The Dinah is back in Palm Springs for its 35th anniversary starting Wednesday, September 30, but the two women running the show this year are new to the owner's chair even if their faces are familiar to longtime festivalgoers. Bella Barkow and Rose Garcia bought the LGBTQ+ women's music festival earlier this year from founder Mariah Hanson, who had spent 34 years building it from a single-night party into an international, multi-day event.
Barkow and Garcia bought the festival and formed BellaRose Productions, LLC to take over its production. The timing mattered: Hanson had previously said the 2026 festival might be paused entirely if no buyer stepped forward, so the acquisition ended months of uncertainty over whether the event would return at all, as The Desert Sun reports.
Familiar Faces With Behind-the-Scenes Roots
Neither new owner is a stranger to The Dinah. Garcia is a real estate entrepreneur and former reality television personality who appeared on Showtime's The Real L Word, and she had also long served as the event's emcee. Garcia's long involvement with The Dinah preceded her co-purchase of the event, per the same account from the Advocate.
Barkow's path ran through the festival's operations side. She joined The Dinah's staff in 2018 as a pool party stage manager before working her way up to operations manager, and she has also managed large-scale events including LA Pride and the Outloud Festival. Their backgrounds span festival operations and public-facing hosting.
From Museum Party to Multi-Hotel Takeover
Hanson launched The Dinah as a one-night event at a Palm Springs museum more than three decades ago before producing her final festival in September 2025 and stepping down after 34 years at the helm, according to Curve Magazine. Over that span she grew the gathering from a local museum event into the international, multi-day festival now taking place across two host hotels — the Hilton Palm Springs and Hotel Zoso — from September 30 through October 4, according to Greater Palm Springs Tourism.
This year's lineup features headlining sets from pop artist Hayley Kiyoko, who is set to headline the festival's signature Saturday night party, and hip-hop icon Da Brat, along with fellow headliners indie band The Aces and R&B artist Sasha Keable, as reported by Diva Magazine.
The World's Largest Lesbian Festival
The Dinah hosts upwards of 10,000 attendees in the Coachella Valley, making it widely recognized as the world's largest and longest-running music festival specifically for LGBTQ+ women, according to GO Magazine.
Over its history, The Dinah has featured major female recording artists including Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Lizzo, and Kesha, Curve Magazine notes. That legacy is part of what Barkow and Garcia now have to protect; they have also emphasized inclusivity and diversity. The event includes hotel venues and pool parties.
The Dinah takes place in Greater Palm Springs. As the new owners settle in for their first festival at the helm, the 35th anniversary event doubles as a test of whether a community-led, women-owned festival can thrive under new leadership.
