WASHINGTON DEPOT--Where you lead...the fans will follow you anywhere that you tell them to.
And in this case, "Gilmore Girls" fans near and very, very far definitely followed the trail to the makeshift Stars Hollow.
The seminal TV show that ran from 2000 to 2007 is being revived in a four-part Netflix series this November, which has renewed interest in fans old and new--you know, the ones who binge watched the seven season on Netflix in preparation for what's to come.
In honor of the renewed interest, a festival was planned in the town on which the show is based on.
Washington Depot, Connecticut, is much like the fictional Stars Hollow, Connecticut, that Rory and Lorelai Gilmore and all their friends live in. It's quaint, the quintessential New England small town, and it inspired "Gilmore" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino when she was writing the show.
Though the population of the town is just about 3,500, this weekend its population will be about 50 percent higher as it gets overrun with about 1,500 fans from as far as Brazil and Australia, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the dozen or so cast members expected to attend.
Stars Hollow was known for its quirky residents and true community feeling, and the residents of Washington Depot haven't let fans down on that front. One shop was reshaped into Luke's Diner -- and since cell service is spotty in rural Washington Depot, Luke's no cell phone rule can stand! And Hopkins Winery has its own troubadour, while the Mayflower Grace Inn, where many visitors are staying, was the inspiration for the iconic Independence Inn where Lorelai worked.
And the residents are coming together. On Thursday, organizer Jennie Whitaker was trying to get chairs zip tied, "and we called one of the local businesses and within minutes we had a team of people."
The festival is a three day event, and tickets costing $175 to $250 sold out in less than 12 hours. The festival is not sponsored by Netflix, though the streaming service did have its own Stars Hollow throwback earlier this month: It set up about 200 Luke's Diners around the country to sell coffee.
"Gilmore" fans can get their next fix on November 25, when all four episodes are released on Netflix.
