Diva Las Vegas article ...

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This posting is from: Sallie
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This is my article that I wrote for the St. Louis Gender Foundation
Magazine, THE GAZETTE, for our May June issue.
. . . . .

Diva, Las Vegas

I am not writing about an Elvis song, although THE KING is still
#1(sorry Danielle).

In May I had a business trip planned to LV. As it turned out, the trip
overlapped with a week long transgender event called Diva Las Vegas.

DLV uses a motto, "vacation, not a convention." Since 1997, the
organizers have been hostesses for this unique and wonderful event. No
speakers, no forums, no set fees, just tons of fun things to do and see.

63 events were planned over six days. The organization of the event was
carried out like a military operation. The entire schedule was set with
times, places, hostesses in charge, dress, and maps.

Since my schedule was pretty much set, I was able to participate in just
a few events: The Official Group Photo, The Limousine Tour, and an
evening at the Bellagio.

The Group Photo was taken inside Caesars Palace just in front of a
gorgeous fountain surrounded by shops (oh my). Close your eyes and try
to imagine this picture. Sixty girls in beautiful gowns and outfits
trying to line up for a picture. Our photographer was a very patient
person. It took about 20 minutes to finally strike THE POSE. By now a
small group of onlookers (gawkers with cameras) had assembled, no more
than a few hundred folks. It was actually a lot of fun.

The Limousine Tour followed 6 limos with 7 ladies per limo. I was so
lucky to be included since I had not signed up in advance but a few
girls were no shows.

The person in charge called our limo the "party limo" because of the
group of ladies inside.

Two girls from Washington State, two from New Jersey, one from
California and one from New Mexico and sallie. With each limo was
stocked with champagne, we were off. A photo shoot under the classic
LV Sign, several stops at the top hotels in town and some classy and
gorgeous new friends, my fairytale evening was almost over.

A stop at a LV lounge frequented by working t-gurls and our night was
over, but never to be forgotten. The four of us walked in and you could
hear a pin drop. We just didn't look the part and maybe they initially
thought that we were trying to take over their turf. But, things
relaxed and the ladies were very nice to us. One girl occupied a booth
near ours. She sat on top of the seat back and sat like a statue. This
went on for about 15 minutes before we realized that she was actually
posing against a window for anyone looking for a "date."

Note: DLV offers activities from shopping, make-overs, golf, target range
shooting, Lake Meade Tour, and even a tour of the "Chicken Ranch". Check
out the web-site.

Las Vegas offers hotel rooms on the strip for under $40 per night.
Southwest Air fares are cheap, and there is no need for a car rental.
The Monorail or taxis go everywhere.

As that famous man once said, "I shall return."

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(This posting was entered by Sallie, an external user of MyDLV.)