This past weekend, Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s media company, hosted its first-ever Sunniefest at Pegasus Park in Dallas, TX. Designed to inspire and empower Gen Z girls, the festival brought together STEM exploration, hands-on workshops, interactive labs and panels led by young creators and leaders. Sunniefest created a space for teens to connect, build confidence and explore their interests in a fun, supportive environment.
With partners like e.l.f. Cosmetics, Coach, Purdue University and Pink, the day was filled with creative experiences and branded pop-ups offering free gifts and interactive stations. Hockaday sophomore Bailey Horne enjoyed exploring the booths.
“My favorite part about today was exploring all the different popups,” Horne said. “I started off at e.l.f., and then we hit Coach, where I got to make my own bookmark and customize it with my favorite animal, a dinosaur.”
After visiting the pop-ups downstairs, attendees headed to the 12th floor for the panel discussions. Throughout the day, Sunniefest featured inspiring speakers from a variety of disciplines, including actresses Chandler Kinney, Lexi Minetree, Raegan Revord and Gabby Policano; athletes Ashton Landsdell and Brooke Johnson; and activists and innovators Marley Dias and Neha Shukla.
“Hearing the panelists and seeing the celebrities I follow on social media was an out of body experience,” Horne said. “It’s inspiring me to just try different things.”
Sunniefest also offered hands-on workshops led by inspirational women. Dr. Sara Kuburic, known as the Millennial Therapist on social media, led a session on friendship, guiding attendees to define what friendship means to them and reflect on how they show up for others.
“What I really took away was to spend time with the people I love and just enjoy the moment,” Horne said. “It’s okay if things don’t go to plan as long as I’m having fun and spending it with the people I love.”
Sophomore Avery Park also attended the event with Horne and enjoyed thoughtful insights from the panelists.
“My favorite part was definitely getting to hear from all of the panelists and celebrities that I’ve seen on TV,” Park said.
From the cast of Legally Blonde’s prequel Elle, set to release in the summer of 2026, Park took away one key lesson: Always try new things. Actresses Lexi Minetree, Gabrielle Policano and Chandler Kinney were interviewed by social media presence Dai Time for one of the panels.
“One of the actresses used Elle Woods as an example of a woman who started her legal career later than other people but was still successful,” Park said. “I took that to mean you should never be afraid to try new things even when you may not have as much experience.”
From the day full of events, Park heard a similar sentiment echoed by each panelist and company present.
“Continue to follow your dreams,” Park said. “You never know what is going to happen, and you should just follow your passion.”
Episcopal School of Dallas (ESD) Junior Alexa Sardina loved the female leadership present at the conference, particularly women-inspired businesses: Coach, Pink and Invisalign.
“It was such a random but inspiring collection of companies,” Sardina said. “Because of a ran
dom company that is here today, we can do fun activities like these.”
Sardina brought a notebook with her to the conference, documenting what she found interesting from each of the speakers. In her notes, she wrote about how intentional actress Kiernan Shipka, the first panelist was in her conversation about ambition.
“By far, the first talk about ambition was something that really interested me,” Sardina said. “I feel like I have a lot of interests, and it was so nice to hear about how to put your whole self into something.”
Looking to the future, Sardina believes that Sunniefest assured her that there is much to be excited about as she ventures into her career.
“[Sunniefest] has reminded me of all of the opportunities we have as Gen Z,” Sardina said. “With all of the negativity present today, it is nice to see something positive that gives me hope for the future.”
