Hello Sunshine, founded by actress Reese Witherspoon, is debuting Sunniefest, an immersive one-day festival designed for girls ages 13-18 to connect, create, and be inspired, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 15, at Pegasus Park in Dallas.

The event is supported by Hello Sunshine partner IF/THEN, an initiative of Dallas-based Lyda Hill Philanthropies, which is focused on inspiring the next generation of girls to pursue STEM careers.

“How fun to have Reese Witherspoon’s inaugural teen event right here in Dallas!” Nicole Small, CEO of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, LH Capital, and co-founder of IF/THEN, said in a statement. “Sunniefest will be such an inspiring day—bringing incredible talent, partners, and experiences together to show girls that if they can see it, they can be it.”

Left to right: Reese Witherspoon, Lyda Hill, and Nicole Small [Photos: Hello Sunshine’s Shine Away/Southwestern Medical Foundation/Michael Samples]

IF/THEN was announced earlier this year as Hello Sunshine’s partner for all things STEM, including developing a slate of scripted and unscripted film and TV series. Sunniefest is the next project in this partnership, set on the backdrop of Pegasus Park, Dallas’ 26-acre innovation hub.

Organizers said that Gen Z stars including Kiernan Shipka, Raegan Revord, Chandler Kinney, Lexi Minetree, and more will take the Sunniefest stage throughout the day.

All things Sunnie

Sunniefest was created by Hello Sunshine’s Gen Z brand, Sunnie, a part of Candle Media.

“We created Sunniefest because Gen Z girls are craving real connection—authentic moments with their peers and with the brands that truly get them,” Maureen Polo, CEO of Hello Sunshine, said in a statement. “Together with Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Sunnie has built a space and community where young women can explore who they are, gain confidence, and be inspired through hands-on creativity, STEM labs, workshops, and incredible conversations. This isn’t just a festival—it’s a movement built around belonging, self-discovery, and the power of coming together, and we’re thrilled to have such phenomenal partners in Lyda Hill Philanthropies.”

Lyda Hill, founder of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, said Pegasus Park “was built to spark ideas that can change the world.”

“My hope is that one day, a girl who comes to Sunniefest curious about science will return here as a researcher, innovator, or changemaker making discoveries that improve lives,” she added in a statement.

The importance of ‘offline connections’ for Gen Z girls

Hello Sunshine: The Gen Z Rewrite Report, conducted by YPulse in partnership with Etre, found that 67% of surveyed girls find community online, but 85% say offline connections matter most.

The same survey found that 90% of Gen Z girls appreciate brands that make real-world connections possible, bridging their off and online communities.

The partners behind Sunniefest

Hello Sunshine is a multichannel media company that spotlights where women are now and helps them chart a new path forward. It’s also home to Reese’s Book Club, The Home Edit, and Fair Play. The brands aim to create communities propelled by meaningful connections, commerce experiences, sophisticated content, and media ecosystems.

Sunnie, a media, experiential, and lifestyle brand, was launched earlier this year at Cannes Lions to inspire the next generation of young women and build a community rooted in joy, curiosity, and real self-expression.

Candle Media—an independent, creator-friendly home for “cutting-edge, high-quality, category-defining brands and franchises”—said that by bringing together elite talent operating at the intersection of content, community, and commerce, it helps position leading entertainment businesses for accelerated, sustainable growth in the current market and beyond.

Candle Media is run by its co-chairmen and co-CEOs, entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. It’s backed by investment capital from funds managed by Blackstone’s flagship private equity business.

Tickets to Saturday’s Sunniefest event at Pegasus Park are $75. To purchase tickets or for more info, you can go here.

Don’t miss what’s next. Subscribe to Dallas Innovates.

Track Dallas-Fort Worth’s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.

 

R E A D   N E X T

  • Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science—an ideal day for a Dallas nonprofit to align with a Hollywood movie star to celebrate women in STEM in film and television. According to the Dallas Morning News, Dallas-based Lyda Hill Philanthropies is partnering with Reese Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine to produce and distribute movies and TV shows that champion women’s achievements in STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics). 

  • The IF/THEN initiative from Lyda Hill Philanthropies has had a major impact on spectators who’ve viewed its installation of 3D-printed statues of women “STEM rockstars.” Now a new push is underway to make an impact online through IF/THEN’s website, which has been newly redesigned by Dallas-based Tegan Digital. 

  • In partnership with Lewisville–based Open Space, the city of Cedar Hill has brought in a herd of goats to chow down on overgrown vegetation in a local nature preserve—aiming to get rid of invasive plant species while restoring the natural balance of the habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.

  • The Lab-on-a-Chip test can detect immune responses to infectious pathogens in two to three minutes, using just a drop of blood or saliva on a “microfluidic” chip. Funding for the researchers’ grant came from Dallas-based Lyda Hill Philanthropies.

  • The Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology honors the Dallas businesswoman and philanthropist and her team for empowering and enabling groundbreaking research in science and nature.