Things to do: Stars Hollow Fest

Aug 23

Aug 23 Things to do: Stars Hollow Fest

Stars Hollow is a magical name that brings quaint, small town memories for all that have sat and enjoyed the Gilmore Girls. A dramedy created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, Gilmore Girls debuted on 5 October in 2000 on the WB. It ran for 7 initial seasons before getting a 4 episode revival in 2020. Following the lives of fast talking mother and daughter team Lorelei and Lorelei (Rory) Gilmore, we watch their lives unfold in unexpected and new ways after Rory’s acceptance to private high school Chilton changes everything. They live in the idyllic Stars Hollow after Lorelei ran away from her very affluent household at 16 after giving birth to Rory. Growing up in a renovated living quarter outside the town inn, they built a new life and place for themselves in Stars Hollow.

Fans of the show often daydream about living in a town like Stars Hollow where everyone knows everyone, looks out for each other (sometimes too closely) and you can walk everywhere. The town is large enough for a variety of businesses but small enough for residents to be out wandering the streets all day and night at leisurely paces. The town often hosts festivals and events that get everyone involved. They follow seasons, holidays, historical events and more. Stars Hollow is quintessential small town America, in New England states.

Black Cat Books and Oddities in Medina, Ohio looked to capture this feeling with Stars Hollow Fest. This event took place across multiple blocks of the city as they worked with establishments all over to recreate Stars Hollows famous stops and shops for visitors. This free event offered five hours of fair booths in a town park, centered around a gazebo with a Troubadour. A map was provided for stamping at each shop and location that participated and stood in for places like Luke’s Diner, Stars Hollow Video, Dosey’s Market and more. Guests were given over a week to visit all the establishments to collect all the stamps for a prize.

Other activities on the day of included a Literary Costume contest, Dance-a-thon, and Kirk’s Easter Egg Hunt from the show. The booths sold artisan products and most brought products that were themed for the Gilmore Girls. You could find tip jars at many booths offering people to vote for their favorite of Rory’s three major boyfriends in the show, Dean, Jess, or Logan (my favorite). Unfortunately, not so much love for Lorelei’s paramours.

We arrived too late to join in the special events that required a pre registration and we didn’t read the website well enough to know we could have used it to follow through, but we did get to visit all the booths, visit the ice cream shop, and “Teriyaki Joe’s” (House of Hunan) for dinner. The line for “Luke’s” (Cool Beans Cafe) was wrapped around the block so we could only look on and wish.

A few places weren’t centered around the park, and gave us some walking opportunities. They had one shop set up as space for authors and merch to share their books and products, with another authors walk in the park. The bookshop itself was open and available for perusing. One of 29 stops around town representing Stars Hollow.

The event was a great way to experience a little bit of the Stars Hollow and Gilmore Girls magic and the people and vendors really made for a special time. As we walked around, tent to tent, listening to Anna Beau singing in the gazebo and hearing the chatter of fans all over, quoting the show, laughing at the joke merch, and pointing out the easter eggs in the signs and merch, I could imagine I was finally there in Stars Hollow.