuesday, April 22 - Sunday, April 27
2004: Sunday, May 2 - Saturday, May 8
2005: Sunday, April 24 - Saturday, April 30
2006: Monday, April 17 - Sunday, April 23
2007: Monday, April 23 - Saturday, April 28
2008: Monday, April 21 - Saturday, April 26
2009: Monday, May 11 - Saturday, May 16
2010: Sunday, April 18 - Friday, April 23
2011: Sunday, April 3 - Friday, April 8
2012: Sunday, April 22 - Friday, April 27
2013: Sunday, April 14 - Friday, April 19
2014: Sunday, March 30 - Friday, April 4
2015: Sunday, March 22 - Friday, March 27
2016: Monday, March 28 - Saturday, April 2
2017: Monday, March 26 - Friday, March 31

There are two ways of asking questions or expressing concerns.

Most definitely, sir! :)

No. There are a number of resources available for TG teens, but Diva Las Vegas is not one of them, sorry.

Yes we did, and in all cases those of age 18-20 could not fully participate due to age restrictions at several of our venues.

Las Vegas is really a "21 and over" town, and it's unfair to invite individuals to join us only to have to tell them that they will only be able to partially participate.

Spouses and SO's of age 21 or older are most welcome to attend and to participate with the group.

As for kids, very few DLV activities will be appropriate for, or of interest to those of teenage years or younger.

Some of the hotels do have activities geared for those through the mid teens. Some hotels still have a video arcade area. Some theme parks and areas, including rides, games, etc., are available on the Strip, but many of these have been shut down within the past several years.

Most of the larger hotels and resorts will have a sitter service available.

Please be aware, however, that some hotels that cater to adults will have certain not-so-subtle practices to discourage bringing kids, such as counting each child of any age for room occupancy, making all persons of all ages in the buffet line pay full price, prohibiting strollers on the property, etc. Please ask about things like this when you make reservations if you will be bringing younger children.

Check-in is very simple. At your first DLV activity, one of our volunteers will take your name and ask if you have any questions or concerns.

If you're new to DLV, one of our volunteer Big Sisters will greet you and introduce you around to the others in the group.

The times and locations of the various activities, along with directions and instructions for locating the group, will be given to those who register. Local contact phone numbers will be given to those who register so there will be no concern about failing to make contact or losing contact.

The deadline for registration for Diva Las Vegas 2018 will be 12:01am PDT on Thursday, April 12, 2018.

Please note that you must register to attend DLV. Unannounced "walk-ins" and "she's with me" tag-alongs will not be admitted.

Yes, admirers are welcome. We've always been open to anybody who identifies with the theme of DLV, and who agrees to behave as a lady or a gentleman (or both).

Speaking freely, admirers do have a reputation of coming on very strong, and it is this behavior, not the mere fact that they are admirers, that makes them unwelcome at some TG gatherings.

We have had admirers, both male and female, attend DLV over the years with no issues whatsoever.

Anyone of any gender, orientation, and persuasion will most likely be welcome at DLV as long as they behave appropriately and respect the others who will be present.

Yes, you do.

We're asking all people who want to participate in any DLV activities to please register. It's simple, quick, painless, discreet, and spam-free.

But {so and so} said I really don't have to register.

{So and so} is wrong.

But what if I just want to hang around, and not do any activities?

We're still asking you to please register. Registration is not optional if you want to participate in Diva Las Vegas.

What if I just show up?

Please expect to be turned away, sorry.

We will not be accepting unannounced "walk-in" attendees. You must register in advance to participate in DLV.

About 20% of the DLV participants come from Las Vegas and the surrounding area.

If you live in the Las Vegas area, DLV will introduce you to many others in the area who share your interest, as well as give you a sample of places you can go and things you can do in the area.

There's no requirement that you stay in one of our suggested hotels when you attend DLV, although a few from the local area do, for one reason or another.

Please follow the usual procedure. Register on line and please indicate in the appropriate space that you are local to Las Vegas.

But {so and so} said that locals don't have to register.

{So and so} is wrong!

That's water under the bridge. All is forgiven. Looking forward to having you with us!

To register for Diva Las Vegas you must agree to three things:

1. Our Conditions Of Participation
2. Our Behavior, Dress, and Restroom guidelines
3. Waiver of liability

(This is most likely the most frequently asked question.)

Headcount projections are announced in our mailing list.

Attendance total exceeded 100 each year since 2003. Our highest attendance was 179 in 2010.

You are definitely welcome and there will likely be other single genetic women at DLV as well as spouses. We're always happy to have friends!

Yes, most definitely! All of the DLV organizers and volunteers know exactly how you feel. We'll do what we can to help you feel comfortable, such as:

• If you need some one-on-one assistance or assurance, we'll match you up with one of our volunteer Big Sisters. Big Sisters are available by e-mail prior to DLV and in person during DLV.

• When you get in town, if you would feel more comfortable if you first met one of our volunteers one-on-one before you come to any large group functions, just let us know, we'll make this happen.

