‘Twilight’ dream come true: English teen wins contest to visit land of Edward and Bella

FORKS — Megan Evans, 16, of Birmingham, England, won a vacation of her dreams — to Forks.

The free tour of Seattle, Port Angeles and Forks was sponsored by Clipper Vacations — part of Victoria Clipper of Seattle — the Olympic Peninsula Visitors Bureau, based in Port Angeles, the Port of Seattle and British Airways.

In the spring, the British teen was flipping through OK! Magazine when she came across a contest.

“The center part had a poster of Twilight and said to text in the answer to a question to be entered to win a trip to Forks,” Megan said.

Forks is the setting for author Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling four-novel series about vampires and teen love.

The question: Who was in both “The Green Mile” and “Sleepless in Seattle?”

The answer: Tom Hanks, which Megan quickly texted in.

“I had forgotten about it when I got the letter, and at first it didn’t seem like it was a real letter,” she said — pulling it out.

The simple letterhead had her suspicious, but upon investigation it turned out to be real.

“When I found out, I was screaming and jumping up and down so much — I was so excited,” she said.

Her mother, Carolyn Evans, added: “We didn’t know what she was screaming about — we weren’t sure if something good or bad had happened.”

Family trip

So Megan, her dad, Mark Evans, and her mother packed up for a week’s trip to the United States.

The transatlantic flight was the first for all three.

“We’d never been on an airplane before, much less overseas,” Mark Evans said.

Mark and Carolyn Evans make up Red Shoes, a folk band.

The first stop was in Seattle, where they inspected the city where Twilight’s protagonist, Bella Swan, lands during her move from Arizona to Forks, before traveling to Port Angeles and Forks to see sites mentioned in Meyer’s books.

In the Twilight saga, upon moving to Forks, Bella meets and falls in love with the enigmatic vampire, Edward Cullen.

Their romance — and the story of Bella’s other suitor, Jacob Black — has been a worldwide phenomenon. Millions of copies of the books have been sold.

The first movie was released Nov. 21, 2008, and the second “New Moon” will be released Nov. 20 of this year. The third movie, “Eclipse,” will be released June 30.

Big fan

Megan said she saw the movie in January and then was compelled to read the books.

“I’ve watched the movie at least 40 times,” she said. “I’ve read the books about three — but I already have them mostly memorized.”

Mark Evans said the trip has been a blur.

“I can’t believe we are actually here,” he said. “It is all so unbelievable.

“When Megan watches the movies, her mouth is moving the whole time, saying the words along with the actors.”

The trip was organized by Clipper Vacations of Seattle.

“We have put together a self-drive tour for Twilight fans,” said Linda Botts, assistant vice president of sales for Victoria Clipper.

“We had a phone call from a company in the UK and were wondering about it, and then the Port of Seattle and the Seattle Convention Bureau asked us if we were interested in putting together a tour,” she said.

“It has been an absolute delight working with this family.

“They are all musicians and are just so much fun working with them.”

As part of her vacation, Megan is “tweeting” at www.twitter.com/oh_megan her vacation and sharing information on social networkign sites.

Her MySpace page is www.myspace.com/ohmeganmusic and her parents’ site is www.myspace.com/redshoes1.

__________

Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in Life

Tim Branham, left, his wife Mickey and Bill Pearl work on a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle entitled “Days to Remember.” The North Olympic Library at its main branch on South Peabody Street in Port Angeles sponsored a jigsaw puzzle contest on Saturday, and 15 contestants challenged their skills. With teams of two to four, contestants try to put together a puzzle in a two-hour time limit. Justin Senter and Rachel Cook finished their puzzle in 54 minutes to win the event. The record from past years is less than 40 minutes. The next puzzle contest will be at 10 a.m. Feb. 8. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Piece by piece

Jigsaw puzzle contest in Port Angeles

HORSEPLAY: Planning can help prevent disaster in an emergency

ISN’T IT TRUE in life, when one door closes and appears locked… Continue reading

A GROWING CONCERN: In pruning, why and where matter

WELL, DAY 10 still has no frost and the mild temperatures are… Continue reading

ISSUES OF FAITH: Freedom and the stranger

FREEDOM AND OPPRESSION are at the very heart of the Torah portions… Continue reading

Jamal Rahman will discuss teaching stories and sacred verses that transformed his life at 11 a.m. Sunday. Rahman will be the guest speaker at Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship speaker set

Jamal Rahman will present “Spiritual Wisdom and Practices for… Continue reading

Pastor Omer Vigoren set for retirement

Bethany Pentecostal Church will honor retiring pastor the Rev.… Continue reading

The Rev. Glenn Jones
Unity in Olympics program scheduled

The Rev. Glenn Jones will present “Come Alive in… Continue reading

Shanna Bloom, who lives at the intersection of Fifth and Cherry streets in Port Angeles, plans to keep her American flag lights up well into spring. "These aren't Christmas lights anymore," she said. "They are patriotic lights now." (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Patriotic lights

Shanna Bloom, who lives at the intersection of Fifth and Cherry streets… Continue reading

An article from the Olympic-Leader newspaper of Port Angeles on July 20, 1894.
BACK WHEN: A tale of a Peninsula tragedy from 130 years ago

IT IS THE start of a new year. Have you made any… Continue reading

Angel Beadle holds Phoebe Homan, the first baby born on the North Olympic Peninsula in 2025. Father David Homan stands by their side in a room at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Port Angeles couple welcomes first baby of 2025

Phoebe Homan joins 7-year-old brother

Andrew May/For Peninsula Daily News  
Fall color can add so much to your garden, as seen here on a garden designed and planted for 16 years. Always add some new fall color to your garden.
A GROWING CONCERN: Don’t let warmer temperatures catch your garden out in the cold

IT’S SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT to come to terms that Wednesday is a new… Continue reading