Twilight Descends in St. Helens, Oregon This October

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2019

ST. HELENS, OR – As part of its 2019 Spirit of Halloweentown festival, the city of St. Helens, Oregon will host “Twilight” star Peter Facinelli on Saturday, October 12, to light the city’s giant Halloween pumpkin.

Facinelli starred as vampire Dr. Carlisle Cullen, adoptive father of Edward, in the “Twilight” movie series. St. Helens, Oregon was the filming location for several scenes in the first “Twilight” movie, including the house of Bella Swan’s father, the Petite Jolie dress shop, the Thunderbird and Whale bookstore, the Bloated Toad Italian restaurant, and the location where Edward saved Bella from her would-be attackers in an alleyway.

On Saturday, October 12, Facinelli will light St. Helens’ giant “Halloweentown” pumpkin and be available for special photo ops and meet and greets. The Spirit of Halloweentown pumpkin lighting ceremony, which is held each Saturday in October in the city’s riverfront Plaza Square, is a free event open to the public. Photo ops and meet and greet tickets are available for purchase on the festival’s website: www.discovercolumbiacounty.com.

In 1998, the riverfront city of St. Helens, Oregon served as the filming location of Disney Channel’s Halloween television classic “Halloweentown.” Each year thereafter, the city has transformed their Riverfront District into the Spirit of Halloweentown, a festival that celebrates all things spooky. This month-long event attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year and is geared toward anyone who loves Halloween. The Spirit of Halloweentown festival is regularly listed as a national destination spot for Halloween celebrations and has been featured on ABC News, MTV, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, Country Living, Huffington Post and many other recognized news outlets.

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For media inquiries regarding the 2019 Spirit of Halloweentown festival, please contact City of St. Helens Communications Officer Crystal Farnsworth at crystalf@ci.st-helens.or.us or 503-366-8215.

About the Community

St. Helens is a Columbia River community rich with history and culture. On their expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1805, Lewis and Clark made a stop in what is now St. Helens. In 1850, Captain H.M. Knighton of New England founded the town, which was first named Plymouth before being rechristened within a year to St. Helens for the town’s magnificent view of Mount St. Helens. Originally established as a river port, St. Helens is located 30 miles northwest of Portland. As the county seat, it is the largest community in Columbia County with a population of about 13,000. Many of the city’s community events are held in the Riverfront District where visitors and residents enjoy an expansive view of the Columbia River, Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens.

Originally settled by New England loggers, St. Helens’ basalt rock quarry was a major industry in the early 1900s. Because of the industrial operations occurring in St. Helens and its location on the Columbia River, it rivaled Portland as a competing port city. After an unfortunate fire burned the docks of Pacific Mail, a team of Portland businessmen persuaded Pacific Mail to locate in the new port town of Portland, establishing the port of Portland as the dominant port in the region.

The Riverfront District of St. Helens features a Nationally Registered Historic District encompassing 10 blocks, which includes residences and civic buildings dating back nearly a century. The town is has also served as the backdrop to many popular films, most notably the Disney Channel television film “Halloweentown,” and the film adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's novel “Twilight.”