• Likewise, if you're uneasy just walking cold into a room full of strangers, ask for one of our volunteer Big Sisters to greet you or escort you and introduce you around.

• If you happen to "get stuck" in your hotel room or vehicle, phone our Big Sister Emergency Hotline (number will go out in the large final mailing) and we'll get a Big Sister to you pronto. (Yes, this has happened.)

Please be assured that even though you may not know anyone else in advance, you will be among friends.

It is universally reported that those who are nervous when going to their first DLV activity lose that nervous feeling within minutes after meeting the others.

It depends.

If you are spouses, "significant others" to each other, or life partners, you are welcome to register as a couple, and the "SO Attending" checkbox is intended for this, to make it convenient to register both of you in one step.

If you are friends, even best friends or "very very good friends" but not life partners, we ask you to please register individually.

Why? Mainly because history has shown that tag-alongs and "She's With Me" guests frequently don't get the word about what's going on.

Your cooperation is appreciated.

Spouses and "Significant Others" are always welcome and can be included on your registration.

Bona fide immediate family members are welcome to participate with you.

We ask that you request any other friends and guests who want to attend with you to register. It costs nothing and there's very little formality. This gets them on our roster, allows them to sign up for any activities they wish to do, and admits them to all regular DLV activities which they want to attend.

Individuals who do not appear on our roster, including "she's with me" guests, will not be admitted to DLV activities.

Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.

Over the past few years, about 17% of the primary attendees bring their spouse or partner along. Most partners participate regularly in the DLV activities.

Activities of interest primarily to significant others are occasionally planned.

One thing to note is that the DLV participants make up a very diverse group and we do have a certain number of male SOs, TG-TG and other "nontraditional" couples.

Ideas for several new and different activities are also in the works.

Since there is no registration fee, no meals are pre-paid prior to the event.

Several group meals are planned, some in reserved areas, some in mainstream public facilities. All are optional. Sign-up is required for some of these, and the details are announced in the mailings.

We've had groups of DLV participants attend services for several years.

See our schedule of activities and mailing list for details.

You sign up for golf (as well as most other optional activities) at activity sign-up time. Details on activity sign-up appear in the regular mailings.

You must be a registered DLV attendee to play golf with the group.

You'll be missing quite a bit, but yes, that's fine if that's what you want to do. Register as usual, select the golf day as both your arrival and departure dates, and check only the golf box when you sign up for activities.

The Final Attendee Information (previously known as the "Large Final Mailing"), which will be sent to all registered attendees during the week prior to DLV will contain a very detailed schedule containing locations of the activities, exactly where in the venue to meet the group, etc.

It will also contain a link to a set of activity maps and information on who to contact if you get lost or can't locate the group.

No, it doesn't work that way, sorry.

You will need to register in order to receive this information. We will not be admitting unannounced walk-ins to our activities, sorry.

Nothing could be further from the truth! Whoever says this is badly misinformed.

Yes, we have several meals planned. Everybody has to eat. We also have social gatherings at which adult beverages are served, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Our event consists of a rich schedule of daytime and evening activities of all types, including "touristy" things, "outdoorsy" things, entertainment options, shopping, side trips and much more. Review the photos from the past years for examples of what you can expect.

Sorry if this appears blunt, but those who are not registered for our event do not have a need to know the locations.

Activity locations, including maps, parking hints, etc., are given out to those registered for the event.

One of the primary purposes of our sugggested hotels is for those who want or need to be in the proximity of other DLV attendees. For this reason, we want to limit the number of hotels we suggest so that each of our suggested hotels will have a meaningful number of our attendees.

We'll always have one lower-priced option, one higher-end option, and one relatively "safe" option.

Please feel free to use our Discussion Forum to recommend your favorite hotel to others who will be attending.

Mainly because it did not scale well and generated countless complaints, both from volunteer drivers and those in need of rides.

Our volunteers are unwilling to assume the liability of a more formal program to provide transportation to the activities.

Those in need of rides and those with vehicles who are willing to give rides to others are encouraged to use the DLV Discussion Forum to exchange contact information and coordinate ride sharing efforts.

First of all, don't panic. With very rare exception, there will be a ride available for you.

The biggest problem along this line is finding a ride to your first DLV activity.

If you will not be driving and need a ride, we VERY STRONGLY suggest that you stay in one of our suggested hotels so you will be near other attendees who will be willing to give you a ride.

At the main entrances of all major hotels there will be a taxi stand. Look for a sign saying "Taxi Line", "For taxi wait here", or something similar. Usually this will be very obvious. If you can't find it, tell the doorkeeper that you need a taxi. Taxis will be picking up and dropping off guests at all major hotels during all hours.

Join the taxi line at the rear, or step to the front of the taxi stand if there is no line. Taxis will usually be waiting in a staging area. You may have to signal by raising your finger to indicate that you need a taxi. Often times the doorkeeper will blow a whistle to indicate to waiting taxis that a rider is ready. If no taxis are ready, wait a while. Taxis drop off and pick up at all major hotels regularly.

If you're shy about using your voice to tell the taxi driver or the doorkeeper where you want to go, write out the address in large letters on a piece of paper and hand it to the driver or to the doorkeeper when you are asked where you want to go.

