This Saturday, Hello Sunshine will be hosting its inaugural “Sunniefest,” a full-day festival specifically built for teen and young women ages 13 to 18 to explore creativity, STEM, and self-expression, in Pegasus Park in Dallas, Texas.
Packed with interactive workshops, confidence-building sessions, live panels, and hands-on experience in robotics, AI, and scent science, Sunniefest is expected to play host to TV stars Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Raegan Revord (Young Sheldon), and Chandler Kinney (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin). Others include Marley Dias, Pressley Hosbach, Lexi Minetree, Dai Time, and more. You can view the full list of speakers here.
Founded by Reese Witherspoon, Hello Sunshine puts women at the center of every story it creates, celebrates and discovers. Hello Sunshine tells stories across all platforms – from scripted and unscripted television, feature films, animated series, podcasts, audio storytelling, and digital series – all shining a light on where women are now and helping them chart a new path forward. In June, Witherspoon’s impact-driven multimedia brand announced the launch of “Sunnie,” a Gen Z driven vertical committed to rewriting the rules of what it means to be a young woman in today’s society of “labels” and expectations.
But hold up before you jump to conclusions, because Sunniefest isn’t another “girl empowerment” or “influencer” (yuck) event. No, it’s a space built with teen girls, not just for them. It’s where confidence isn’t a slogan but a feeling you build together. Where you’re reminded that your light doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s, it just has to be yours.
We Write Our Own Rules
The world keeps telling girls to shine, but rarely gives them a space to breathe first. Sunniefest is that breath. It’s where stories are shared, friendships spark, and the future feels a little closer. This isn’t about perfection; it’s about possibility and the beautiful chaos of growing into your own light.
“Sunnie was created as more than a platform, it’s a movement,” Reese Witherspoon, founder of Hello Sunshine, told Elite Daily in October. “Gen Z women are rewriting the script every day — they’re creators, vibrant leaders, and disruptors, full of agency.”
For years, “girl empowerment” has been packaged as confidence workshops, hashtags, and motivational quotes. But what happens after the speeches end? Sunniefest dares to answer that question by replacing pressure with presence, and turning inspiration into connection. It’s not a stage to perform on; it’s a circle to belong to.
This weekend, teen girls across the community will gather not to be told who they can be, but to explore who they already are. Through art, music, storytelling, and shared experiences, Sunniefest reminds us that empowerment doesn’t start with a microphone — it starts with a moment. A moment of being seen, of laughing too loud, of realizing you’re not alone.
Echoing this sentiment, Hello Sunshine’s CEO Maureen Polo emphasized the brand’s deep commitment to meeting Gen Z women where they are, which means celebrating what’s possible and what hasn’t yet presented itself…on their terms. In Polo’s eyes, this is so much more than festival, but a “new kind of space” that encourages and carves out the pathways for young Gen Z women to tap into their strengths and discover sides of themselves that have always been there waiting to be unleashed.
Instead of telling you how to be confident, it simply gives you space to be. To test things out, to try, to fail, to laugh, to meet other girls who get what you’re going through. It’s a reset button for your creative energy. Because maybe empowerment isn’t about becoming more, maybe it’s about remembering you were always enough. It’s about showing up as you are, celebrating each other, and realizing your voice is already powerful.
So, forget what you think you need to be, because Saturday isn’t about becoming “empowered.” It’s about remembering you already are.
Why Sunnie Fest Matters Now More Than Ever
As a destination built for the modern, multi-hyphenate woman, Sunnie is the vibrant, next-generation community from Hello Sunshine, curating a positive, realistic environment where curiosity is encouraged and every woman’s story is valued. But don’t be fooled, because Sunnie is far more than another ‘content’ platform.
It is instead the physical and digital embodiment of Hello Sunshine’s commitment to supporting both Gen Z girls and their caregivers, which will leverage the brand’s vast resources for parents to better navigate the upbringing and growth and development of their daughters.
“It’s been a dream of mine to build a space where young women can be the truest version of themselves,” said Witherspoon. “We’ve discovered that young women are not defined by doom and gloom as they’re often portrayed in media – they’re complex, creative individuals with incredible agency.
