Release Date: October 19,2023
Smells Like Snow Coffee Festival Returns to Downtown Akron
October 19, 2023, Akron, Ohio — On Saturday, November 4, from 12 to 6 pm, Cascade Plaza will once again be transformed into Stars Hollow for the Gilmore Girls-inspired Smells Like Snow Coffee Festival. This year, the festivities will expand onto Main Street between Bowery and Mill Streets, in addition to filling the plaza.
This year’s coffee vendors will be Compass, Café Arnone, MoMi Coffee Roasters, Moonstone Coffee Works, Muggswigz Coffee & Tea, Asterisk Coffee Bar, Pearl Coffee Company, Yada Yada Café, Sappho and Her Beans, Farmhand Coffee and Humble Mornings Coffee Co. There will also be a variety of food vendors including Stray Dog Café, Galaxy Grill, El Patrón Tequilería & Cuisine, Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks and Grille and Brooks BBQ. Additional purveyors of coffee and food are expected to join.
Eventgoers can also look forward to boutique shopping experiences; performances by local musicians; Gilmore Girls trivia; hands-on crafts and activities; themed photo opportunities and plenty of other show-inspired activities and surprises.
Last year’s event saw an estimated 4,000 people visit Cascade Plaza for an afternoon of hanging out by the town gazebo, watching clips from Rory and Lorelai’s favorite movies, browsing books and antiques, listening to performances by a handful of “town troubadours,” engaging in a game of Gilmore Girls-inspired bingo and of course, drinking plenty of coffee.
DAP Communications Director Dominic Caruso says, “The Smells Like Snow Coffee Festival is really a celebration of fall in downtown Akron, along with the cozy, friendly, and yes, quirky small-town feel that is a big part of Akron’s sensibility. The festival is inspired by the Gilmore Girls, but it’s also a fun party when you get down to it, and that’s the key to its enduring, and growing, appeal.”
This event is free to attend.
Note on the Show
Gilmore Girls debuted in 2000, so there are aspects of the show that have aged less gracefully than others—for example, the lack of diverse representation among cast members and certain “bits” that rely on stereotyping and/or cultural appropriation for a laugh. We recognize the problematic nature of these portrayals.
We also acknowledge admirable facets of Gilmore Girls that have inspired the Smells Like Snow Coffee festival. The show’s nuanced stories of mother-daughter relationships will always resonate with audiences. And who, upon visiting their hometown, large or small, is not met with a peculiar quirkiness or comforting nostalgia?
The Smells Like Snow Coffee Festival is presented by Downtown Akron Partnership with support from the City of Akron, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and Ohio Arts Council.