Indianapolis, Ind. -
The Twilight phenomenon has an even more intense
hold on Indianapolis right now. Fans are pouring into a convention at
the Marriott East, which will run throughout the weekend.
It's a Twilight fans dream, from a buffet of merchandise to autographs with some of the actors, but for this crowd it's also about sharing a love for a franchise that's grown from book to big screen.
"It's good for girls to have somewhere we can go and be in a fantasy world without having to do anything stupid," said one twilight fan. "And you know it doesn't promote anything bad. It's good."
And if you thought all Twilight fans were young girls, Kathy Hohman says think again. She became a "Twi-hard" after discovering the books while working at Borders.
"I'm a twi-hard definitely," Hohman said. "There's just universal appeal because it's such an intriguing story and there's just so many other little story lines with it."
Of course a lot of the appeal and revenue generated by this Twilight is also thanks to the heartthrob stars.
Michael Salazar sells life sized cut outs of Edward, Jacob and all the other characters for Advanced Graphics. He says they've sold well over 200,000 cut outs since the movies began.
"We go through an awful lot of cardboard for sure," Salazar said. "I have people that have bought two and three. I have elderly women that have done obscene things. I probably can't say on tv what I've seen them doing."
The popularity extends beyond the even the biggest stars. Just ask the unofficial captain of team Seth, the character played by Boo Boo Stewart is one of the handful who made the trip to Indianapolis to sign autographs.
Fox59: "Why can't you breathe?"
Twilight fan: "Because I just got hugged by the hottest warewolf in the whole pack! I am shaking. I was shaking so hard I almost fainted right in front of him. Oh god and I'm still shaking. This is so fun!"
The Twilight convention runs Friday through Sunday, July 9-11. For more information and a schedule of events click here.
It's a Twilight fans dream, from a buffet of merchandise to autographs with some of the actors, but for this crowd it's also about sharing a love for a franchise that's grown from book to big screen.
"It's good for girls to have somewhere we can go and be in a fantasy world without having to do anything stupid," said one twilight fan. "And you know it doesn't promote anything bad. It's good."
And if you thought all Twilight fans were young girls, Kathy Hohman says think again. She became a "Twi-hard" after discovering the books while working at Borders.
"I'm a twi-hard definitely," Hohman said. "There's just universal appeal because it's such an intriguing story and there's just so many other little story lines with it."
Of course a lot of the appeal and revenue generated by this Twilight is also thanks to the heartthrob stars.
Michael Salazar sells life sized cut outs of Edward, Jacob and all the other characters for Advanced Graphics. He says they've sold well over 200,000 cut outs since the movies began.
"We go through an awful lot of cardboard for sure," Salazar said. "I have people that have bought two and three. I have elderly women that have done obscene things. I probably can't say on tv what I've seen them doing."
The popularity extends beyond the even the biggest stars. Just ask the unofficial captain of team Seth, the character played by Boo Boo Stewart is one of the handful who made the trip to Indianapolis to sign autographs.
Fox59: "Why can't you breathe?"
Twilight fan: "Because I just got hugged by the hottest warewolf in the whole pack! I am shaking. I was shaking so hard I almost fainted right in front of him. Oh god and I'm still shaking. This is so fun!"
The Twilight convention runs Friday through Sunday, July 9-11. For more information and a schedule of events click here.