FANS FROM FARAWAY DRAWN TO EVENT HONORING 'TWILIGHT' AUTHOR

Fans of the best-selling, Forks-set “Twilight” book series drove in from Oregon and towns across Washington for a day full of events honoring author Stephenie Meyer.

The event was kicked off by Mayor Nedra Reed who read a proclamation marking Thursday, Sept. 13 as “Stephenie Meyer Day” in the City of Forks.

The mayor was surrounded by visiting fans along with Marcia Bingham, excecutive director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce.

“The day was a great success,” Bingham said following the chamber’s work on a rapid fire series of events held throughout the day on Thursday.

September 13 is the birthday of Meyer’s fictional Forks High School student Bella. Bella’s romance with Edward, who is a teenage vampire and Forks High student, is at the heart of the book series.

The chamber issued “Twilight” hunting permits for fans to map out “Twilight” locations in and around Forks. Completing a stamped permit allowed fans to be entered into a drawing for gift certificates from local merchants in a drawing held at the Forks Library at the end of the day.

Visiting fans all agreed that the film version of “Twilight” now in pre-production by Summit Entertainment needed to be filmed on location in Forks. They said the authenticity of using the actual locations mentioned in the book was essential to make the film authentic. All said they wouldn’t be happy with the film unless it closely followed the plot of the book.

Among those helping out with the promotion was Forks Police Chief Mike Powell who served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to visiting fans who made their way into the police department offices.

Powell told the Forks City Council on Monday that the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches aren’t mentioned in the book. Instead, he served them to author Meyer during her 2006 visit to Forks to prove he could cook, a trait Meyer gave to his fictional counterpart Forks Police Chief Charlie Swan.

“Eclipse,” the third book in the “Twilight” series and released in early August, is still in the top 20 books overall sold by Amazon.com as of this week.

The film version of “Twilight,” the first book in the series, is expected to begin location filming late this fall or early this winter.

On the Web: www.stephenie meyer.com.