Destination Stars Hollow: A Gilmore Celebration Review
Gilmore Girls is the quintessential cozy fall show. The show debuted well over 20 years ago and it continues to grow its fan base. I started watching Gilmore Girls in 2014 and saw why so many people were huge fans. From Lorelai to Luke to even Kirk the show’s characters are witty, vulnerable, and trying their best…which sometimes fails. It has a cast of colorful, relatable characters, which leaves the viewer wishing they lived in an actual Stars Hollow. That’s why it isn’t a surprise the first year of Destination Stars Hollow: A Gilmore Celebration attracted more than 40,000 people. Let that sink in, over 40,000 people traveled from all over to attend the inaugural year of transforming the small Michigan town of Brighton into the famous, fictitious Stars Hollow, CT. If this becomes an annual event it will just continue to grow.
If you weren’t able to attend, I’ll share with you just how they transformed downtown Brighton, MI into Stars Hollow – the events, shop transformations, cosplays, and photo opportunities, as well as suggestions for how to improve it next year, and advice for what to bring if you attend in the future.
Events & Activities for the Day
We arrived in downtown Brighton, MI around 9:15a and parking was already hectic. At 9:30a there was an opening ceremony to welcome everyone and their very own “Taylor Doose” went over some of the safety rules for the day. Waiting around Mill Pond AMP for the ceremony to start you could already feel the excitement of the fans….and there were A LOT of us!
Mill Pond AMP is also where the knit-a-thon, look-a-like contest, Poe’s Society, and closing remarks all took place. I wasn’t able to attend the other events, because I spent most my time in the stores.
There was a Destination Stars Hollow passport you were able to reserve online beforehand or buy the day of the event. Buying day of took longer as there was a long line at each pick up area. These passport pickup booths are also where you’d buy event branded totes and shirts. I made sure to reserve a passport online because it was too cute of a souvenir for my memory journal to risk it selling out! The real reason you’d want to get one is for the list of participating businesses and the section for collecting stars. If you collected 20 stars from participating shops and restaurants you were eligible to turn in your passport for a Brighton gift basket raffle entry.
They had over 40 different shops and restaurants participating in this downtown Brighton, MI transformation. Luckily the city realized how big of an event this was going to be and closed down the main street. This made it a lot easier for getting around and lining up for the stores. Here’s some of my favorites from the day:
Art Ventures – Stars Hollow Gazette
You were able to actually purchase a Stars Hollow Gazette for only $5! It was super cute with actual stories from Gilmore Girls and about the event.
Forest & Fillies – Babette’s House
This was my favorite store. They went all out with super cute high quality merch. Since it was Babette’s house, gnomes were everywhere. There was also a fun game you could play – Babette’s beloved gnome, Pierpont, was hidden somewhere in town for you to find. The store also had a spot to pay your respects to Babette and Morey’s late cat, Cinnamon. *moment of silence*
Wood ‘N Things – Dragonfly Inn
Very whimsical store full of knick knacks. There was an adorable decorated area in front of the store for photo ops, but also as you wind through the store there’s a garden through the back. Quite a few people were taking photos there as well.
Lynn’s on First – Luke’s Diner
Probably the busiest spot in town. The line to get inside was down the block! There was also a Luke’s sign photo op outside.
Lu & Carl’s – The Hungry Diner
Lu & Carl’s is a dog-themed restaurant so personally I think it should have been Sniffy’s Tavern instead of The Hungry Diner. Maybe next year? Regardless, they had a cute theme menu for the day and I did order the Jess! When you are at a Gilmore Girls event you must get a coffee, coffee, coffee somewhere.
The Running Lab – Stars Hollow High
This shop was selling Stars Hollow Minute Men sweatbands…so naturally I bought one. I’m excited to wear it to my next kickboxing class. They also had a fun photo op from the Dance-a-thon! I hope all the people who cosplayed as Lorelai & Rory in their dance-a-thon dresses stopped in for a pic. At the end of this post I have a section of easy cosplay ideas.
By no means is this a comprehensive list. There were still a lot of other shops and restaurants I wasn’t able to explore, but it gives you a taste of what to expect if you plan on going to a future Destination Stars Hollow in Brighton, MI.
Items to Bring
Fortunately there was no rain this year, but it was HOT! Not the crisp fall day we all were hoping for. So check the weather before you go. Here’s some things I’d recommend you bring:
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses or hat
- Re-usable water bottle
- Little backpack to hold your things (or you can buy the official tote for $12)
- A warm body…but seriously see if your partner or non-GG friends are able to come and save you spots in lines.