Instructions on what to tell a taxi driver to get to our various activities will appear on the detailed final schedule. ("Bellagio, and step on it!") :)

It is usually not necessary to tip the doorkeeper for simply whistling to a taxi for you, but if the door staff assists you with luggage or something significant, yes, a tip is appropriate.

A taxi driver depends on tips to supplement his/her income, so it will be highly unusual for a driver to remark about your appearance or manner of dress.

At the destination, the total fare will be clearly indicated on the taxi meter. A tip (15% - 20% or so) is expected, but is not legally required. If the service was good, a tip should be given. If the driver made any derogatory comments to you, drove recklessly, or was in any way a jerk, feel free to pay the total on the meter only.

Please note that in Las Vegas, taxis are to pick up only at designated taxi stands or from a radio call. They are not supposed to respond to a "hail" on the street, although they sometimes will.

Our attendees used Uber and Lyft during DLV 2016 and 2017 with no issues.

At our sister event, Pinkfest, several attendees used these services with no significant issues at all.

The group has attended many such shows over the DLV years, including Frank Marino's "Divas" in recent years. The group has been well-received each time.

There will occasionally be a few activities at which self-produced performances will occur. Details will be announced as these activities are planned.

The group has attended karaoke sessions, both mainstream and alternative, off and on for many years.

We ask that you dress in a presentable manner, in good taste, and in a manner appropriate to the activity at hand, while with the group. We also ask that you refrain from dressing or acting in a manner intended to flaunt transgenderism or in a manner intended primarily to attract attention.

Either girlmode or boymode dress is fine for most DLV activities.

Diva Las Vegas is not a dressing free-for-all! Likewise, DLV is not a "Fetish and Fantasy" event. Appropriate dress is required for all DLV activities. Dress for activities held in mainstream (general public) locations must be age-appropriate, size-appropriate, and occasion-appropriate. Clubwear, fetish wear, costumes, etc., are not permitted except for specially designated activities.

Casual to moderately dressy attire, either boymode or girlmode, is acceptable at most DLV activities.

Casual attire is required for some activities such as shopping and side trips.

Dressy and formal attire is encouraged for some of our more upscale evening activities.

More exotic attire is appropriate and encouraged at some designated activities.

General dress guidelines as well as specific dress suggestions for each activity will be sent to those who register.

More specific discussions on what to bring, and what to wear for the various activities occur in the Diva Las Vegas Mailing Lists.

You will be welcome to participate either as "brother" or "sister" (or both) depending on your preference.

If you wish, you will be free to transition from one mode to the other at a time that will be primarily determined by your own comfort level. You might plan your big "coming out" to be at a time such as an evening at a club that is known to be T-friendly. Several of those attending will be willing to help you as needed, and will give you feedback as to what you should do, and what may or may not be appropriate.

This year we will have some volunteer "Big Sisters" who will be able to coach and help if necessary.

Play it by ear. You will know when you're ready to appear in public.

Our activities are held in many locations throughout the Las Vegas area and in most cases, changing facilities are not available at our activity locations.

If you require changing facilities, post a note in the Discussion Forum explaining the circumstances and most likely somebody will have a solution for you.

There are two ways to request a Big Sister:

The Big Sister (Big Brother) Program is a good-faith effort on all parts.

When you request a Big Sister (or Big Brother), we'll try, in good faith, to match you with someone who will be helpful to you, but due to many real-world factors, including human nature, we are unable to make any guarantees and DLV organizers and volunteers cannot be responsible if things do not turn out to your liking.

Our Big Sister Hotline (number available in the Final Attendee Information) will be answered by a member of the Big Sister Team and this can be used during the event for any Big Sister (or Big Brother) issues.

Phone our Big Sister Hotline at any reasonable hour. One of the members of the Big Sister Team will assist you.

The number for the Big Sister Hotline will be given to all individuals who are registered for the event.

DLV volunteers are not required to give rides to other attendees and if they do, it's a private arrangement between driver and rider and it's not considered part of their "official duties" as DLV volunteers.

If the two of you agree upon it, yes, it can happen, but it's not guaranteed, and if it does, accept the ride only under the condition that it's at your own risk for anything unfortunate or unexpected which happens in the course of that ride.

Also please keep in mind that many DLV attendees will not be driving a vehicle during the event for any of several reasons. Such things as shared taxi rides are possible if all involved agree.

If you find that you have difficulty or anxiety leaving your hotel room or vehicle on your way to join us for a DLV activity, find a phone and give our Big Sister Hotline a call.

In most cases, we'll get a volunteer to you pronto who will walk that last mile with you.

This, and other contact phone numbers, will be sent to all registered attendees in the Final Attendee Information just prior to the event.

Phone any of the general DLV contact people. They will assist you as best they can.

The best way to volunteer is to fill out the Big Sister Volunteer form using the appropriate button on the DLV registration page.

The most important is the desire to help others!

It's best if you have attended DLV in the past and have a good idea of how things work at DLV, since our event is quite different than the other major TG events.

