PORT ANGELES — When Victoria McDonald returned to Port Angeles from Fitchburg, Mass., her plan was to visit friends and family members, help out in the Dazzled by Twilight store she once managed — and at some point on Wednesday night stake out her place as first in line to get tickets to the first showing of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
The showing will be at 12:01 a.m. Friday, immediately after a 9:30 p.m. Thursday showing of a rerun of the first “Twilight” movie at the Lincoln Theater in downtown Port Angeles.
But then on Tuesday, McDonald overheard a fan tell a Dazzled by Twilight employee that she and a friend planned to get in line on Tuesday.
“I thought, ‘Oh, no. No. No. I am first in line,'” said McDonald, who was also first in line for the Lincoln Theater midnight showing of “Twilight” when it opened a year ago.
So she and a few friends headed right over to the theater on Tuesday afternoon.
Bundled against rain and cold, she plans to sit, eat and sleep on the sidewalk in front of the theater until claiming the ticket to the movie that has her — and millions of other fans nationwide — obsessed with the tale of vampires, werewolves and true love.
McDonald was the first manager of Dazzled by Twilight store in Port Angeles, an extension of the Dazzled by Twilight store in Forks. Both sell Twilight-themed gift items.
She is the wife of Sean McDonald, former advertising director of the Peninsula Daily News.
They moved to Massachusetts in early September, where McDonald is now publisher of the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise daily newspaper.
Lincoln Theater
The four Twilight books are set mostly in Forks and LaPush, and Bella Swan, the klutzy heroine, often goes to Port Angeles for entertainment.
In “New Moon” she, her best friend and suitor Jacob Black and a classmate who also hopes to win her heart, Mike Newton, visit the Lincoln Theater to watch a horror movie.
Although none of the movies have been filmed on the North Olympic Peninsula, tens of thousands of fans have flocked to Forks, LaPush and Port Angeles to see the real-life places of where the fictional Twilight tales are set.
By twilight time Tuesday, 18 fans had lined up chairs, blankets, large umbrellas and packs of food to sustain them through the long wait.
Annette Root, who lives in Forks and owns the Dazzled by Twilight stores in Port Angeles and Forks, was also set to join McDonald later Tuesday night.
Chrissy Lee of Sequim was second behind McDonald and said that though many of the fans planned to sleep in their cars, they would take turns guarding the places in line.
“We also know that the Dazzled by Twilight crew will be diligent in helping us all stay warm and fed,” Lee said.
“They brought us some nice hot soup for dinner.”
Tickets will go on sale at the Lincoln Theater at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday for the midnight showing and for the double feature of “Twilight” and “New Moon.”
Port Townsend
The Rose Theatre in Port Townsend is also holding a midnight showing.
Tickets are already on sale online at www.rosetheatre.com.
About half the tickets for the midnight showing are already sold, leaving about 80 tickets left.
The first “Twilight” film grossed $383.6 million worldwide.
Several hundred fans last November showed up to see the movie in the theater where Bella went, and about 600 waited in line in Forks when the DVD was released.
“I was awake all of last night worrying that I wouldn’t be first in line,” McDonald said.
“This camaraderie and fun of waiting here in line for a movie we will love is the best part about it all.”
A host of activities are planned in Port Angeles to entertain Twilight fans this weekend including mushroom ravioli from Bella Italia served throughout the weekend — Bella’s meal she eats on her first date with Edward — pictures taken of fans posed as vampire royalty and Quileute storytellers talking about real legends — as opposed to the fictionalized ones in the Twilight books.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
