LA transforms into Stars Hollow for one weekend

Stars Hollow came alive this weekend for attendees of The Festival of Four Seasons. Nestled in UCLA’s Dickson Court, the recreation of the beloved fictional Connecticut town featured all the favorites from the popular TV show Gilmore Girls. Running on ABC Family from 2000 to 2007, Gilmore Girls follows Lorelai and Rory, who act more like best friends than the mother and daughter they actually are, throughout their life in the town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.

However, Lorelai and Rory were never the only residents in the town fans loved. The characters Kirk, Taylor, Lane and, of course, Lorelai’s love interest Luke are just some of the town residents that make the show what it is.

Netflix revived the show for a four-part special that is being released Nov. 25. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life will be four one-hour episodes that take place during each season. Though it’s been nine years since the show ended, fans are still obsessed with the show, as evidenced by the multi-hour wait to enter The Festival of the Four Seasons this weekend. Luckily, it was worth the wait for those devoted to the show.

Festival attendees could fulfill every daily activity they’d seen Rory and Lorelai do for seven seasons: grab coffee at Luke’s Diner, pick up candy at Taylor’s Soda Shoppe, or claim a button at Kirk’s Button Emporium reading “team Jess,” “team Logan,” or “team Dean.” Walking through the town felt authentic, with decorative fall leaves and pumpkins covering the ground with music playing from the shops.

Twinkling lights and pennant banners connected the town’s buildings together, guiding each person from one line to the next. The famous Kim’s Antiques (Unfortunately, Mrs. Kim was not there to harass you for a higher price) was situated next to the Stars Hollow Post Office that let guests send a Gilmore Girls postcard to anyone reminding them the show was being released on Netflix this coming week — leading into the main reason the entire event was free of charge: free advertising.

Promotional reminders for the Gilmore Girls event were situated in every corner of the venue, including the Stars Hollow Gazette office, featuring a photo booth. Some guests were lucky enough to catch some stars from the show, such as Yanic Truesdale, who plays everyone’s favorite hotel manager and calorie-counter, Michel. Girls dressed in flannel shirts and backwards baseball caps snapped photos of their Luke’s coffee cups while others in the show’s merchandise had their photo taken at the gazebo and town sign.