Building on a powerful foundation laid by Reese’s Book Club, Shine Away, and an expansive portfolio of hit screen and audio projects, Hello Sunshine has a clear and compelling track record of connecting with audiences through deeply resonant, women-centered content. Sunnie represents a vital expansion of this legacy: a dedicated investment in the future. This multimedia platform is specifically designed to engage and uplift Gen Z girls, delivering a full spectrum of inspiring touchpoints—including social content, immersive events, learning curriculums, and more—to change today’s narrative from the ground up.
Teen girls today are growing up in a world that’s louder than ever, where every scroll, story, and standard seems to tell you how to look, think, and live. Between the noise, it’s easy to forget your own voice. Sunniefest was created to change that.
Instead of telling girls to be confident, it gives them space to feel seen. Instead of highlighting what’s missing, it celebrates what’s already there — curiosity, creativity, kindness, and courage. This isn’t a campaign about fixing girls; it’s a movement about freeing them.
When Hello Sunshine launched Sunnie in June, they skipped the typical “intent” announcement and instead delivered a substantial commitment: simultaneously naming Purdue University as its official university partner, which also proudly maintains the largest undergraduate STEM enrollment of any top 50-ranked university in the country.
“Purdue and Hello Sunshine share a powerful belief that when girls can see paths forward that reflect their interests, their dreams and their potential, there’s no limit to what they can imagine or achieve,” said Kelly Hiller, chief marketing officer for Purdue University. “At a time when social media can so profoundly shape how girls see themselves and their futures, we are excited to support a space that replaces pressure with positivity, where storytelling meet passions, like STEM, and girls are inspired to see themselves as confident, curious and capable of shaping the future.”
“We want young women to see themselves as architects of what’s next, and this festival is their invitation to build, play, and take up space together,” Witherspoon expressed.
The Light Ahead
The way social media is set up now? It’s basically a real-time comparison factory, constantly pulling you into that messy enmeshment cycle. It makes feeling “less than” seem like the default setting, which is just draining.
Sunnie Fest is throwing all that out. Instead, it seems to be offering something genuinely radical: real community. We’re not talking about the tired, overused media buzzword. We mean a sanctuary where all your contradictions fit: where you can be both bossy and nervous, confident and confused, and know that you are completely safe and welcomed.
Empowerment isn’t always a huge, loud moment. The real stuff is often quiet, found in a shared moment, a private laugh, or the quiet confidence that builds when you find people who truly see you. Sunniefest matters because it’s not promising a perfect future. It’s building a brighter present. Together.
Imagine walking into a space buzzing with color, music, and energy. You wander past workshops, meet creators you follow online, hear from girls who’ve turned their ideas into reality, and suddenly you start to think, maybe I could do that too. That’s what makes this day special. It’s not about sitting still and listening. It’s about jumping into this “playground,” as Witherspoon described, also serving as a launchpad that is built upon the innovative and wild ideas of one another.
But ultimately, what makes Sunniefest special isn’t just the music, the art, or the energy; it’s the way it reminds every girl there that her light matters. That her story, her dreams, her weirdness, her softness…all of it belongs.
When girls come together without judgment or competition, something shifts. Confidence stops being a mask and starts becoming a mirror, one that reflects the beauty of who they already are. Sunniefest hopes to plant that seed on the local level, first: that the power to shape the future doesn’t live “out there,” waiting to be earned. It’s already here, alive in every girl who dares to show up as herself.
And maybe that’s the real meaning of empowerment: not shining the brightest, but shining together. Because when one girl rises, the whole world gets sunnier. But the best part? It doesn’t feel out of reach.
Everyone’s there to talk, to connect, to remind you that “inspiration” isn’t something you have to chase, because it’s already in you.
You don’t need to dress a certain way, act a certain way, or know exactly who you want to be. Just bring your curiosity, your friends, and maybe a portable charger (because yes, there will be pics).
Whether you’re into art, science, style, sports, or you’re still figuring it out, Sunnie wants you to know that there’s a place for you here. You’ll leave with tote bags and photos, sure. But more than that, you’ll leave with a spark; that feeling when something clicks inside you and you realize, ‘hey, I actually can do the thing I’ve been dreaming about’.
Sunniefest is presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics and Skin, IF/THEN® an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Purdue University, and Coach. You can purchase tickets for Sunniefest 2025 at wearesunnie.com/sunniefest.
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