Forks Looking to Make Twilight Museum

According to the Forks Forum. There is a committee looking to put together a collection to make a Twilight Museum in Forks.

A first step in gathering a collection for the museum is underway. Colandrea said an unnamed donor has supplied the funds to bring an arch used as a main prop in the filming of “Twilight,” the first film in Summit Entertainment’s five-film Twilight Saga series. The arch is being brought from Oregon and will be placed in storage for now.

Plans for the three-day 2012 Stephenie Meyer Day event are already scheduled she said, and will include a Twilight-themed film festival this year. Its main event will be a nighttime reenactment of the wedding of Twilight lead characters Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, featuring costumed characters.

The extensive collection of Twilight film props owned by collector John Henson will also be on display, she said. Henson plans to sell the prop collection following the release in November of the final scheduled Twilight film, Breaking Dawn Part 2, she said. Colandrea said her committee has first dibs on buying the collection, which she said could be a key part of a Twilight museum.

She said the target audience for attracting Twilight visitors to the West End is women 30-plus years of age. This demographic has expendable income and will spend more on gifts, accommodation and dining than teenage fans, Colandrea said. However, “they expect more of an experience” than teenagers. That’s where opening a Twilight museum would give them a reason to spend more time in Forks. “They need a reason to come to Forks.” The key to continuing to draw the Twilight visitors is publicity and social networking, she said.

See more on the Forks Forum.

The group is also hopeful that pending legislation would provide greater tax incentives for movie makers to film in Washington State. Currently it is far more economical for movies and TV shows to film in Canada and Oregon than Washington State.