Stars Hollow Days Doubles Up, and Hubbard Avenue Keeps Arranging Itself Around Stone Horse Green

Downtown Middleton has a center now, and it is a city-owned lawn that turns four this month. Stone Horse Green, at 7550 Hubbard Ave., opened in October 2022. Its events keep getting bigger, and nearby businesses now describe where they are by pointing at it.

The clearest example lands next weekend. Stars Hollow Days, the Gilmore Girls-themed celebration on the Green, comes back on Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11, and it's free. Last year it was a single Saturday. This year it runs two days.

One Saturday Became a Full Weekend

The 2025 version was listed by Downtown Middleton as "Stars Hallows Days," a one-day event at Stone Horse Green on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. The 2026 edition is presented by the City of Middleton Community Development Authority. It runs 2 to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Here is the schedule from Stone Horse Green's own event page:

Visit Middleton's listing has a different 4 p.m. slot on Saturday. It shows Hep Alien, a.k.a. Honeycomb, where the Green's page has Sean Michael Dargan. If you're going for a particular act, check the Green's page close to the weekend.

Visit Middleton also promises a bonfire, s'mores and knitting by the fire. Nobody could run that program on a sidewalk. It needs a bandshell, a stretch of lawn and fire features, and the Green has all three built in.

The "1st Annual" label on the dance marathon matters too. It tells you the organizers expect a third year.

Where the Fictional Town Meets Real Storefronts

Stars Hollow Days works because it reaches past the lawn and into the businesses on both sides of Hubbard Avenue. Visit Middleton describes downtown businesses "transforming into your favorite Stars Hollow spots." The official 2026 guide names these stops and treats:

• Le Chat Club, Kim's Antiques and Stars Hollow Books, listed as downtown stops
• Luke's Diner coffee, borrowed straight from the show
• A shake from Taylor's Olde Fashioned Soda Shoppe
• Drinks at KC's Tavern
• Middleton's Largest Pizza

The Wisconsin State Journal adds another tie-in. You can borrow library books from Rory's reading list, so the Middleton Public Library is part of the weekend too.

Abby Attoun, the city's Planning and Community Development Director, told the State Journal that Middleton's walkable downtown, its local businesses and its community spirit make the city a natural fit for Stars Hollow. She described the weekend as a fall celebration for residents and visitors alike. A themed weekend only works if there are enough storefronts within walking distance of one gathering spot to stand in for a whole fictional town. Hubbard Avenue has them, and the Green gives them a place to meet.

A Lawn on the Livery Lot

The theme fits better than it first seems. Gilmore Girls is about a town built around its green, and Middleton built its green on a lot with a long history.

The name Stone Horse Green honors Middleton's first livery stable, which stood on the site. The Burmeister and Williams Livery dates to 1876. The city owns the space. Saiki Design designed it, and Daniels Construction was the general contractor. You get open green space, the bandshell, fire features, public art and the heated stone horse sculptures behind the name.

It opened in October 2022 with the Strollin' Middleton Jazz Fest, a two-day program of local musicians and artists. Since then, according to the Madison Community Foundation, the calendar has filled with:

1. Outdoor movies and summer concerts
2. Suessa-Palooza and Make Music Middleton
3. Senior-center events and trivia
4. Tai chi and yoga

That range covers a lot of ground, from a Dr. Seuss party to morning tai chi. The Green began with a two-day festival in its first October, and four Octobers later it's hosting another two-day festival. The difference is that a themed weekend can now pull a whole block of businesses into the plan.

A Shop Chose Its Block by the Green

The Green's pull is easiest to see in Vanilla Bean, the baking and candy supply store that used to be on Odana Road in Madison. It closed in June. New owners Kate and Chuck Teasdale bought it, kept the name, and set out to reopen it in downtown Middleton.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the new address is 7545 Hubbard Ave., between Longtable Beer Cafe and Cloth & Metal Boutique. That puts it across the street from the Village Green bar and Stone Horse Green. The paper described the location by its neighbors, and the Green was one of the first ones named.

Kate Teasdale told WMTV that she grew up visiting the store with her mother and called it a community staple. Kelly Bode, the former manager, said the sale kept the business local and meant staff and customers didn't lose their in-person source for baking supplies. Construction was set to start July 1. Chuck Teasdale hoped to open no later than Oct. 1 and said the new space should feel familiar to longtime customers. The Cap Times reported that the couple planned to keep the specialty supplies and best sellers, reach younger bakers, and add more baking classes.

October 1 was a target, and as of this writing we haven't found a public announcement confirming the opening day or posted hours. Check Vanilla Bean's own channels before you plan a trip around it. The location tells you something either way. A store that had spent years on a Madison commercial road picked a spot facing the city's event lawn and right next to a beer cafe and a boutique. Baking classes at that address would put people on the block on nights when nothing is happening at the bandshell.

Planning the Weekend From Your Own Street

Stars Hollow Days is the anchor, but the same stretch of October has a few other things to plan around.

Friday, Oct. 9. Huntin' for Pumpkins runs 6 to 8 p.m. at Lakeview Park, 6300 Mendota Ave. It includes a pumpkin hunt, a spooky trail, stories, cider and treats. Tickets are $10 to $15, and you have to register ahead. If you have kids, that's a Friday night before a Saturday on Hubbard.

Pheasant Branch Conservancy access. If your weekend usually starts with a walk at Pheasant Branch, the entrance at Century Avenue and Branch Street is still on a posted detour. The city's Oct. 1 update said MG&E planned to start drilling utility crossings under Pheasant Branch Creek on Wednesday, Oct. 7, if the City Council approved a public utility easement on Oct. 6. Work in the westbound lane of Century Avenue comes after that, and the city has withdrawn its earlier estimate of a mid-October start and early-November finish while it sets new dates. The city says a pause in gas work doesn't necessarily mean the lanes, sidewalks or path entrance will reopen, so follow the posted signs. You can sign up for Century Avenue Project Updates through the city's Notify Me service.

University Avenue near 6300. Water main work started Monday, Sept. 28 and closed the northernmost westbound lane. The signed detour uses Lakeview Avenue, Lakeview Boulevard and N. Gateway Street, and the notice said the work could take up to two weeks. That puts the end date near Stars Hollow weekend, so check for a newer city alert before you drive in from that direction.

Yard timing. The city's fall leaf collection starts in mid-October, and brush pickup ends Oct. 31. If you want the rakes out of the way before a Saturday downtown, there's a short window to do it.

Saturday's lineup ends with Gilmore Girls Karaoke at 8 p.m. Sunday's lineup starts with the look-alike contest at 1 p.m. on the same lawn where the Burmeister and Williams horses were once stabled.

Heading to Hubbard Avenue for Stars Hollow Days, or curious what else is happening around Stone Horse Green this fall? Madison Lifestyle is based in Middleton, and we follow this block closely. Call or text, and let's talk neighborhoods.