Forks Washington on the Olympic Peninsula

Forks is gearing up for the March 20th DVD release of New Moon. This article by Paige Dickerson, from today's Peninsula Daily News, highlights some of the activities being planned in Forks around this BIG event. We're especially looking forward to seeing all the locals appearing in the Twilight in Forks documentary, which is supposed to be part of the Special Edition New Moon DVD. Dazzled by Twilight (11 N. Forks Ave.) is ramping up the planning efforts with the Volturi Vampire Ball set for 8:00 pm, Friday, March 19th, at the Twilight Lounge (FKA the Vagabond Restaurant) right in Downtown Forks. There will be no entrance fee for this fun-sounding event! Twilight Central/Leppell's Flowers & Gifts (130 S. Spartan Ave.) is also planning some special events during the day on March 19th and running right up to the midnight release of the DVD. Other events and activities are in the works, so stay tuned, and make plans NOW to be in Forks March 19-21 to be part of the action!

The "Home of the Swans" sign at Forks' Swan House has been taken!  Yes, shocking, but true.  We're assuming local law enforcement is all over this apparent "TwiCrime," but if you have the sign--for whatever reason--just leave it at the Forks Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (1411 S. Forks Ave.) and we'll get it back to the owners.  If anyone knows who has the sign, or has information about what happened to it, please contact the Forks Police Department (360-374-2223) and they'll take it from there.  Thanks!

 

You can see what you missed at the Twilight convention in Seattle this weekend by checking out these photos, taken by Thom Weinstein, from today's Seattle P-I.  The event appears to have been a success, based on these shots.  We'd love to hear from someone who was able to attend!

 

It's encouraging to see that the West End now has a paved 6-mile section of the Olympic Discovery Trail in place. Although it's still "closed for construction," this first-class section of trail extends through the forest from the Camp David Jr. Road end of the Spruce Railroad Trail, on Lake Crescent, to the top of Fairholm Hill. The Olympic Discovery Trail itself will eventually go the entire 100-mile distance from Port Townsend, through Sequim, Port Angeles, Joyce, Forks and LaPush, to the Pacific Ocean.

Well, we thought this video was pretty funny. It's a parody of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' hit song, Empire State of Mind, with all kinds of clever Twilight and Forks rhymes and references thrown in. There's even a cameo from Cousin Itt in there. . . . It's just for fun--check it out! (May not be appropriate for all viewers.)

What a perfect way to start off the New Year!  This article from the Peninsula Daily News runs down some of the ice-hot local tourism statistics for 2009.  Among other things, the numbers show that over 70,000 people stopped in at our Forks Chamber of  Commerce Visitor Information Center last year.  That's about a 400% increase from the record we set in 2008!  Wow! Let's keep it going--now is an ideal time to plan a trip to Forks--there's more to see and do than ever before.  We're looking forward to setting new records in 2010.

Looks like just about everyone in Forks showed up for the casting call for the planned Forks reality TV show.  (We're up in Canada, so we missed all of the action!)  Check out the coverage at the Forks Forum site and in today's Peninsula Daily News.  We're assuming they're not talking about the "real" Forks that we know, so we're curious what, exactly, is planned.  Anyone have suggestions for Zig Gauthier, the Santa Monica, California, based television producer behind the project?

We're about to get the same weather technology here on the West End of the Olympic Peninsula that just about everybody else takes for granted--Doppler radar! This is a big deal for mariners and outdoorsmen, who rely on accurate weather information for their survival.  Up until now, the Olympic Mountains basically blocked the radar from Seattle, making it difficult to forecast our coastal weather.

A major rebuild of Forks High School is getting closer to reality.  This article from Paige Dickerson, in today's Peninsula Daily News, discusses some of the options being considered.  The Quillayute Valley School District is hopeful that funding will be available to preserve at least the historical facade from the original 1925 building.  More information is available at the QVSD website.

