Bloodsucking Fun
Well, it’s not the most amazing way I can think of to spend the Fourth of July, but I’m pretty sure it’d be a dream come true for someone — or for many someones, really: This July 4, PGE Park is hosting Vampire Baseball. Yes, like in Twilight. Cast and crew members from Twilight and the now-shooting-but-not-in-Oregon New Moon — including Peter Facinelli (Carlile Cullen), Edi Gathegi (Laurent) and Rachelle LaFevre (Victoria) will … well, they’ll play baseball. Somehow I doubt they’ll do it in superfast, vampire-tastic motion, but that’s what your imagination is for, right? A basic all-day Vampire Baseball ticket is $49; for more than double that ($135) you’ll get an autograph from a cast member and a ticket to that night’s Portland Beavers vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox game, for which Lefevre will throw the opening pitch. (See www.fantrips.travel for all the bloody details.)
The super-intense Twilight fan with a considerable amount of expendable cash may feel compelled to peek at Fan Trips’ more elaborate packages. One, the Vampire Baseball Adventure, winds down on July 4 after a week of visiting locations from Forks to St. Helens; the other is a slightly bizarre Passion for Fashion and Prom Party Tour, inspired by Alice Cullen and her eye for clothes, in which participants get to partake in a fashionista contest — just one among many, many, many other Twilight-themed events that doubtless bring a lot of good business to the restaurants and other locations used in the film. This package winds down with a prom. A prom. Just like at the end of Twilight, though probably lacking the vengeful vampire at the upstairs window. The true Bella Swan experience doesn’t come cheap: Both weeklong trips have price tags higher than $1,500, sans airfare. Twilight fans have already filled up 80 percent of the available slots for the Vampire Baseball Adventure. I’m a little boggled, but I kind of understand: Swap out “New Zealand” and “Lord of the Rings” for “Portland” and “Twilight,” and I’d probably wish I had thousands of dollars to throw around on my fandom, too. (If you want a much cheaper, self-guided tour, you could check out goseeportland.com/guide/55-twilight-film-locations — a few key locations in St. Helens are nicely mapped out for your perusal.) — Molly Templeton
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A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
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Eugene Weekly
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