I was today years old when I found out that the Gilmore Girls pilot was shot in Unionville, Ontario. The iconic episode, with the very first glimpse of the classic "exasperated but in love" look Luke gives Lorelai, the first Friday night dinner with Richard and Emily, Dean and Rory’s meet-cute, and the signature Lorelai/Rory witty banter all began RIGHT HERE IN CANADA.
A lot of productions happen in “Hollywood North” (and its surrounding suburbs) so I don’t know why this excites me so much. But the thought of the OG Luke’s diner being less than an hour away makes me want to get my caffeine IV ready and yell “coffee-coffee-coffee” all the way to Unionville, and I don’t even drink coffee. That’s how hard I stan.
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While I do think about Gilmore Girls often for no other reason than it exists, there’s exciting news that lead to my discovery: Gilmore Girls Fan Fest has decided to bring the nostalgia full circle and hold its 2019 festival in Unionville. The Fan Fest announced this morning that its first international event is coming to the Markham neighbourhood from October 4-6 and tickets go on sale Monday. So, what is Gilmore Girls Fan Fest exactly? And will GTA GG fans get the chance to meet Luke Danes (Scott Patterson), Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry) or *gasp* JESS MARIANO himself? Milo Ventimiglia is a little busy playing the TV’s perfect fictional husband/father Jack Pearson on This Is Us so I doubt he’ll be making the trip north in October. Plus, I’m Team Logan anyway. I said what I said.
The principal cast members of Gilmore Girls have not shown up to any of the previous iterations of Gilmore Girls Fan Fest in Kent, Connecticut, but there’s still plenty of reasons to take part in this GG obsession convention. The festival is not affiliated with the WB or Netflix and was started by two superfans, Marcus and Jennie Whitaker from Austin, Texas. It’s for fellow hardcore nerds of the show to take part in Stars Hollow-related activities, like mock town halls (one year the subject was “The Final Debate on Rory’s Boyfriends” — TEAM LOGAN FOREVER), knit-a-thons, tap dancing, cider tastings, karaoke, trivia, and panel discussions with secondary cast members and original crew from the show. Oy, with the poodles already!
If you watched Gilmore Girls, you know that there’s no shortage of quirky characters that could show up, be delightful, and transport fans right back to Stars Hollow. In the past, they’ve had appearances by LANE (played by Keiko Agena — don’t get me started on my love for Lane Kim #JusticeForLane), Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda), Miss Patty (Liz Torres), Zack (Todd Lowe), and more! The list of special guests from 2018 included some deep cuts like Kirk’s girlfriend LuLu (Rini Bell) and Luke’s loyal employee Ceasar (Aris Alvarado). Last year’s event also included writers, a costume designer, and a dialogue coach. Yep, this is for people who are SUPER into Gilmore Girls. The good news? There’s a lot of us. It might sound weird to gather in suburban Ontario with a group of other nerds addicted to the same TV show but hey, in omina paratus, right?
For more information on Gilmore Girls Fan Fest and how to get tickets, head to gilmoregirlsfanfest.com.