FORKS — More than 1,200 fans lined up at the Rainforest Arts Center to meet Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga, on Saturday.
Meyer was in Forks to sign books for fans at the Forever Twilight in Forks festival, a four-day event that ends today with a birthday brunch and a birthday party for Bella Swan, the protagonist of the series set in Forks and Port Angeles.
The Twilight Saga encompasses four novels, a novella and five movies set — although not filmed — in and around Forks.
The tale is of a love triangle among Swan, a new Forks resident; the vampire Edward Cullen; and the Quileute werewolf Jacob Black.
The line to see Meyer, who hadn’t visited Forks since she made an unscheduled appearance in 2013, led from a side door, wrapped around the front of the Arts Center building, into an alley, looped back out of the alley and ran along the sidewalk on South Forks Avenue.
Meyer had announced she would attend this year to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Twilight.
No members of the media were allowed inside the building because Meyer wanted the day to be about the fans and her time with them, said Lissy Andros, executive director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce and organizer of Forever Twilight in Forks festival.
Meyer also declined to be interviewed or photographed by members of the media, Andros said.
Andros estimated that more than 2,000 arrived in Forks, population 3,688, for the Forever Twilight weekend event.
“We had 900 registered, then got 300 more,” Andros said.
Melissa Rivett, 30, of Morris, Ill., was among the first to meet Meyer and have her book signed.
“When I got in the door and I could see her, there was an overwhelming sense of ‘Oh my gosh, she’s there.’ It is indescribable,” Rivett said.
Andros said the weekend was moving along well, with few hiccups.
“It has been an amazing success,” she said.
One of those hiccups was a late start to the signing. The event took organizers longer than expected to organize, they said.
The signing was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., but the first fans entered the building at 1:25 p.m.
Volunteers for the festival handed out hundreds of free water bottles to the fans standing outside, where the sun beat down on heavily costumed fans, many of whom brought umbrellas to prepare for rain but used them as sun parasols instead.
Organizers distributed 20 cases of water, then went to a store for more, Andros said.
The long wait in the sun didn’t faze most of the fans.
“Last time we were here, it was raining,” said Michelle Hambly of Bonney Lake.
“Now we’ve had the best of both worlds,” added her daughter, Nathalie Hambly, 20, of Medford, Ore.
The pair said they plan to come to future Twilight events as they are offered.
“This is bigger than Christmas to us,” the elder Hambly said.
Merchants reported an increase in sales.
Brooke Peterson, a clerk at Native to Twilight, which sells both Twilight merchandise and local tribal art, said she has been kept busy restocking the store’s items.
“In a weekend, we usually sell $1,000. So far, it has been $1,500 per day,” Peterson said.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, sales had already surpassed $1,200, she said.
Peterson said the most popular items in the store were T-shirts that read “If found return to Edward” and “If found return to Jacob,” referring to Swan’s vampire and werewolf love interests, respectively, in the stories.
A clerk at Chinook Pharmacy also said sales were brisk. JT’s Sweet Stuffs was constantly full.
Forks residents were among those who waited in line for Meyer to sign books.
One was Wyette Stansbury, 52, who said that not only is she a Twilight fan, but also that she is thrilled with the money that Twilight brings to Forks.
“If it wasn’t for Twilight, Forks wouldn’t be standing,” Stansbury said.
People who are drawn to Forks because of the books have enriched her life in the town, she said.
She has met people from China, England and other distant places because of the draw of the Twilight Saga.
“I love it. You get to meet people from other countries,” she said.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
