Boxwish Blog

Twilight tourist attractions lure fans to Oregon

Posted by Team Boxwish on 19 November 2008 at 01.03PM

Twilight hasn’t even been released yet (Friday in the USA and a month for us Brits) but already tourist attractions based on the Stephanie Meyer romance are setting up camp, anticipating huge business. Much of the love story between teenage girl Bella and vampire Edward was filmed in Oregon (standing in for Forks, Washington), with the cast and crew of the film settling there for 19 weeks during February 2007 and from January to April 2008 and this corner of America’s Pacific Northwest is planning a glut of fan-focused delights to cash in on the showbiz connection. So, if you happen to be in the area or will travel anywhere in the world to get your Twilight fix, read on for what tourist treats you can expect at the Beaver State (yes – that it is its name, we didn’t make it up!).

First up is a “Movie Sneak Preview Trip”, a walking tour that journeys to location spots such as the Columbia River Gorge and St Helens and includes an exclusive screening of the film, days prior to its general release. Organised by Fan Trips, a division of Colorado tourism company Beyond Boundaries, the tour started earlier in the week and continues until tomorrow. By Monday, 15 people had already signed up for this week’s jaunt and the tour might continue post the film’s release if business continues to boom (though it will be minus the cache of the pre-release film screening).

Other local attractions include the “Passion for Fashion and Prom” tour, which also organised by Fan Tours will run from 7th to 13th August 2009. This includes a prom at the View Point Inn in Corbett where Edward and Bella attend the movie’s prom night. The inn is also cooking up its own events with another prom planned, this time complete with sets and memorabilia from the film. For those with more sporty inclinations a “Vampire Baseball Adventure” is being lined up, consisting of “vampire baseball” (it IS Edwards’ favourite sport) at Portland’s PGE Park and other film location visits.

Oregon’s varied landscapes and enticing tax packages have snared a number of other recent Hollywood productions, such as Diane Lane thriller Untraceable and upcoming drama The Road starring Viggo Mortensen, yet it’s Twilight that the Governor’s Office of Film and Television hope will prove a long-term attraction. With the film rights to the other three books in the literary series having been signed up, Oregon is hoping that it will lure the producers of Twilight back to their neck of the woods. “Twilight is such a great film for Oregon,” says the office’s executive director Vince Porter. “It has such a huge fan base. Whenever a film like Twilight comes out, if it can have a lasting effect, it’s a good thing.”

Well, it certainly sounds like Oregon is THE place for Twilight fans to be, especially in the new year with the cool calendar of special events planned. How much is a plane ticket to Oregon again?

Check out our Twilight merchandise here.

[via Statesman Journal]