Go Girl! Saugatuck celebrates its ninth and final year at The Dunes Resort in Saugatuck, Michigan from May 29-31.
The rebranded, inclusive-of-all women’s weekend event is produced by self-described lesbian-identified, bisexual, woman of color, Cuban-Italian American, radical inclusionist, activated activist, poet and stand-up comedian-turned-producer Mimi Gonzalez.
The genesis of Go Girl! Saugatuck began on a November 2015 trip Gonzalez took to The Dunes Resort with Holland Pride’s Karen Prins. They were there to inquire about doing a comedy show at the resort.
“A gay boy/lesbian collaboration unfolded that day which has benefitted all of our communities,” said Gonzalez. “Beloved Mike Jones, one of the three gay men who own The Dunes Resort said, ‘Sure you can do a comedy show, we do lots of shows in the cabaret. But what we really need is a woman to produce our women’s week.’ To which I immediately responded that I’d look for someone else who might be interested. That turned out to be me.
“I rebranded the women’s weekend to be inclusive of all women, gender transcenders, non-binary, transmen and transwomen—always aiming to include everyone who is in, out or on the female spectrum.”
Gonzalez credits her years of performances at many festivals, prides, cruises, resorts and full seasons in Provincetown, Massachusetts for how she professionally approaches the needs of the performers who have worked the eight previous Go Girl! Saugatuck events as well as what the audiences and attendees want.
“Plus, I can thank my Capricorn moon that really helps with logistics for this double Pisces,” said Gonzalez.
There have been many unforgettable Go Girl! Saugatuck moments, according to Gonzalez. She said her favorite time is on the dance floor after the shows where Chicago DJ AlltheWayKay spun tunes from the first event in 2016 through 2023. This year there will be two Chicago “powerhouses”: DJ Gloria and House Music DJ Lori Branch, who will cap off both Friday and Saturday’s evening performances.
“It is going to make me probably tear up on the dance floor this final year,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez also praised the comedians, rappers, women-led bands, burlesque, drag kings, spoke word artists, fire-eaters and spark grinders who have headlined shows on Friday and Saturday evenings over the years.
Attendees this year can expect some of the best acts from previous years and new performers: MilTown King Leo Long and the creator of the International Drag King Extravaganza, Luster De La Virgion with musical headliner “On My Detroit Everything” rapper D.S. Sense. Additionally, international comedy legend Karen Williams will headline Friday’s comedy show alongside Gonzalez with Chicago’s Jaye Will as the emcee. Chicago spoken word artist Lucy Schumpert will anchor the Sunday Gospel of YOU open mic and writing workshop.
Go Girl! Saugatuck, Gonzalez said, “was such an unexpected dream to create and host. I endeavored to promote local/regional women performers and make a safe space for an intergenerational party for everyone to play and celebrate our fabulous selves. The people who’ve shown up for all of these summer pre-games have kept me motivated and hopeful.”
Gonzalez’s career as a stand-up comedian and writer had its origins in her childhood and teen years. She was raised by her single Italian-American mother alongside her two brothers in an “area called Downriver Detroit, a place where you could see the sky turn orange when steel was being poured at the Ford River Rouge plant.”
It wasn’t until her undergrad years at Central Michigan University where she got her degree in journalism that she discovered her radical lesbian feminist sensibility. She got involved with the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival at that time and this is where she encountered the Women of Color tent run by Chicago lesbian icon and organizer Pat McCombs. This is where Gonzalez also met Chicagoans Martha Cartagena and Maria Calderon who co-facilitated Latina-based writing workshops with her.
Gonzalez said the Chicago BIPOC community has been a lifeline who helped her become aware of her Latina heritage since “my father was the Cuban who left me with my name, hair and skin to figure it out against the backdrop of my pale Italian mother who insisted repeatedly ‘You’re white! Your father told me he was white, you’re white’ despite the names I was called growing up.
“The years I spent in the belly of the beast in Los Angeles only opened up because of tokenizing. Gay Night, Latino Night, Women’s Night—if it meant stage time for my comedy routine, I took it. I created and booked open mics in San Francisco and Los Angeles where at Little Frida’s Coffee House I had a weekly show called Women with Balls. Our annual show always sold out and was LA Weekly’s pick-of-the week for four years.”
One of the things that Gonzalez is most proud of as a stand-up comedian was her travels to entertain the U.S. military. She said one of the moments when she wasn’t onstage that stood out to her was going to Afghanistan high into the mountains to a forward operating base where the time changed by 30 minutes.”
She took her first trip to Iraq with comedian Jennie McNulty. The two performers traveled with military convoys on “the most dangerous road in the world” from the airport road to Freedom Base, one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces. The military awarded Gonzalez and McNulty Combat Action Badges after six trips “because on one of them we took fire. But Jennie and I are both from Detroit so we didn’t recognize the sound of it.”
Gonzalez also performed at the 1993 March on Washington, which was another highlight for her—it was the second LGBTQ+ march for equality, which “announced to the nation just what a force our combined communities are.” She said the ability to perform for “my people who are all the colors, genders, educations and incomes, is the opportunity to actually be of service as we continue to expand human consciousness.”
As Gonzalez ends her Go Girl! Saugatuck involvement this summer, she is also scaling back her stand-up comedy gigs as she starts the third act of her life in Palm Springs, where she recently moved.
She will be in Michigan this summer “among the sisterhood” on The Land where the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival used to take place for Amazon Spirit Week, Big Mouth Girl and finally at Fern Fest on Smiling Acres.
“Go Girl! Saugatuck has been a labor of love for me,” said Gonzalez. “I’m ready for someone else to pick up the reins and ride this established event into a new decade of party power and fun. Succession is a tricky relationship that hasn’t manifested yet. Maybe at this year’s event though? So, I’ll use my faith in the sister/sibster-hood and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.”
Gonzalez said the prices for the upcoming Go Girl Saugatuck weekend will raise by $10 every few weeks, “but check out our pro-rated tickets offering discounts.”
