For 35 years, The Dinah has given queer women a place to find community and celebrate without apology. Rose Garcia and Bella Barkow are carrying that legacy forward.
After years of working with The Dinah — Garcia as an emcee and Barkow as an event producer — the pair acquired the Palm Springs festival from founder Mariah Hanson and produced their first Dinah as co-owners this year.
Garcia has long been a familiar face to many sapphics. The Puerto Rican entrepreneur starred on Showtime’s The Real L Word and spent years emceeing The Dinah. But reaching this moment followed a much more personal fight: Garcia survived stage 3C ovarian cancer after being told she might have only seven months to live if chemotherapy failed.
“Coming out the other side changed my relationship with fear in a way nothing else could have,” she says.
Barkow, meanwhile, has spent decades creating LGBTQ+ spaces, producing events like LA Pride and Outloud. Taking ownership of the festival brought that work full circle.
Together, they want to protect what has made The Dinah special while creating new opportunities for queer artists and bringing the festival to another generation.
As Barkow puts it, “Community and queer joy are powerful forms of resistance.” And for Garcia, “I feel like I’ve been given another chapter, and I plan to make it count.” @thedinahshore