Twilight is coming to Showtime next month!  And just to keep it real, they stopped by Forks last week to shoot some special local footage to go along with the film when it opens January 23rd at 8:00 pm.  This photo shows Forks Chamber Director Marcia Bingham being interviewed by the Showtime crew at our Visitor Center.  Sorry about the rain, guys--hope your visit was okay otherwise!

An exciting local history project is being spearheaded by West End community leaders Bill and Kitty Sperry. The goal is to establish a kiosk with interpretive information commemorating the bicentennial of the shipwreck of the Sv. Nikolai. The Russian vessel Nikolai perished on Rialto Beach (just north of LaPush, near Ellen Creek) in 1808. Our North Olympic Peninsula coast is well known for the many shipwrecks that have occured along its rugged shoreline. The Nikolai's story is fascinating on a variety of levels, including the fact that it ties in seven separate nations:  Russia, Alutiiq, Makah, Quileute, Hoh, Hawaii and America. Learn more about it--including how you can participate in the project--at the Nikolai Shipwreck website.

Guess who's featured in the December Costco Connection magazine? Yup. It's Forks! The article, written by Stephanie E. Ponder, is actually very nicely done--thanks! Among other things, we like how they say whether the people they interview are Costco members. Maybe we should mention that Costco is a Forks Chamber of Commerce member. And it looks like someone at Costco enjoys puns. Good tines indeed! We appreciate the effort!

We couldn't help noticing this guest op-ed piece from the Seattle Times, titled "Don't let Twilight suck the life out of Forks."  It's written by Emerson Richards, a college student from Florida who has apparently visited Forks a couple of times in the past and now declares it to be her favorite town.  Her main point is that folks should visit Forks because of the natural beauty of our area--not because it's where the Twilight saga is set.  OK, fair enough, but isn't that a little like saying that folks should visit Florida for the natural beauty and endangered species found in the Everglades--not because it's where Disney World is located?  In any event, we're getting a few chuckles out of the reader comments at the end of the article, including a comment from "Mudflow" in Sappho (right down the road from Forks), who assures Ms. Richards that she--along with everybody else--is welcome here, suggesting "bring your fantasies and your cash and your raingear and let others bring theirs."

What do you think? Is Twilight sucking the life out of Forks?  Or adding to the fun?

It's a BIG holiday weekend here in Forks and LaPush! It starts Friday, with the Cherish Our Children fundraiser in LaPush.  That begins at 5:00 PM on Friday at the Akalat Center.  This fun event features a seafood dinner, live and silent auctions, photos with Santa, and local artisans selling their creations.  All proceeds raised go to West End children.  But that's not all!

Summit Entertainment and Creation Entertainment have announced a series of Twilight conventions, including one in Seattle on January 15-17, 2010; one in Vancouver, BC, Canada, on May 14-16, 2010; and one in Portland, Oregon on October 1-3, 2010.  The Twicons will feature special guests, including, in Seattle, for example, Peter Facinelli, Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz, Bronson Pelletier, Kiowa Gordon, Daniel Cudmore and Charlie Bewley, along with exclusive footage screenings, panel discussions, Twilight themed parties, musical performances, costume and trivia competitions, auctions, autographing, merchandising, and photo opportunities.  Sounds pretty exciting!

Our high winds, drenching rains and seasonal darkness only appear to encourage the hardcore fans that continue to flock to Forks, LaPush and the West End. They're not called Twihards for nothing! This article, written by Tom Callis, from today's Peninsula Daily News, does a fine job of hitting the local highlights from the weekend. It even quotes Mike Gurling, our Visitor Center Manager, who shares, among other things, the fact that our website, forkswa.com, received 54,841 "hits" on Friday alone. Wow! All in all, it sounds like there was quite an array of activities to keep people interested over the weekend. Okay, we've got to admit we're a little unclear on the relationship between belly dancing and Twilight, but, in any case, it sounds like everyone had a blast on this blustery New Moon movie release weekend!

 

Check out the Forks Forum's New Moon Magazine.

The focus is on Forks and LaPush celebrating the release of the big movie. Lots of local information and photos.

Nice job, Chris and crew!