You should be willing to spend a reasonable amount of face-to-face time with your Little Sister during the event, particularly during the first few days that your Little Sister is present.

You should also be willing to correspond with your little sister by e-mail, prior to the event, if necessary.

Applications which are part of MyDLV include such things as the DLV Discussion Forum (replaces the retired Hypermail forum interface), Personal photo gallery (replaces the retired DLV People Gallery), "Chirping" (microblogging), similar to Twitter, personal MyDLV Blogs, friend mechanism, etc.

MyDLV is free for DLV attendees and prospective attendees.

Although quotas are built into the system, right now the policy is "Use it, don't abuse it!"

They are all in there. The DLV Discussion Forum has over 9000 postings going back to 2002. The mailing list archives are complete from the year 2000 up to the current issue.

It's available, but we have not deployed it yet. If there's a demonstrated demand for it, we can roll it out. Same goes for a number of other features.

No, you can easily browse most of the on-line photo collections and include them in your gallery with only a few mouse clicks. You can easily add any of our photos, full-size, to your MyDLV Blog.

Very little technical knowledge is necessary to set up and manage either a MyDLV Blog or MyDLV Gallery. It's all point-and-click. If you get stuck, we'll help you.

As you probably know, DLV operates entirely on volunteer help.

Our primary need is for volunteers to plan, coordinate, and assist with the various activities which make up the DLV event as a whole.

Over 99% of the effort that goes into making DLV happen has to do with the planning and implementation of activities.

Just as it is said that "Every Marine is a Rifleman" it can be said that "Every DLV volunteer is an activity coordinator."

There's very little set-up and tear-down associated with the Diva Las Vegas event as a whole. Our model is quite different from that of other TG events and as such, it makes these types of duties unnecessary.

There may be, however, some set-up and clean-up work associated with some of the activities, depending on exact circumstances. If this is your area of interest, please volunteer to assist those who will be coordinating those particular activities which need set-up and clean-up help. Yes, things like this count toward voting status.

As for such things as sound and lights, there will usually be a small number of activities at which self-produced performances will happen (Pity Party, Jam Session, etc.) and you're welcome to volunteer to help out with these if this is your area of expertise. This also will count toward voting status.

You're welcome to volunteer your services if you wish. However we do not have any funds to cover professional or semi-pro photography.

Our events have always been well-covered by amateur photographers from within our attendee base. Some of these are quite prolific and quite talented.

Volunteering to photograph an activity, in and of itself, does not count toward voting status.

Since we have no registration fee, yes, it can be truthfully said that all volunteers do get free registration! :)

Sorry, we do not have the means to reimburse volunteers for such things as rooms and other expenses.

This is EXACTLY what we are looking for!

Of course! We'll match you up with one or more of our veteran volunteers who can use your assistance and will "show you the ropes" so to speak.

Yes, most definitely. We'll find something for you which will require no up-front public contact, or we'll match you with somebody who will handle that part of your activity.

The DLV volunteers of voting status are those who make the decisions which cannot be made by consensus.

A volunteer who is on record as coordinating or assisting with at least one DLV activity during the past two annual DLV events is of voting status.

The support positions which are not connected to any DLV activities do not count toward voting status. These are duties such as the check-in hosts/hostesses, coordinators of various "pet projects", Big Sisters, greeters, and formerly the volunteer drivers.

However, most of those involved in these non-qualifying positions are also involved in one or more activities as well, so most of them do qualify by virtue of those activities.

Yes, with some reservations and understandings.

We'll most likely want volunteers who have never attended before to be matched up with veteran volunteers who can use their assistance. However, we have on occasion had first-year volunteers act as the primary coordinator of various activities. It all depends on the circumstances.

The highest level of decision-making within Diva Las Vegas falls upon the Diva Las Vegas Organizers' Group, often abbreviated DLVORG. DLVORG is comprised of those who have stepped forward and volunteered to coordinate and implement the various activities that make up the DLV event as a whole. The DLVORG members who are of voting status are those who are on record as coordinating or assisting with at least one DLV activity during at least one of the previous two DLV events.

In other words, it's those who do the work who make the decisions. That's the way it should be.

Certain administrative positions within DLVORG are recognized:

1. Project Manager
2. Corresponding Secretary
3. Systems Administrator
4. Big Sister Coordinator

Project Manager is a rotational position with a one-year term. This person oversees the planning of the next annual DLV event and chairs the DLVORG group. Other positions are elected by DLVORG upon their vacancy, and the duties should be obvious from their titles.

An Administrative Committee, a subgroup of DLVORG, handles any business which is not directly related to an activity. This consists of the named administrative individuals above plus two at-large elected members.

The "minutes" of DLVORG, actually the mailing list archives, are open to the public. They are posted in plain sight on this web site. If you look for them, you will find them. :)

The named administrative positions, elected seats on the Administrative Committee, and various other positions are filled from the ranks of volunteers of voting status. These will often be by election, but appointments by consensus or acclamation are occasionally made.

