Young, urban professionals looking for a great time are known to hop on a plane to soak up the sunshine in Miami or experience the culture in Trinidad for Carnival. But local event producer DeShae DeShields is aiming to get Bermuda on their radar with an upcoming three-day bash called Gemini Dream Weekend.

Designed to attract mature and sophisticated partygoers from both here and overseas, organisers have already seen interest from people in the Caribbean, UK, US and Canada for the May 30 to June 1 event.

Starting with a welcome party featuring local and international DJs at Pier Six on the Friday night; the event will continue with an all day beach party and pool party on the Saturday, followed by a boat raft up on the Sunday.

“So far we have had some really great interest based off of the event’s website,” said Ms DeShields. “People from Trinidad, England, Canada and all over the East Coast and lately a few calls have come in from LA and Chicago, so people are spreading the word and inviting their friends to come down because it’s a new experience.”

Ms DeShields, along with New York based business partner Leyde St Leger, count themselves “really fortunate” to have the event being promoted by a few international bloggers.

GDW has also been endorsed by Sean Malcolm, the editor in chief of King Magazine and contributor to XXL.

Ms DeShields said: “Sean Malcolm is going to come down and host and has been spreading the message to his networks all across New York, including people in the industry, models and young professionals who are looking to escape for a short weekend and start their summer off right.

“Our target audience is in New York, so they can get a taste of what we have to offer and come back for future vacations because it’s really convenient for them with the short, direct flight.”

The event actually started off as a small raft up with some of Ms DeShields’ closest friends, in honour of her birthday in 2011.

Over time it grew to include more people from overseas that she had met at university or through her travels. Then after word spread about how much fun could be had on the Island, Ms DeShields decided to turn it into a tourism product.

She said: “The interest grew tremendously from year to year. People were looking at pictures on social media and were sharing about their wonderful experiences through general conversations and others became interested and wanted to come.

“For us it was important to create a formal event and we really put all our energy and effort into building this as a hospitality product to attract new visitors to Bermuda that were a different audience from what we’re typically used to.

“It’s an event geared towards providing entertainment for a mature crowd of both locals and international urban professionals.

“We are gearing up for it to be a sophisticated and fun island party weekend that will showcase the best of Bermuda and entice them to come back again.”

Co-founder for the event Mr St Leger has been helping her plan the event since September. He said his world changed after coming to the Island in 2007 and he believes that everyone should get “to experience paradise” at least once in their lifetime. GDW gives them that opportunity, he explained.

In addition to the beaches and nightlife, visitors will get to sample some of the Island’s cuisine, including: fish chowder, fishcakes, BBQ and local seafood.

Sponsors have also come on board to ensure the event is a success. Beverage distributors Pitt & Company will be offering Mokai and WKD coolers, while Digicel has agreed to give visitors a free sim card with data, so they can access social media and share photos from the event.

“That is important to us because our generation is online and everything is digital,” Ms DeShields said.

“Social media is very essential to how we communicate and when you see people having a good time you want to know more about it. So we are using custom hashtags that are trending and aiming to put Bermuda on the map.”

Hotels like Newstead and Coco Reefs are providing special room rates, while sponsors like Grace, Special K, Island Tours and Chartering, as well as City of Hamilton have also come on board.

Ms DeShields said she was aiming to turn Gemini Dream Weekend into a staple event to kick off the summer.

“We want it to become a feature on the Bermuda calendar and to introduce large numbers of air arrivals to the Island,” she said. “The goal is to extend and usher in the summer season a few weeks earlier.”

For ticket prices and packages or more information on the events taking place for GDW visit www.geminidreamweekend.com.