Five ways Appleton is just like Stars Hollow

We ate plenty of food yesterday, but the real binge we’ve all been looking forward to starts today.

Ever since we heard Netflix would be releasing a Gilmore Girls miniseries, our family has known exactly what we would be doing on Nov. 25.

We have been Gilmore Girls fans since the show debuted 16 years ago. We loved the witty repartee and the clever cultural references. We related to the quirky characters, especially the three generations of the Gilmore women.

Mostly, though, we love the fictional town in which most of the action takes place. It dawned on us yesterday (prompted by Charlie’s girlfriend Tara, who was visiting from New York) that we love Stars Hollow because we live there too.

Here are five ways our hometown, Appleton, Wisconsin, is just like Stars Hollow:

The fire musicians
1. The Town Troubadour. When Gilmore Girls debuted, singer/songwriter Grant-Lee Phillip roamed the town square, strumming his guitar and playing cool music. Appleton is all about the town troubadour. We’re lucky enough to have street musicians around nearly every corner, and a festival that celebrates troubadours every summer.
Here's Molly at the Queen Bee diner.
2. Luke’s Diner. Rory and Lorelai spend much of their time in a diner near their house, owned by the kind-hearted, flannel-wearing Luke Danes. We have the Queen Bee and, bonus, our diner sometimes has troubadours inside the restaurant.
Connie knitting
3. Babette. Sally Struthers plays the raspy-voiced, protective neighbor with a witty flair on Gilmore Girls. We have Connie the Cookie Lady, a raspy-voiced neighbor with a quick wit and Irish sass.
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4. The Apple Parade. In season 5 an Apple Parade keeps preventing Max and Lorelai from finding a private spot to say hello. The Apple Parade was cute, but Appleton has the Turkey Trot, a 10,000-strong celebration of human turkeys and pumpkin pie. I took this picture yesterday and I think that dad dressed as a turkey pushing his baby who is also dressed as a turkey is about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
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5. Town Hall Meetings. In Stars Hollow, Taylor Doose presides over meetings that often involve passionate debate. In Appleton, our City Hall meetings can invite passionate debate as well. This picture is from a successful battle to Save the Erb Park Pool, a community effort that would have made a perfect episode of Gilmore Girls.

 

 

3 thoughts on “Five ways Appleton is just like Stars Hollow

  1. Binged watched it too and now I miss it again! Thanks for sharing your blog. I’m in the photo in council chambers, I’ll include in a scrap book!

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