Beginning in 2016 a "Vote Of Confidence" is held annually among the volunteers on all individuals who hold named leadership positions.

Please understand that in almost all cases we will respectfully decline coverage, both from mainstream media and LGBT media. We are a private event and many of our attendees wish to maintain a low profile, both personally and in terms of the event as a whole.

If your publication is sexually oriented, we ask that you please not cover our event.

It depends on a number of circumstances, but over the past several years, the follow-up pages for the current year's event have been placed on line in the fall of that year.

The photos from some activities may require an extra step of clearance, so they may or may not appear at the same time as the others are posted.

Look in the "Past Years" section on the main DLV page. If the year of the latest event appears, the photos have been posted. If not, they have not. We will not tease you with a link that leads only to an "under construction" page.

An announcement will be made in our next general mailing after the current year's photos have been posted.

First the photos have to be gathered. Some come in almost immediately, but others come in later, some by snailmail, and some in the form of prints, which have to be scanned. This typically takes 2-3 months.

The number of photos received has averaged over 2000 for the past few years. These are then reviewed, normalized for size, brightness, contrast, etc., edited if necessary, and placed on line in a temporary staging area.

Next we allow those who attended to review the photos and they may request removal of any photos in which they appear. We always allow at least two months for review and removal requests.

It's not until after the removal requests are in and processed that the follow-up pages can be composed and placed on line.

Your understanding and patience are appreciated.

Read your e-mail. The instructions on how to preview and request photo removal were sent to you. If you lost or misplaced this, let us know and we will resend.

If you're sure you have not received this, write in and explain the circumstances. If you were not marked as "present" on our roster, you did not receive this.

Otherwise, look in your back e-mails. It's most likely there.

For photos in the current year's staging area, simply view the photo full-size and click on the "REMOVE" button. The photo will not immediately disappear, but will not be present when the specific page contining the photo is regenerated, which will usually be within 24 hours.

For the photos in previous years' areas, please send us an e-mail with the COMPLETE EXACT URL OF THE PHOTO YOU WISH TO BE REMOVED.

To do this easily from most modern computers, view the photo in full size and copy-paste your browser's "location" bar into an e-mail to us.

Descriptions such as "the third photo from the left on the second row" are not adequate to process your request! Likewise, requests such as "remove all photos of me" are impossible to process. You must explicitly denote all photos you wish to be removed.

If the photo contains multiple people, please indicate which individual you are.

Anything! Including "I just don't like the way I look in that photo" and related reasons.

Any reasonable number of photos in which your recognizable likeness appears.

Please note that unless there are extenuating circumstances, we will not remove the official posed group photos, nor will we blur faces or black out eyes.

For the current year's staging area, usually within 24 hours. For existing follow-up pages, usually a few weeks.

Please expect your removal request to take considerably longer if terms such as "lawsuit", "lawyer", "legal action", "other action", etc. appear in your removal request. :)

Please remind us. E-mail is not a perfect medium. Humans make mistakes!

Consideration of others.

These aren't really rules. They are guidelines and best practices and unfortunately some attendees exercise their option to ignore them.

Those who choose to ignore the guidelines frequently find that they get themselves and others in trouble!

Diva Las Vegas is far more mainstream-oriented than any other major TG events.

All other major TG events occur under controlled conditions and under those conditions the concerns about these three topics are often unnecessary.

The same can usually be said for other activities in which you might have participated, such as support group meetings, Pride festivities, "Girls Night Out" activities, "alternative" bars and clubs, benefit galas, Imperial Court functions, etc.

The general "rule" is to always consider others, dress and behave as a lady or gentleman (whichever you prefer at the time) and use public restrooms appropriately and discreetly. "Have fun, but don't have your fun at the expense of others!"

Disclaimer: The author of this section is neither an attorney nor a sworn law enforcement officer, but has consulted with a licensed attorney on this particular topic. Said consultation was in-office, on the clock, and was "legal advise" in the strict sense.

A rather extensive search of the Nevada Revised Statutes, Clark County Code, and Las Vegas Municipal Code revealed no general prohibitions regarding the use of gendered restrooms in most public and private facilities in the Las Vegas area. One attendee's conversation with a Las Vegas Metro Police officer confirmed this.

However, there is nothing on the books which asserts one's right to use the restroom of his/her choice. (Update: see below)

The conclusion of the legal opinion was along the line of the use of any property, including a restroom, is "at will" of the management and they can, legally, restrict one's usage of such as long as they do not violate applicable statutes or regulations in the process.

Although it is not, technically, "illegal" to use the restroom of your choice, should circumstances warrant, there could be grounds for action under various laws of public conduct such as trespass or disorderly conduct.

Nevada Senate Bill 311, signed into law in May, 2011, prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of gender identity or expression. As of January, 2018, no authoritative legal opinions have been heard regarding the effects of this law on the use of public gendered restrooms. This law took effect October 1, 2011.

This persistent rumor is most likely based upon a parks regulation in Clark County Code, section 19.04.040, which does indeed prohibit males over the age of 8 from entering or loitering in the vicinity of women's restrooms in public parks.

