It’s impossible to make a complete list of all of Gilmore Girls’ charming aspects. Such a list would have dozens of entries. I know what would be near the top of the list though, right next to Lorelai’s coffee habits and Kirk’s off kilter behavior: Stars Hollow. The small town Lorelai and Rory call home is a character in the series. Stars Hollow represents the most appealing ideal of a quaint village. It has unique residents, lively town meetings, adorable shops, and a gazebo. Why would Lorelai ever want to leave?
One of the utterly fantastic parts about Stars Hollow is the town’s penchant for hosting festivals, marathons, and everything in between. They go all out with decor. Town Selectman Taylor Doose seems to have no problem with getting citizens to participate; everyone but Luke is enthusiastic about donning costumes or putting themselves through physical stress to contribute to the community. We saw a variety of celebrations and fundraisers in seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, but in no particular order, these are nine of the quirkiest:
1. 24 Hour Stars Hollow Dance Marathon
It’s not enough to have an annual 24 hour dance marathon with few breaks. Oh no. Stars Hollow made the event, which is basically a super long exercise session, extra special by requiring participants to dress up and adhere to a theme before they took to the dance floor. Ah, tradition.
2. Bid On a Basket
Want a lady and a picnic basket? You can get both in Stars Hollow’s annual Bid On a Basket auction. Ladies put together picnic baskets filled with homemade goods (Sookie’s) or stale Pop-Tarts (Lorelai’s), and men bid on them. The winning bidder got to share the basket with the basket-maker. Yeah. If this event reappears in the revival, I hope we see some dudes on the auction block.
3. End of Summer Madness Festival
I love when Taylor decided Stars Hollow’s calendar wasn’t full enough and added a new festival. That’s what happened with the End of Summer Madness Festival and its “Lazy-Hazy-Crazy-Days of Summer.” Oof. Is it possible to get that song out of your head?
4. Revolutionary War Reenactment
Stars Hollow gets a big thumbs up for constantly celebrating its history. They raise a glass to the past annually with a Revolutionary War reenactment. The town’s key role in the war? A woman of questionable morals lured a general to her bed and kept him occupied. Kirk ended up playing her in the reenactment. Because of course.
5. The Old Muddy River Bridge Knit-A-Thon
What do you do when you need to repair a bridge? Raise money from the townsfolk. I like to imagine Taylor has a dartboard filled with random activities, and when it’s time to host a new fundraiser, he just closes his eyes and throws. Knitting won the toss this time, which means the town square was basically covered with yarn… until Christopher ruined it.
6. Movie Night in the Square
Getting the town together to watch a movie outside sounds like a lovely idea, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, there were a whole lot of restrictions about what can be shown, so they watch The Yearling at every Movie Nigt in the Square. It’s like a unique version of hell. But it’s okay, Kirk debuting his bizarre short film made up for it.
7. Founders Firelight Festival
Not enough cities celebrate when they were founded, but Stars Hollow didn’t let the momentous occasion get past them. They make the anniversary memorable with a bonfire and Miss Patty’s founders’ day punch.
8. Spring Fling Festival
Stars Hollow is big on having bash for each season, so spring got Spring Fling. Everyone seemed to be looking forward to the festival, but we’ll never know what it should have been like because Taylor changed the plan. He poured the entire budge into a town-wide hay bale maze.
9. Rory’s Graduation Party
Look, I think Rory is swell. She gets a tad selfish, but overall, she’s plucky and smart. But why is she the most special kid in Stars Hollow? I hope they have big town-wide parties like Rory’s graduation/bon voyage shindig for all the young adults who matriculated and scored a degree.
Think of all the festivals Stars Hollow hosted in Gilmore Girls, and then head to the comments to tell me which ones you most want to attend.
Images: Warner Bros., Mjolnir Sammy, Julia, FND, Stacy