- Comfortable walking shoes since there’s a lot of standing and waiting
- Dress in layers!
- Cash is always good to have on hand, I heard those that didn’t order the passport online beforehand wished they had cash on them (it was $5)
My Hopes for Next Year’s Celebration
Even though the day was hot and full of crowds it was a really fun experience. Connecting with other Gilmore Girls fans in real life was great! It was also magical seeing a whole town’s downtown area transformed into a real life Stars Hollow. I hope this becomes an annual tradition for downtown Brighton. It was a fantastic experience for the fans, but also seemed to be a huge success for the small businesses. I imagine the store owners who weren’t familiar with the show and its large following were blown away by the turnout.
If this becomes an annual tradition for Brighton, MI here’s some things I hope they change or add in the future.
- More tents to provide shade for people in line.
- Free cups of water or bottled water for sale on the street rather than just coffee (sounds blasphemous from a GG fan, I know).
- More activities to do outside the stores to cut down the long lines. I’m not sure how many people attended the look-a-like contest or Poe’s Society sessions since I didn’t want to lose my spot in line!
- More insight beforehand on what each store’s GG merch and activities would be. Since you wait in line for awhile you need to strategize your top stores to make sure you fit them in. This way you also know if waiting 45 minutes in line is worth it.
- A themed weekend rather than just one day would help spread out the crowds.
- Include a gazebo (even if it’s temporary). Since it’s so iconic to the show and was used in all the promotions for Destination Stars Hollow people had expected to see a cozy, white gazebo.
- Consistency among the shop’s participation. Some shops like Art Ventures (Stars Hollow Gazette) and Forest & Fillies (Babette’s House) went all out, but some shops you’d wait in line and they didn’t really have any GG things inside.
- Consistency among shop’s and restaurant’s rules for giving out passport stars. Some places if you entered the store you’d get a star regardless if you bought anything. We ordered a meal at one of the restaurants and I asked for a star after paying the bill, but was told I had to take a photo, send it to them, etc. Some places required you to jump through hoops, when waiting in line should have been enough to earn a star.
- Less required stars on your passport to enter the raffle. I know I’m harping on these lines, but they were a large part of the day. The waiting made it difficult to fit in 20 different stores and restaurants.
- Restaurants could also take reservations or add more outdoor seating since the road was closed.
Easy Gilmore Girls Cosplay Ideas
If you are looking for some easy cosplay ideas for next year, here are the most common (and easiest) cosplays I saw this year.
Lorelai’s First Iconic Outfit
What you would need:
• Pink tie dye shirt
• Cutoff denim shorts
• Cowboy boots
Rory’s Chilton Uniform
What you would need:
• Blue plaid skirt
• Blue blazer
• Collared white shirt with blue tie
• Black knee high socks
• Wingtip black/white shoes
• Textbook and binder
Lorelai’s and Rory’s Dance-a-thon Dresses
What you would need:
• Blue halter dress (Lorelai)
• Red polka dot dress (Rory)
Luke
What you would need:
• Blue or red flannel long sleeve shirt
• Backwards blue baseball hat
• Jeans
Sookie
What you would need:
• Colorful chef’s coat
• White apron
• Bandana with pigtails
• Black pants
This was such a fun day for Gilmore Girls fans! I hope Brighton, MI makes this an annual tradition. If they do, grab your friends and make a day of it sipping coffee and living your best Gilmore Girls life.
Did you attend the event this year? What did you think? Do you plan on attending in the future if it becomes an annual event? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Happy Gilmore Girls season 🍁☕,
Laura
Laura's Rambles 
LOVED living vicariously through your day! I hadn’t even heard of this before you shared. You’re inspiring me to watch it aga
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Thank you! It was really fun and they just announced it will be an annual event. I had only heard of it in passing a few months ago. Glad I went! Enjoy your re-watch 🙂 I’ll be starting my annual fall re-watch soon.
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Hi!! I’m so glad you had fun!! We will be making it annual & making adjustments for how huge the crowd ended up being 😊 (full weekend, water, etc!!). The turn out was double the RSVP numbers we had so logistics will be much easier to plan for next year! A lot of local businesses also didn’t think it would have any turn out which is why commit to the event looked different in every store! We hope to see you back next year!!
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