Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine starts Gen Z-focused festival in Dallas

Why it matters: Dallas and Pegasus Park were obvious choices for the inaugural Sunniefest, Hello Sunshine CEO Maureen Polo tells Axios.

• The city has a relatively young population, and the sprawling biotech campus will help participants imagine their future careers.

How it works: Sunniefest is intended as a third space for young women to feel more confident about themselves.

• The festival will cater to ages 13–25 through Gen Z speakers, workshops and collaborations with brands they tend to like.

Zoom in: Lyda Hill Philanthropies' "If/Then" exhibit, which features 3D-printed statues of women in STEM fields, will be on display. The Dallas-based organization has a partnership with Hello Sunshine.

The big picture: Hello Sunshine oversees Witherspoon's eponymous book club and produces TV shows with women-centered stories.

• The company's Gen Z-oriented brand, Sunnie, focuses on the younger generation of women and their needs.

The intrigue: Many Gen Z girls want to "slow their scroll," Polo says.

• The event will pull them "outside of the ecosystem that they're stuck in right now, and give them the space to live confidently and curiously and courageously," Polo says.

State of play: Sunniefest topics include artificial intelligence, science and personal development.

• Gen Z creators, founders, storytellers and scientists will be among the speakers.

What they're saying: "We want them to feel like they can step out of that sea of sameness," Polo says. "Their differentiator, their uniqueness, is what really is going to propel them to the next level."

If you go: The festival is 10:30am–4:30pm on Nov. 15. Tickets cost $75.

The bottom line: There's more to Gen Z than emojis, Y2K and TikTok.