Twilight News

The New York Times has just posted a great article on how Twilight fans are literally boosting the economy of a li’l town in Washington named Forks.. and we love it!

Jane Margolies of The New York Times writes:

….Over the last year or so, Forks (population 3,120) has morphed into a mecca for Twilighters, or Twihards as they are sometimes called. Visitors to this rainy town, whose main industries are logging and two correctional facilities, have more than tripled for the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the local Chamber of Commerce. Lodging occupancy is up, and local merchants sell little-vampire pacifiers and Bella and Edward action figures.

“You used to say you were from Forks and people would stare,” said Marcia Bingham, director of the Chamber of Commerce, referring to the “B.T.” (“Before ‘Twilight’ ”) days. “Now when they hear where you’re from, they’re breathless.” (TS: hahaha so true so true;))

….The Pacific Inn Motel decorated a single “Twilight” guestroom last November, painting the walls black and red and putting up movie posters; it now has six of the theme rooms. “They had really cool ‘Twilight’ towels,” said Emma Hand, 14, who stayed in one of the rooms in August with her brother and parents on a cross-country trek from their home in Falls Church, Va.

Revenue from a local hotel occupancy tax is up 26 percent over last year, according to a Forks City Council member, Bruce Guckenberg, who also manages Sully’s Burgers, home of the pineapple-topped Bella Burger (plastic fangs included).

Charlene Leppell’s longtime flower and gift shop was on the brink of closing until she started printing up “Bella for Prom Queen” T-shirts and applying glitter to red ceramic apples. Now her shop, renamed Twilight Central, is doing so well that “the question isn’t whether I could afford to take a vacation this year,” Ms. Leppell said, “but whether I couldtake off time from the store.”

Read the 2 page article at New York Times.

While at the Christian Science Monitor they have this article : Twilight helps Forks, Washington beat the recession.

….To cater to starry-eyed fans, Forks’ Chamber of Commerce launched a van tour that points out spots featured in the Twilight books. The town even created a “reserved” parking spot at the local hospital for the fictional character Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

….Forks isn’t the only town that’s benefitting from Twilight mania. Port Angeles, Wash., a town northeast of Forks, where Bella has her first dining experience with Edward and shops at a bookstore, has been a draw as well. This year, fans visited the restaurant, Bella Italia, where the couple dine in the first Twilight movie, and purchased 4,500 $17 bowls of mushroom ravioli (which Bella ordered in the movie and the book). Meanwhile, Margolies reports that the bookstore Bella declines to visit because of its new age vibe – Port Book and News – says business has increased by as much as 20 percent.

More of Forks on Reelzchannel’s Twilight Weekly : Spotlight