DANVILLE, CA — Where you lead, "Gilmore Girls" fans will follow - and this fall, that means Danville.
Danville's picture-perfect downtown was selected as a stand-in for Stars Hollow, the fictional Connecticut town home to Lorelai and Rory Gilmore on the hit WB show.
The weekend of Oct. 23-25, Danville will play the part of a quaint New England village with a gazebo hosting "Flannel & Foliage," a new festival devoted to "Gilmore Girls" trivia and community and fall coziness. Danville's top destinations – including the Village Theatre, Danville Community Center, Veterans Memorial Building, and Hap Magee Ranch Park – will host a number of Gilmore Girls-themed events, including:
The festival is organized by Small Town Venture, a private company unaffiliated with Warner Bros. Television or any television network or studio. General-admission tickets will be free, although there is already a waitlist as of Monday. VIP tickets are expected to go on sale this week at smalltownventure.com. Small Town Venture also said that it has secured blocks of discounted rooms at the Hyatt House San Ramon, which can sleep up to four people.
"Gilmore Girls" aired from 2000-2007, and found new popularity in 2014 after episodes were added to Netflix. It tells the story of the close relationship between single mother Lorelai Gilmore and her bright, ambitious teenage daughter Rory as they navigate life and love in a tight-knit, picture-perfect Connecticut town - one that reminded organizers of Danville.
"Danville's small-town charm, walkable downtown and strong sense of community make it a natural setting for an event inspired by the warmth and character that Gilmore Girls fans have embraced for so many years," Danville Mayor Newell Arnerich said in a statement shared with The San Francisco Chronicle and SFist.
The Danville Town Council will hear more about the event – which town staff hope will become an annual fall tradition – in a report at their Tuesday meeting. According to that report, Small Town Venture has applied for a Danville Business Promotion Grant to encourage local business participation, and several local businesses are already engaged. Patch reached out to Small Town Venture for more information.
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