Forks, Washington

Two years ago, Forks, Washington was just a town of 3120 people. But thanks to the best-selling "Twilight" books and movie series, the town is now world famous:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/travel/27culture.html

Fans of the series have descended on this mid-sized city:

"Over the last year or so, Forks (population 3,120) has morphed into a mecca for Twilighters, or Twihards as they are sometimes called. Visitors to this rainy town, whose main industries are logging and two correctional facilities, have more than tripled for the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the local Chamber of Commerce."

The town has taking advantage of the series to re-market itself as a tourist site:

"Charlene Leppell’s longtime flower and gift shop was on the brink of closing until she started printing up 'Bella for Prom Queen' T-shirts and applying glitter to red ceramic apples. Now her shop, renamed Twilight Central, is doing so well that 'the question isn’t whether I could afford to take a vacation this year,' Ms. Leppell said, 'but whether I could take off time from the store.'”

Forks, Washington offers a great example of a small city that took what it was known for and built industry and commerce around it. Any city can do the same thing. Although it helps if you have a bestselling movie and book with which to work.