A fan connects with Star's Hollow stars at Gilmore Girls FanFest

WAITSBURG-Locals know Sarah Putnam as one of the friendly Sarahs at the Waitsburg Post office. What people may not know is that she carries with her an active appreciation for an erudite TV show set in a small quirky town. The TV show is the Gilmore Girls, which initially appeared in 2000 on the WB channel. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, it ran for eight seasons and focused on the loveable and unique townspeople of Stars Hollow, CT. Putnam estimates she's watched the entire series over a hundred times!

Recently, her fandom brought her to Unionville Canada for a Gilmore Girls FanFest. This year there were actually two FanFests, the Unionville one, which is where the pilot of the series was filmed, and another in Kent, CT where many of the exterior shots were filmed. She estimates that over 900 people attended the weekend-long event in the small Canadian town, all of them thrilled to meet members of the cast, watch panel sessions, attend knitting get-togethers and coffee socials and hear the show's town troubador Grant Lee Phillips perform. The show's active fan base keeps up with news about the actors from the show and connects with one another, forming long distance friendships that make for exciting meet-ups at these fan events.

Putnam began watching the show during a time of transition; when she moved from Omak, WA to Walla Walla in 2004. She said she was drawn to the relationship between mother and daughter characters Lorelai and Rory Gilmore who were played by actresses Lauren Graham and Alexis Biedel, and especially enjoys the show's witty dialogue and all of the pop culture references-"some I understand, some I don't, but I have the entire DVD collection which includes a pop culture reference book Gilmore-isms so that helps."

Although she says she changes her mind often, Putnam's favorite character is Luke, the long term on-again, off-again boyfriend of Lorelai Gilmore, and proprietor of one of the town's most prominent businesses, Luke's Diner. Putnam was one of the 900 people who waited in groups of 50 to meet the actor at the Unionville Curling Club at the FanFest. Although he wouldn't sign autographs, he did pose for selfies.

When asked what her favorite part of the experience was, she said "the whole thing, really, it was exciting because it was my first time." Putnam plans to return to a FanFest in the future, either the one in Connecticut, or again in Canada. "Waitsburg kind of reminds me of Star's Hollow, everyone knows everyone, there are festivals and a scenic downtown. We're lucky here."