Eugene Weekly : Summer Guide : 6.4.09

 

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