FORKS — Visitors arriving in Forks this weekend might be torn about what kind of weather to wish for.
One one hand, the dark, wet West End weather is a trademark of the Twilight books which have inspired Stephenie Meyer Day — actually a weekend-long event.
On the other hand, sunny weather makes the vampire hero of author Meyer’s books, Edward, glimmer and gleam, giving away his blood-sucking tendencies.
Marcia Bingham, executive director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce, said she wouldn’t be surprised to find more than 1,500 Twilight fans in town this weekend.
That’s more than double the 700 who usually show up on a “normal” summer weekend.
“We only give out numbers of those who sign in at the visitor center,” she said.
“But we know that they are low. We did a study counting the number of people at the center and then seeing how many signed in.
“We found that it is about a third too low.”
Most Stephenie Meyer Day events this weekend will take place at Tillicum Park, where about a dozen vendors will sell memorabilia.
Despite the name of the event, Meyer will not be there.
The revelry will begin Friday at 9 p.m. with Bella’s Ball at the Twilight Lounge, 81 N. Forks Ave.
Other events will include the Bella Loves Books Book Sale, tours of the remaining portions of Forks High School, now under reconstruction, music in the park and a birthday cake for Bella, the heroine of the Twilight saga.
Events will wrap up Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. drawing for a replica of Bella’s 1963 pickup truck.
The pickup was donated by Elwha River Casino of Port Angeles.
Those entering must be 18 years old or older. To enter the drawing, visit www.elwharivercasino.com to join the casino’s Paddle Rewards Club, which automatically enters to win.
Just after the drawing, the Twilight Trivia Contest at 3 p.m. will end the weekend’s events.
The character Bella’s birthday in Twilight is on Sept. 13, and Stephenie Meyer Day is held on the weekend closes to the date.
So far this year, 59,834 people have signed in at the Forks Visitor Center, Bingham said.
“We know not all of our visitors are Twilight, but the Twilighters have been wonderful,” she said.
In 2009, the visitor center broke records with about 70,000 people traipsing through Forks.
With nearly 60,000 logged, the town is on its way to break another record before Dec. 31, she said.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