That is entirely up to you!

There are really no "one size fits all" answers, but we can offer some advise, guidelines, and best practices from the experiences of our hundreds of attendees over 14 years of our event. If you're willing to observe our guidelines, there should be very little difficulty. If you're not, there is a very good chance of a very ugly incident involving you and others!

If you choose to use public restrooms, remember to use them individually, discreetly, and appropriately.

We ask you to please consider others and use discretion.

Why?

Because an intolerant observer will not know what's on your ID and what's between your legs. All a member of the general public will know is that a a member of our group has just walked obviously and brazenly into a public restroom! Such action is just as likely to generate a complaint to management or security as any case of any of our attendees obviously using a restroom.

Good for you!

You've most likely been observing good practice.

We're asking all who may be of advanced standing (post-op, fully-transitioned, legally "F", decades of mainstream public experience, noted persons in the TG community, etc.) to please help set the example by using restrooms appropriately and encouraging others to do so.

• Review our restroom guidelines. Learn from the experiences of others.

• If you are in your "home" hotel, use the restroom in your hotel room. There's absolutely no question about it being legal, appropriate, or comfortable.

• If unisex restrooms are available, use them! Again, no question about it being legal or appropriate.

• Seek restrooms which are out of the way or in less-traveled areas.

• Use the restroom in your hotel room immediately before you go out.

• Don't OD on fluids! :)

• Seek restrooms away from where groups of our attendees are obvious to onlookers.

• Using public restrooms in groups! This is one of the absolute worst practices there is!

• Obvious restroom usage. If our group has attracted the attention of the public, find a restroom far-far away from where the group has congregated.

• Standing in the stall! Almost certain to generate a complaint and get you ejected from the property.

• Socializing with curious GGs in a public restroom. For every supportive GG who thinks it's cool for you to be in there, there will be many others who do not! This is very likely to generate complaints.

• Defending another's use of a restroom. This has resulted in a supportive GG being escorted off the property of a major Strip hotel!

• Speaking in an obvious male voice when in a public ladies room. This can be very alarming to GGs (and even TGs) who are not seen but are in the restroom. It is very likely to generate a complaint.

• Lingering, loitering, or socializing in a public restroom.

Almost all of these are mainly the "mating territory" of straight, cisgender(ed) men and women who are under 40 years of age.

The topic of meeting potential partners, whether casual, long-term, or professional, is out of scope of our web site. Sorry.

The direct e-mail addresses to the following may be used:

dlvorg@divalas.vegas	To send e-mail to the DLV Organizers Group (DLVORG)
dlvdisc@divalas.vegas	For submissions to the DLV Discussion Forum
bigsister@divalas.vegas	E-mail pertaining to the Big Sister Program.
tech@divalas.vegas	Technical issues, e-mail issues, web site errors, etc.
abuse@divalas.vegas	Spam complaints, etc.

You can be assured that if you aren't interested in DLV or no longer interested in DLV, we don't want to bother you and fill up your inbox with unwanted mail.

A brief e-mail message with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject will usually get you removed from all of our mailing lists.

What is usually happening in that case is that the e-mail address you're sending your unsubscribe from does not match any address which we have on file. All of our recent mailings contain the line "This was addressed to:" and the e-mail address to which it was sent toward the bottom of the mailing. Please be sure you include this line if your current e-mail address is not the same as the address we are using to send you our mailings.

Should you ever send e-mail to DLV which is returned as undeliverable, please forward the returned message(es) with all headers and "gobbledegook" intact to:

E-mail addressed to the main DLV address is forwarded to our Corresponding Secretary, Project Manager, and Systems Administrator.

The Corresponding Secretary is responsible for handling most routine correspondence.

The Project Manager will handle any e-mail regarding the organization of the next upcoming DLV event.

The Systems Administrator will handle any e-mail of a technical nature.

Please be assured that we intend to respond to all e-mail which requires a response in a timely manner.

We do not routinely respond to commercial or promotional items which have no direct relevance to our event.

The first thing you should do if you are awaiting a response is to resend or send a reminder. E-mail is not a perfect medium and humans make mistakes.

Here are a few helpful hints to assure that you're able to send and receive e-mail to and from us without difficulty:

• Please be sure your e-mail does not appear "spammy" so it will not be classified as spam by our spam filters. Be sure your e-mail is text only and does not contain images or URLs.

• If you have been sending any kind of automated announcements (site invites, news items, promotional items, etc.) to DLV, please turn these off, wait a couple of weeks, and resend your relevant items. Those who frequently send such items to DLV addresses are added to a transient "junk e-mail senders" list.

• Please send your e-mail to DLV from an e-mail account which is "in the clear" for replies as such things as challenge-response and click-to-activate e-mail systems have been particularly troublesome for us.

• Likewise, with rare exception, the response to you will come from one of our volunteer's personal e-mail account. If you routinely block e-mail from unknown senders, you may not be able to receive our replies.

If your item is not relevant to our event it will not be forwarded or published.

"Forward Me" items, regardless of how urgent, important, cute, or heartwarming they may appear to be, will be ignored.

