Chris Cook Forks Forum photo –  2008 Bella’s Birthday group photo

An ambitious committee made up of local merchants and resident Twilight fans is hard at work at creating a fresh take on the annual Bella’s Birthday/Stephenie Meyer Day celebration.

The event has been based at Tillicum Park since its first running in September 2007, and is held to coincide with the birthday of fictional Twilight character Bella Swan, who plays a Forks High School student in the best-selling Twilight Saga series of books and movies.

“It’s a way for the businesses in Forks to be able to showcase what they do,” said committee member Rosemary Colandrea.

The Forks Chamber of Commerce, which has run the event in the past, is providing $500 in support funds for the celebration.

The weekend is set to begin Friday night with a Bella’s bridal shower, with most of the action on Saturday, with a literary symposium planned, street vendors along a section of Spartan Avenue, an appearance by the Hillywood Twilight impersonators and a “St. Marcus Day” dance with music and partygoes drapped in red capes based on the Twilight book location of Voltari, Italy. A collector of Twilight props and costumes is also flying in from South Carolina. Inquires from across the Twilight world are coming in with an international and national wave of Twilight fans expected.

Accommodations in the area are already solidly booked for the weekend, and the event organizers are asking anyone with a room or home to rent for the visitors to call 374-0358.

Go to www.stepheniemeyerday.com for more information and updates.