Every year, for 25 years now, there has been a gathering in Twinsburg which is absolutely amazing. From all over the world, Twins and other multiples gather for the annual Twins Days celebration.
Twinsburg, Ohio is located about 18 miles south of Cleveland. For a MAP of the area, click right here. The festivals started out as a small gathering of the twins who lived in the area. Gradually, over the years, these "little get-togethers" have grown into a very large affair. In the past 5 years, over 2,500 sets of twins/triplets/quadruplets have registered and attended.
People often wonder when the festival is going to happen. The simple answer is this: Twins Days occurs on the FIRST WEEKEND in August. In 2000, the festival took place on Aug 4,5,6.
As for the next festival, The next Twins Days Festival will take place on August 3,4,5 2001!
You and/or your kids are never too young or old to enjoy this event. The attendees every year run the range of ages from newborns to octegenarians. The youngest twins I saw this year were 11 days old! Obviously, at that age, the festival is more for the parents to meet other parents of multiples than it is for the kids... but there are quite a few kids I saw there this year who have been coming since they were born - and now that they're 8-12 years old (or older!) the festival has turned into an event they can look forward to every year.
Why yes! There are TONS of twins who are not identical at this festival.. It may not show from all of the photographic evidence. I guess that the twins who look alike get most of the camera time because it's a bit more "striking". But heck, John and I never get any camera time either and we ARE identical. We're just not what the camera is looking for, I guess. In any case, I don't have my statistics handy right now, but I would guess off the top of my head that more than a third of the registered sets of twins are non-identicals. What's really fun is when the brother/sister sets show up in identical clothing anyways. Sure, it's silly. But it's a great lot of fun (and it helps everyone else keep track of "who's whose" twin)!. In short, if you're a kid from a multiple birth, you are welcome!
That's a good question, and I have a great answer for you: YES! Every year there are a number of twins who come alone, whether by choice or because of circumstances out of their control. Rest assured, if you have lost your twin there is NO BETTER place for people to understand who you are and what you're going through. It's got to be a little bittersweet to come to a festival like this, but on the other hand you will be surrounded by people who can understand you like very few others could. On a lighter note, sometimes twins get held up by petty inconveniences like getting married or giving birth to children... if you can tear yourself away from your sibling's moment of joy, c'mon down! In short, you don't HAVE to have your twin by your side (in a physical sense) to be welcome.
Of course! BUT, it's fun to belong to the event. For a nominal charge of $8, you get a couple of souvenir programs, the opportunity to participate in the Twins Talent Show, or compete for most alike/least alike competitions. Also, as a registered attendee, you get counted! If you just show up, nobody knows exactly how many twins were at the festival. For the past six years we've been flirting with breaking the "3,000 sets barrier". Please register when you attend and help us hit that magic number!
You should call the Twins Days Festival Committee as soon as possible. Once you let them know that you have an interest, they can send you out a packet of information on how to register, where you can stay while you're there, and how to make reservations for those places. The registration packets don't get sent out until close to the beginning of the year, but a lot of the information about lodging, etc, is valid (and available) all year 'round. It's never too soon to make plans - many twins make their hotel reservations for the next year before they've even left the festival grounds!
Some good places to start:
Twins Days
9825 Ravenna Rd
Twinsburg, OH 44087
For a look at an average year for my brother and me, go here for a simple narrative.
I was wondering when you were going to ask... I've started scanning photos and putting them up for people to see what kind of fun stuff goes on when one is there. Below is a look at a couple of years of the festival. Click on the links to see my "photo albums" from previous years of the festival.
No no no no no...... This is something my brother and I struggled with the first year we attended. There's nothing quite like that feeling of STANDING OUT in a crowd by looking exactly like (to untrained eyes) one another. I can deal with that, and it can be kinda fun. But extending it by dressing alike as well seems to take it too far sometimes. The first year John and I attended, we didn't have one stitch of clothing that matched. He had short hair and was clean-shaven, I had long hair and a beard.
Imagine our surprise when we got there and saw everyone dressed alike! We stood out, for a change, by dressing differently rather than alike. Discussing this with many of the twins while we were there, we learned that it was "part of the festival" to dress up. Heck, there were even boy/girl twins who dressed alike, just to show their common bond to any doubters who might say "hey, you're not a twin!". Many sets we encountered were just like us - they don't normally dress alike. Some, though, enjoy dressing alike whenever they go out together. More power to 'em, I say. Wish I had that kinda confidence to stand out in public.
In short - no, you don't have to dress alike. But it sure can be fun to do this with over 5,000 other people at the same time!
Hey, I LOVE email! I'm always looking for comments/suggestions to help improve what I have out here. You can send me email to [email protected]. Or, if you want to drop a note to me AND my brother, send it to [email protected]. Some people have told me "I saw your site and I was gonna send mail but didn't want to bother you". Nonsense! I love getting mail, so go ahead and send it - even if it's just to say "hey, I saw your web page!".