Our media are not intended for general announcements or TG community news.

No, sorry.

Those were for use only during the event. Please do not use those numbers once the event has concluded. Your cooperation is appreciated.

We ask that you please do not phone any DLV organizers or volunteers directly unless you have been given explicit first-person permission to do so! Please respect the privacy of our volunteers.

No, we do not.

We don't do banners, sorry.

If you run a site which is of significant interest to our attendees, we will consider listing you, depending on the circumstances. We will not post a link to any sexually-oriented or "dating" site.

We've seen cases where our mailings are improperly classified as spam by some spam filters, and rejected or filed in a junk mail folder. Our mailings will have unsubscribe instructions, which will have similar verbiage to the so-called removal instructions contained in many spam messages, and this will trigger some spam filters.

Each mailing we make typically results in a number of failures for reasons such as "mailbox full", "over quota", etc.

If you're not receiving our mailings, check your mail configuration to be sure you're not rejecting our mail or classifying it as spam, and that you are keeping your mailbox within your size quota.

If after repeated attempts to join the list with no mail reception, please consider trying the following:

• Temporarily turn off all e-mail filtering that will reject mail, and watch spam and junk mail folders to be sure you are not classifying our mail as spam.

• Take out an additional mail account with a provider such as Yahoo or Hotmail and subscribe to the list using that account.

If it's been a while since you've tried to join, or since you received anything, you may have to re-join the list since we regularly purge our list of undeliverable addresses.

You will normally stay on our mailing list from year to year unless one of the following things happens:

1. You request removal from our mailing list. Any kind of "Spam complaint" coming to us from you or your ISP's abuse department is considered a removal request.

2. Mail to you is returned as undeliverable.

If your e-mail address changes, please send in a change of address request. Please be sure to keep enough space in your inbox to receive our mailings. If you were dropped due to undeliverable mail, you may have to join our list again.

Unfortunately, e-mail sender address falsification is easy to do and is very common among spammers. It is highly unlikely that the spam you received actually originated from or transited through any of our e-mail systems.

Things such as brochures and flyers are occasionally produced, depending on the anticipated importance of attracting new attendees to the next annual event.

DLV brochures are now available either in reasonable quantities in hardcopy form or in the form of .pdf files which can be duplicated conveniently. Please ask if you would like to distribute DLV brochures.

What is most likely happening is that you inadvertently "agreed" to let the site in question access your local address book or contact list and send automated invites to those on your list.

Some sites are very clever and downright sneaky in getting you to "agree" to do this, often by providing a pre-checked and deceptively-worded "invite my friends" checkbox which is on a page with considerable other distracting text.

These can be stopped by adjusting your profile on the site in question to disallow the sending of automated invites to those in your contact lists.

Various sanity checks and abuse traps are used to prevent such things as comment spam, fraudulent ratings, machine-generated ratings and comments, etc. This may result in errors messages such as:

• Corrupt argument ...
• Phase error ...
• Insufficient arguments ...
• Improper argument type
• Disallowed vendor for this ip

Should errors persist, please report the circumstances to tech@divalas.vegas giving date/time of the error and the type of browser you are using.

Most of these errors can be prevented by observing the following:

1. Use a standard web browser, correctly installed and configured.

2. Don't enter ratings or comments via an anonymous proxy or with a plug-in which disables the HTTP_REFERER. (If you don't know what these are, it probably does not apply to you.)

3. Don't use a computer system on the premises of a listed vendor to enter ratings and comments about that vendor or any competitors.

4. Click SUBMIT only once. If you click more than once "just to be sure", you may very well elicit one of the above error messages.

If you continue to have difficulty entering ratings and comments, please write to tech@divalas.vegas and explain the circumstances. If necessary, we will enter the ratings and comments for you manually.

It is now pitch dark! If you proceed you will likely fall into a pit!

No!

Next question, please ...

There's really no "one size fits all" solution to these related issues.

The best course of action is to report it to tech@divalas.vegas and please explain the exact error message that you're getting. Screen shots will help greatly.

Some web content filtering services do regard our site as "adult" in nature and some firms do indeed block such content. Contact tech@divalas.vegas for possible work-arounds.

For our on-line forum, we do subscribe to several lists of known forum spammers and we block access from the networks known to be friendly to spammers. Again, contact tech@divalas.vegas to get the network you're coming from temporarily or permanently removed from the block lists.

Everyone who has registered for an upcoming DLV event or has attended DLV in recent years now has their own Attendee Information Portal screen on the web.

This is a single screen which replaces multiple screens used in the past, which allows convenient access to several important functions, including:

• Registration for the next upcoming event.
• Cancel/update of an existing registration.
• Activity sign-up for the upcoming event.
• Review and change activity sign-ups.
• Final Attendee Information (previously called Large Final Mailing)

Not really. Pinkfest, which happens in Chicago each October, was started by some of the same people who first envisioned DLV. It is, like DLV, a vacation and not a convention, but there is no official affiliation.

With very rare exception, those who are TG are valued customers at most establishments in Las Vegas that are open to the public.

