Diva is the brainchild of Angelique Irizarry, third generation owner of Shescape, a special events company that has produced some of the biggest events for women for more than two decades. Like many successful ideas, Diva Dodgeball and Diva on the Shore started unintentionally.

Diva Dodgeball had evolved from a series of ADD episodes and way too much quiet time on Fire Island, Cherry Grove. "I was sitting on the beach with a bunch of friends and noticed there weren't many girls out there", says Angelique. "I wanted to bring the city girls out to this great oasis just minutes from NYC and it dawned on me. I Love Sports and Im sure all of my other fellow divas do to! So I concocted two make shift walls, bought two dodgeballs, and the girls came from every part of the beach to watch or play."

From there, the idea was born. What started out with just a few friends has now grown to over 1,000 women on the beach and after parties. With the growing number of Xena Warriors and their cheerleaders, Diva Dodgeball eventually moved from Fire Island, NY to Asbury Park, NJ in 2009 to accommodate more people. In 2010, the City of Asbury Park clocked over 3,400 women on the beach during the tournament and a thousand stayed to mingle with the divas at the after parties!

Diva's resident deejay, DJ JeNRG, who promotes several events around town says, "Angelique's Diva events are one of the very few events that bring the lesbian community together, especially since there is so much competition out there between bars, teams, promoters, and so on. This event allows everyone [to] leave all of their differences at home. It brings our community together for drinks, activity, and unity."

At Diva Dodgeball you'll never know what to expect, you just have to experience the weekend to relate!