Since Mariah Hanson first hosted 1,500 guests at a small, one-night event in 1991, The Dinah has evolved into a mecca for sapphic women around the world. For 35 years, Hanson poured her heart into The Dinah, making it the largest and longest running sapphic festival in the world. Now, Hanson’s passing the torch to the next generation.
Rose Garcia, a longtime emcee of the event, and Bella Barkow, the event’s former Operations Manager, have acquired The Dinah from Hanson. Barkow and Garcia are a fitting duo to take on this cultural juggernaut as they’ve both been making waves in the queer community for years. Garcia was the real-life inspiration for The L Word’s Papi and became well known as a cast member on The Real L Word before entering the world of real estate. Barkow holds extensive experience in large-scale LGBTQ+ event production, tackling everything from speed-dating events for queer women to major festivals, like LA Pride and the Outloud Festival. Still, the decision to team up and take on The Dinah wasn’t immediate.
When Hanson first told The Dinah team that she would be selling the event, Barkow knew that this was something she wanted to take on. “Right away, I went to her and said, ‘I’m putting my hat in the ring,’” Barkow recalls. For her, running The Dinah is her ultimate dream as a queer woman in the event industry. “To create a safe space like this year after year and be of service to the community while still having a job and paying the bills is amazing,” she says.
Conversely, Garcia didn’t initially consider ownership. “I wasn’t even thinking about it until Mariah pulled me aside to say that people were pitching me as the new owner,” she says. Though the news came as a surprise, Garcia realized she could take on The Dinah, but she’d need production support. She reached out to Barkow, and everything progressed from there.
“It’s a synergistic partnership,” Garcia says. “We each have our strengths.”
That partnership is already creating magic, as the duo races towards their first Dinah as co-owners. Before the sale, Hanson warned partygoers that 2026 would likely be a transition year without The Dinah, as whoever took over would need time to get up to speed. However, Barkow and Garcia have intimate knowledge of The Dinah that allowed them to hit the ground running. They’re even bringing back most of The Dinah staff, keeping their family behind the scenes intact.
With their team in place, Barkow and Garcia moved The Dinah back to its original fall timeline, and announced a 2026 event for late September. “We started the process a month later than when Mariah normally would announce her tickets. We were like, let’s hurry up and do 2026!” Garcia says.
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The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and ticket sales are already projecting 2026 to be on pace with 2025—the event’s biggest year. “People have been giving us their input for the festival,” Garcia says. “They’re like, ‘Do a fashion show.’ ‘Do this.’ ‘Do that.’ We’re just trying to get 2026 underway!”
That doesn’t mean they want people to stop reaching out with ideas. “We’re implementing as much as we can each year. Eventually, we’d love to be everything to everyone,” Barkow says.
One topic has dominated their DMs since the announcement: diversity. “I’m Puerto Rican, I’m Latina, so we’re bringing a lot of diversity back to the Dinah and introducing more where we can,” Garcia says. For Barkow and Garcia, their dedication to diversity covers multiple identities.
Barkow implemented a staff-wide gender sensitivity training with The Dinah team two years ago, and is proud to keep that going. “It’s really important, because it educates the staff and helps make people feel comfortable, especially with the way our community is ever changing,” Garcia says.
That focus on inclusion and keeping up with attendee needs led to the biggest change for The Dinah 2026: a second hotel. “We’ve got the night parties, the infamous pool parties, the fun and debauchery, but we’ve also got our sporty lesbians and sober community looking for something more laid back,” Garcia says. The second hotel will also have a pool area for attendees, but provide more of a “chill backyard sporty vibe.” Non-alcoholic beverages will even be available for those aiming to participate in the fun but looking for less of the party feel.
“We’re trying to encompass the needs of our entire community as best as we can,” Garcia explains. The duo is also bringing back the comedy shows The Dinah hosted in earlier years and adding a single and solo event, so attendees coming to Dinah alone can find friends (or lovers!) to experience the weekend with.
For those on the fence about attending, Barkow and Garcia have a singular message: come and enjoy yourself. “It’ll change your life. Being with 3,000 folks that you can identify with and feel safe with in an environment where you can thrive—especially in these turbulent times—is important” Garcia says.
“Yes! As long as you’re not an asshole, you’re welcome to attend,” Barkow says. “This is for our LGBTQ+ babies, for all of our queer, trans, and BIPOC persons. We want everyone to come and leave the outside world outside of Dinah.”
September is only a few months away, but Barkow and Garcia aren’t worried. They know the work they do makes a huge difference in the sapphic community across the world. “We’re not sleeping, but that’s okay,” Barkow jokes.
“The community showed up for us, so we’re going to show up for them,” Garcia says. To this end, Garcia and Barkow have taken up a motto as they lead The Dinah forward.
“We say, ‘Dinah forever.’ Soon I’ll be so old that Bella will have to roll me out on stage in a wheelchair,” Garcia jokes, “but we’ll still be here!”
“Yes,” Barkow agrees. “Dinah forever.”
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The Dinah 2026 will take place Sept 30th-Oct 4th in Palm Springs, CA. Tickets are on sale now.