Our participants have gone shopping in local malls and shops, gaming in various casinos, gone to various tourist attractions, attended production shows, etc., with very few problems or incidents.

If you go looking for trouble, however, you are certain to find it, as you will in any location under any set of circumstances.

As long as you dress and act as a lady or gentleman, use common sense, and don't push things, you should have little or no difficulty in Las Vegas.

All hotels, casinos, restaurants, shops, etc., provide reserved handicapped parking. Most of the larger hotels will provide special rooms with wide doors, handrails, etc. if requested.

Most of the major casinos will have wheelchair-accessible table and machine games.

Since we're a vacation and not a convention, we won't have any exhibits or vendor hall.

However, as far as "vendors" you can patronize, there will be the entire Las Vegas business community!

There are several merchants which invite our business and hold "Open House" sessions for our attendees.

In addition, there may be merchants and service providers attending DLV and offering their products and services for sale.

Most of the mainstream businesses in Las Vegas will welcome your business in either mode. Some have explicitly invited DLV attendees to shop in their facilities, and some offer promotions and discounts to our people.

It's normal to be concerned about this when getting together with any group of people you do not already know. Please be assured that those who attend Diva Las Vegas are very outgoing, very inclusive, and not in any way snobby or cliquish. Most of the people attending were at one time in exactly this situation themselves.

If you're new and don't know any of the others, our volunteers will be happy to introduce you around to the others.

This refers to an amusing (but embarrassing at the time) incident in which one young lady received a coming-out baptism-by-fire when nature called. Nobody was hurt or hassled, and she will have a very interesting story to tell to her grandchildren. No doubt this tale will be recalled at this year's event. Everybody involved laughs about it now!

Yeah, what about it? :)

You're welcome to attend, just as anybody else is. Please keep in mind we are a vacation, not a convention. We won't have any seminars or vendor hall, and we don't have any space for you to set up and do your thing.

Before you make plans to attend as a vendor, please look very carefully at this site and at this FAQ so you can be sure you know what you are getting into.

You won't have as much of a captive audience as you will at the traditional TG conventions, since we encourage our people to get out and shop locally.

Also please be aware that Clark County has strict tax and permit requirements for itinerant merchants. You (not us) will be responsible for seeking and jumping through the necessary hoops in order to legally do business in Clark County, Nevada. (One particular note is that DLV does not qualify as a "convention" or "trade show" at which the tax and permit requirements are waived for occasional sales.)

If you plan to be offering professional services such as makeovers, hairstyling, electrolysis, nails/manicures, etc., please be aware that these services are regulated by the State of Nevada, and you (not us) will be responsible for researching the requirements and jumping through the necessary hoops in order to legally practice your profession while attending DLV.

Diva Las Vegas is highly dependent on the Internet, for information, registration, etc.

You have two options:

1. Use a public-access terminal, such as in public libraries or Kinkos shops, and a free e-mail account on a service such as Hotmail or Yahoo. This has actually worked quite well for a few people.

2. Find a person with Internet access to act as go-between and print out such things as the FAQ and the weekly mailings and give them to you. This person can then fill in the registration screen for you.

Since you are either reading this on the web, or from a hardcopy that somebody printed out, one of the above options should be within your reach, if you are indeed serious about attending.

If you are shy about using your usual home or office e-mail account for DLV, sign up for a free web-access e-mail account through such a thing as Hotmail or Yahoo. It's easy, discreet, and free.

Sorry, we do not offer registration via postal mail or voice telephone.

Since no money changes hands for DLV registration, registering on the web, either by yourself using public facilities or by using a go-between will work fine.

It varies quite a bit. Usually dry, highs in the 80's, lows in 60's, sometimes even high 50's. It can be over 100, though. It does not rain that often, but when it does, it POURS!

Nights may be cool, but are very seldom cold. Sweater weather, not overcoat weather. :)

In most cases, you will probably not need a jacket or sweater except on the casino floor. :)

Bringing a small umbrella is recommended just in case.

We're not trying to scare anybody off, but there are a few things gathered from over the years that you should make note of.

Please be VERY careful if you're tempted to use any of the various "adult" services such as escort agencies, outcall entertainers, etc. These businesses advertise heavily, but often operate outside of or just within the law and are poorly regulated. Incidents of assault and attempted robbery have occured when dealing with these people.

Do not open your hotel room door unless you are absolutely sure who it is. Do not even crack it, even if there is a security chain. If you are not expecting anybody, did not phone room service, houskeeping, maintenance, etc., do not open the door, but phone your hotel's security department.

If you're thinking of coming to DLV with the intention of picking up some extra spending money by engaging in blatantly illegal activities such as dealing drugs or practicing the world's oldest profession, STAY AWAY! Those activities are not welcome at DLV. That's not what DLV is all about. Never has been, never will be.

If you come to DLV with the expectation that you (or your group) will be the center of attention, you will be disappointed. No person or group, even the organizers and long-timers, acts in this role.

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE! Sobriety checkpoints occur occasionally on weekend nights.

Additional en femme drinking tips appear at: