Forks Article in MacLean Magazine

Macleans had a great article in November on the changes Forks has experienced since Twilight.

Approximately 69,000 tourists have filtered through the town’s handful of inns and bed and breakfasts since January, compared to the 6,000 a year who came in the B.T. (before Twilight) days. The visitors are mostly groups of middle-aged women or young girls dragging along bewildered parents.

I have shockingly not been to Forks yet, despite my frequent trips to Seattle. It's on my list of places to visit in 2010 for sure and I have lot's of people from around the world telling me about their plans to go this year too.

Previously, Forks was barely a dot on a map, but now, it is easily recognized and visited by Twilight fans world-wide. Forks residents have seen some crazy things since the Twilight Phenomena:

"The backs of the cars say things like ‘Forks or bust,’ ‘We love Bella,’ ‘We love Edward,’ ” says Gurling. “They get on their cellphones, just literally jumping up and down on the floor, calling their best friends, saying ‘You won’t believe it, I’m actually in Forks.’ ” One teenage girl, says Gurling, “comes in and she starts looking around at all the T-shirts and things and she actually begins sobbing. Tears are just streaming down her cheeks."

It's amazing how the Twilight books have changed the towns people's lives... and it isn't ending anytime soon.

The town’s sudden popularity even caught the attention of Jason Brown, an Emmy-award-winning filmmaker. His documentary about the community, Twilight in Forks, is scheduled to be released in March, coinciding with the DVD release of New Moon.

With all this publicity, what can Forks expect in the months to come? More visitors, screaming teenaged girls, twi-mom's and fans flocking to snap photos and enjoy the tourist trap, that I feel is worth getting trapped in.

The phenomenon has been nothing but magical for the town. Forks has had its share of economic problems—the logging town would have been devastated by the recession. Instead, it’s doing better than it has in 30 years. “Twilight has been an absolute blessing,” says Mayor Reed. “It’s kept the last person from turning out the lights, and as a matter of fact, lights are going on in abandoned buildings.”

[source Thanks Theresa]