Madison Magazine: Middleton Hosts Stars Hollow Days Oct 10–11

Stars Hollow, the iconic small-town setting from the television series “Gilmore Girls,” comes to Middleton on October 10–11 for the city’s fourth annual Stars Hollow Days at Stone Horse Green in downtown Middleton, Madison Magazine reported.

Festival Events at Stone Horse Green

The weekend features a packed schedule of events inspired by the early 2000s TV series. Visitors can participate in a Festival of Living Art Costume Contest and a one-hour dance marathon alongside dance classes at Miss Patty’s School of Ballet.

“What I love is that we’re going very immersive where most of our events are participatory, so people can have that chance to live as though they are in an episode of ‘Gilmore Girls,’” event organizer Jolynne Roorda said.

Living Art and Ballet Inspirations

Volunteer Katie Ravich planned one of the immersive events after doing a “Gilmore Girls” deep dive. Ravich drew inspiration from a season four episode to bring a living art costume contest to life, incorporating “The Shawl,” an oil painting on display at the Chazen Museum of Art.

Instructors from Central Midwest Ballet Academy will lead a Miss Patty’s School of Ballet-inspired dance class on October 10 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Relationship Dynamics Draw Multi-Generational Groups to Event

Beyond the quirky settings and events, character relationships remain central to the television series. Roorda noted that previous years saw those dynamics replicated among attendees.

“What I loved seeing last year was how many large groups of friends came or mothers and daughters or even three generations,” Roorda said. “You could definitely tell that this is relationship driven, that people have that feeling about the ‘Gilmore Girls,’ that it’s about getting to know your neighbors and being friends with everybody.”

The fourth annual Stars Hollow Days runs through October 11, 2026.