They are converging on Music City, folks. The Official Twilight Fan Convention is going to be at Opryland this weekend. It's sure to be a blood-sucking good time. And by blood-sucking, I mean weird.

Devoted fans gather for the love of a vampire

This weekend, scores of fans will descend on Nashville to attend the Official Twilight Fan Convention atGaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

If you're imagining throngs of screaming teens and gothed-out vampire wannabes, think again. Among the crowds will be a multitude of women — mothers, sisters and best friends — looking to escape their daily lives by indulging in their love of Twilight.

"The love story really is for everybody," says Crystal Bandurske, a 34-year-old mother of five from Louisville, Ky. "Whether you are a teenager or an older person, it attracts such a wide range of people."

Staying at the hotel, meeting actors from the movies (including Peter Facinelli who plays Dr. Carlisle Cullen) and mingling with like-minded fans is a far cry from the daily routine and the isolation that can come with being a stay-at-home mom.

"I'm 35 — this is my girls weekend!" says Lori Joffs, laughing. Joffs, who lives in Spring Hill, is the administrator of Twilight Lexicon, one of the most popular Twilight fan Web sites. She has attended Twilight conventions in Atlanta, New Jersey, Miami and Chicago (often as a presenter for Twilight Lexicon), and plans to attend about 10 this year. With so many conventions under her belt, Joffs has seen a lot of Twilight moms.

"There are a fair share number of teenage Twilight fans," Joffs says, "but generally speaking it's a rarity to find a teenage fan who's (at a convention) without her mother. And her mother says she's a fan, too."

"The last time I went somewhere with my girlfriends was August '01," says Debbie Smith, 33, from Nicholasville, Ky. "That was the last time I went anywhere without a kid or husband. I am always with a kid."

Smith plans to travel to Nashville with two friends, and the nearly four-hour ride is something they're all looking forward to, especially Angie Napier, the ringleader of the trip and possibly the biggest Twilight fan of the bunch.

"We will catch up and see what the other families are doing and just get out and enjoy life," Napier says. "We will just escape from reality and have a good time. I think that is most of what we are looking forward to."

'Everyone Likes Romance'

So what is it about Twilight specifically that inspires such passion? For the women we spoke to, at least, it's not so much the supernatural vampires-and-werewolves angle. Rather, they're drawn to the intense romance that develops between central characters Edward and Bella. That, and the character development at which author Stephenie Meyer excels.

"There are some mature aspects of mortality and family life and your soul," says Joffs. "It is a fun, escapist love story, and it's clean, so it's something a mother and daughter can do together, and a mother is not ashamed to share this with her daughter."

"Everyone likes romance," adds Napier, who says she relates to the strong-willed, feisty Alice character.

The husbands may not understand their wives' fascination with Twilight, but most can appreciate their need to get a break from the kids.

"(My husband) is actually OK with it," says Lindsey Morgan, 27, of Fayetteville, Ky. With three children under the age of 4 and a full-time job, the convention is something she's really looking forward to. "When I first told him I was going, he looked at me like I was crazy, but he loves to give me a hard time about it. He's glad it is something me and my friend can do together and he doesn't have to come with us."

Experiencing a giddiness and excitement that has been missing since high school, these women are unabashedly giving in to the rush fans have when they come close to their passion.

"I don't remember really being obsessed with something since Dirty Dancing came out," says Napier. "When I was a teenager we all had our hair cut like Baby and rolled up our denim shorts, and that's what I feel like now. I remember my grandfather making fun of my aunt, who was my age now when all of that happened. Now I can relate."

Another draw of the convention is having a direct connection to what has become one of the biggest franchises in history. "It is kind of neat how big it has gotten," says Morgan. "It's hard to fathom that those four books have caused this much interest in the world."

"I want to meet Dr. Carlisle," says Lexington mom April P. Merrill Bormes, 31. "But the one thing I am looking forward to is spending time with my sister doing something we both like."

via The Tennessean

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