THE DINAH was never simply a festival to Rose Garcia and Bella Barkow. It was a place that had already changed their lives—long before they became the new owners.
For 35 years, the Palm Springs gathering has brought queer women and non-binary people together from around the world for five days of music, nightlife, pool parties, comedy, wellness, friendship, and connection. In an increasingly fragmented festival landscape—and at a time when queer spaces can feel increasingly scarce—THE DINAH has endured by becoming something larger than its programming.
It became a place to belong.
Now, that legacy is entering a new chapter.
THE DINAH returns to Palm Springs September 30 through October 4, 2026, with Los Angeles-based Rose Garcia and Bella Barkow as its new owners. Their arrival marks a significant transition for the festival, but not a departure from its roots. Both women have spent years within THE DINAH community, and both say their decision to take the reins was ultimately about protecting something they deeply understand.
“I have attended over 20 Dinah events; it provided me with community, love, and acceptance when I needed it most,” Garcia says. “Keeping it in the family ensures that Mariah’s legacy lives on.”
For Barkow, that connection reaches even further back.
“The Dinah was my safe space after I came out at 13,” she says. “It is vital that we keep it alive for the next generation of young sapphics looking for that same sense of belonging and ‘unadulterated bliss.’”
Those experiences now inform the future they are building.
From the Community to the Helm
Their paths to ownership could hardly have been more different.
Barkow began her career in the Toronto rave scene in the late 1990s, where she discovered a passion for live event production. After moving to Los Angeles in 2012, she worked across Southern California on everything from speed-dating events to major festivals including LA Pride and Outloud.
She first attended THE DINAH in 2014. Four years later, she joined its team as a Pool Party Stage Manager and eventually became Operations Manager.
What began as a passion for producing events became something much more personal.
Garcia’s connection developed through entertainment and advocacy. Following the popularity of The Real L Word, she began working as a host and emcee for THE DINAH, supporting the festival for years out of a genuine affection for founder Mariah Hanson and the community she had created.
Eventually, Garcia and Barkow realized they were considering the same possibility independently: taking ownership of THE DINAH.
Their strengths, they say, were complementary. More importantly, they had both worked with Hanson for more than a decade and understood the responsibility of carrying forward something she had built with such intention.
“We knew we were the right people to carry that torch forward with the same love, dedication, and integrity,” they say.
That idea—carrying the torch rather than starting over—is at the center of their vision.
Preserve the Soul, Expand the Circle
Taking over an institution with 35 years of history presents an obvious question: How do you evolve without losing what made people fall in love with it in the first place?
For Garcia and Barkow, the answer begins with preservation.
“We want to preserve the soul of the event—that feeling of being a ‘safe space’ for our community—and the intentional sense of legacy Mariah built,” they say.
But preserving THE DINAH doesn’t mean keeping it exactly as it was.
Their 2026 vision includes expanded programming, more opportunities for attendees to connect, and experiences designed specifically for people who may arrive on their own and want to build new friendships. They also want the festival to better reflect the diversity of the global LGBTQ+ community.
“We aim to honor the tradition and the ‘classic’ feel that long-time attendees love while elevating the event to be even more inclusive and representative,” they say.
The first evidence of that philosophy can be found on this year’s stages.
A New Generation Takes the Stage
Hayley Kiyoko headlines THE DINAH’s 2026 music programming, a fitting choice for a festival entering a new era.
Kiyoko’s career has been closely tied to queer visibility since “Girls Like Girls” became a defining coming-of-age anthem in 2015. The story has since expanded into a New York Times bestselling novel, a second bestselling book, and this year’s feature-film directorial debut, accompanied by a new album.
Her appearance at THE DINAH brings that story full circle.
“THE DINAH has always been such a special place for our community,” Kiyoko said in announcing her performance.
For Garcia and Barkow, bringing her to Palm Springs was a longtime dream.
“Hayley performing at the festival has been a dream of ours,” they say. “We’ve long admired her passion and artistry.”
