“Destination Stars Hollow,” a downtown Brighton festival themed around the beloved show “Gilmore Girls,” started in the fall of 2024 and was such a success that it returned for three days on Sept. 19, 20 and 21, 2025. People from all around the United States came to enjoy the three-day event, with a guest appearance from Scott Patterson, the actor who played Luke Danes, as well as Rose Abdoo, who played Gypsy.
While many people loved the festival, some people had mixed feelings about it.
“Destination Stars Hollow” was a loaded event for the businesses in Brighton, as it brought in many people; however, it can reach a level where it is too crowded. In the first year the event was hosted, the streets were filled with cars of the people who were at the festival. This got so crowded that people were parking a couple of miles away. The downtown businesses saw this as an opportunity to expand the festival’s length so they could control the crowd.
While this, in theory, should have helped, there were estimated to be around 40,000 people in the first year, and this year, there was estimated to be much more than that amount, with some predictions placing the turnout at around 60,000. That meant even more traffic going through the town of Brighton, mixed with the construction going on on the highways—a true nightmare for the residents of Brighton.
The parking was also a problem, as there was not enough parking for everyone to park downtown. This caused people to park all along the neighbourhood streets near downtown, in addition to other public parking lots, such as the high school and Meijer.
While the event had some available parking spaces, some places could not hold parking due to sports practices and other ongoing events that required parking. Thankfully, parent volunteers were able to redirect people so they could keep those parking lots open.
The crowds and traffic were overwhelming, especially for those who live near downtown. This could be further improved by the event organization to allow for the festivities to still be fun while not being as packed with people downtown. This would allow for less traffic in the area, as well as allowing for the people who live close to downtown not to be affected by it as much.
People in Brighton—especially those near downtown—aren’t the only people who are affected by this festival; it’s the towns around Brighton as well. Brighton has only so many places for people to stay, meaning some people had to stay in places well outside of town.
Erika McNamara, McNamara Law owner and one of the sponsors for the event, said regarding the hotels in the area, “The overflow is all the way to Novi now.”
That means that dozens of hotels across the tri-county area were booked solid with the event goers this year. McNamara estimated that 62,000 people were expected to attend this event. If even half of that estimate is true, that’s thousands of dollars flowing into the area’s hotels alone. Not only did the downtown businesses receive massive crowds eager to buy from the one and only “Stars Hollow,” but it also sold out hotels.
In spite of the previously mentioned crowds, the positives of the event easily outweighed this simple problem. The event brought unprecedented crowds, yes, but with that came a substantial amount of business and commerce to the area.
An event of this magnitude is unprecedented in southeastern Michigan, so one would think that the event should be encouraged as much as possible—not only for its substantial economic value but also for its social value.
“Especially at the moment when the world is so chaotic, it’s really great to have an event, I think, to just let go and relax,” said Phil Munroe, owner of the Spice & Tea Exchange in downtown Brighton.
As Munroe said, the world is chaotic right now and starkly divided; an event like this that brought people from many different backgrounds under one common interest is extremely valuable. To be in a supportive and welcoming environment, where no one is debating on sociopolitical issues, arguing about values or feuding about cultural norms and backgrounds is refreshing and well-needed at this time.
Overall, the event’s vitality to the social and economic well-being of Brighton and the surrounding area was simply greater than the disturbance in traffic for a couple of days for those who live close to the downtown area.