Her presence also connects THE DINAH’s legacy to a newer generation of queer audiences—one that grew up seeing artists like Kiyoko turn queer stories into mainstream cultural moments.
The rest of the lineup follows a similarly broad vision.
Sasha Keable and The Aces join previously announced performer Da Brat, bringing together artists from different generations and musical backgrounds. Keable, whose work embraces British-Latinx and queer representation, points to THE DINAH’s own history of supporting emerging queer talent.
“The love and support The Dinah has given countless queer women talents over the years is nothing short of incredible,” Keable says.
The Aces have described the festival as iconic and historically important, while Da Brat sees something even more fundamental in its appeal.
“When you’ve been in this business as long as I have, you appreciate spaces that make people feel seen and celebrated,” she says.
Comedy is also part of the expanded programming, with Cameron Esposito, Pink Foxx, and host Abe Farrelly joining the festival.
Together, the programming reflects what Garcia and Barkow describe as a more inclusive vision—one that creates space for people of color, trans women, and non-binary performers while continuing to center queer women.
“We balance this by blending iconic ‘classic’ Dinah experiences with new programming and amazing artists that resonate with a variety of genres and ages to reach a more diverse audience,” they say.
More Than What Happens on Stage
For all the attention surrounding the lineup, neither owner defines THE DINAH primarily through its performers.
What matters most happens between the sets.
For first-time attendees, Garcia and Barkow describe THE DINAH as a “queer bucket list” experience—a five-day gathering where people from around the world can be their most authentic selves without having to explain who they are.
They believe that sense of belonging is also the reason the festival has remained relevant for 35 years.
“There are very few queer female spaces left in the world,” they say. “The Dinah provides a rare, essential environment for community and celebration.”
Under their leadership, that mission will extend further into advocacy. Garcia and Barkow say they plan to continue partnering with organizations working to protect LGBTQ+ rights and deepen the festival’s connection to the issues affecting its community.
Their philosophy can be summed up in four words:
“Queer joy is resistance.”
For Garcia, that philosophy is inseparable from her own experience.
“The Dinah represents home,” she says. “It is where I built lifelong friendships and found freedom.”
As a Latina lesbian entrepreneur, she also sees her role as an opportunity to demonstrate that a community-centered institution can thrive without losing sight of the people it was built for.
“Being able to steward this brand means proving that we can succeed in an industry dominated by men and large corporations, while keeping the focus on community empowerment,” she says.
Barkow sees the responsibility through the eyes of the young person she once was.
“My inspiration is the young version of me—that 13-year-old girl who needed to see The Dinah to know a joyful and authentic life was possible.”
That may be the clearest expression of what this new chapter represents.
The goal isn’t simply to keep THE DINAH going.
It’s to make sure someone else can find it when they need it.
From Los Angeles to the Desert
Both Garcia and Barkow are based in Los Angeles, bringing years of experience in Southern California’s entertainment, nightlife, and creative communities to the festival.
They describe Los Angeles as an important influence on their programming, drawing from its queer culture, talent, nightlife, and diversity. But Palm Springs remains central to THE DINAH’s identity.
The desert setting has become part of the experience itself: the pools, hotels, late nights, sunlight, and temporary sense of entering a world built around community.
For five days, that world returns.
And this year, it arrives with new people carrying the torch.
If THE DINAH 2026 had a personality, Garcia and Barkow say it would be “confident, inclusive, celebratory, and unapologetically queer.”
When attendees leave, they hope they carry more than memories of a performance or party.
They want them to feel empowered and connected, knowing they have a community, a family, and a place they can return to year after year.
Twenty years from now, Garcia and Barkow hope this moment will be remembered simply: as the chapter when they “honored the past, protected the legacy, and successfully grew the festival into a beacon of hope and a thriving, inclusive sanctuary for every new generation that followed.”
For a festival whose greatest legacy may be the feeling of finding your people, there may be no better way to carry it forward.
WEB: thedinah.com