Twins festival

Twins festival in Twinsburg, Ohio

In my life, I have crossed paths with quite a few sets of twins. My sisters are twins, and two of the kids I am taking care of as a nanny, are also twins. And last year, only a few days after my arrival to the United States of America, the family I am working for, invited me to come to the Twins festival with them because their twin girls participated in the festival. And why would I say no? I have never heard of this festival before, and since I love seeing and experiencing new things, I was very excited to check out what all the fuss around this festival is about.

Once a year, everything in this little town revolves around twins.

Twins festival, also known as Twins days, is happening in a small town of Twinsburg, Ohio, pretty close to the city of Cleveland. The town has a funny name, and even funnier is the fact that it was founded by two brothers, who were identical twins! This year, I attended the Twins festival again, and I have to say that this is definitely one of the most interesting (and strange - but in a good way) festivals you can go to. In the paragraphs below, I described the most interesting aspects of the Twins festival. Enjoy!

How to get to Twinsburg and when is Twins festival going on?

Twinsburg is situated just half an hour outside of Cleveland, and it is fairly easy to get to. The directions to Twinsburg of course depend on your starting point, but if you are departing from Cleveland, you have to follow the road signs in the direction for Pennsylvania, and the exit for Twinsburg will be clearly marked.

Twins festival usually happens the first weekend in August every year. The festival starts on Friday, but there is not much going on on that day. For the best experience, I would suggest you to go there on Saturday. Sunday is a good day to visit if you do not like crowds, but you still want to feel the vibe of the Twins festival.

If you are coming to the Twins festival from far away, it is a good idea to book a place to stay well in advance. And by well in advance, I mean six months or more. After all, twins (and sometimes also their families) come to this festival from all around the world. There are only a few hotels in close proximity of Twinsburg, so what we did was book a hotel in Cleveland, which is only a short, thirty minute drive away. If you choose to do that, make sure you arrive to the festival early, otherwise you will have big problems with parking. Because there is not enough space for thousands of people to park their cars in the tiny town of Twinsburg.

Theming of the Twins festival

One of the many cool things about the Twins festival is its theming. The organizers of the festival pick a different theme every year, and the twins can dress that way if they want to. Themes usually contain different puns. For example, last year’s Twins festival theme was Star Wars and space, so they named it Twinfinity and beyond (formed from ‘to infinity and beyond’), and this year, the theme was TwinCentennial (formed from bicentennial), and the twins (and other multiples) were dressed up according to their country of origin. And I was actually pleasantly surprised to see people from almost all around the world. I did not see any twins from my home country, though.

And it is pretty incredible to see twins of all ages participating in the festival - from babies to people who are so old they need wheelchairs. And a lot of people put so much effort in their costumes, it is just unbelievable. And you can ask everybody for a picture, most of them will gladly say yes!

Those two guys were dressed as Viking warriors.

Some of the prettiest costumes.

A virtual walk around the Twins festival

The Twins festival always starts with a big parade at the far end of Twinsburg. All registered twins can participate in the parade, and it is an amazing thing to see. You will see old cars, fire trucks, home-made vehicles, and of course a lot of twins. Some local businesses also participate in the parade, and the best part - most of them throw out candy! This year, we filled two whole plastic bags with the candy they threw at us. It is almost like the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, but better. Because you cannot really eat plastic Mardi Gras beads, can you?

Old cars are an eye candy of that parade.

You will see some quite interesting vehicles.

More old cars.

So many twins in one place!

The parade will walk on the main avenue, all the way to the other end of Twinsburg. This is where the festival grounds are situated. It is quite a long walk - almost two miles, but trust me, you will forget about the heat and the pain because the parade is just so awesome. When you reach the festival grounds, you can get your entry ticket, and then, the real fun can begin.

If you are a twin and you would like to participate in all the activities that Twins festival offers, you have to register in advance and pay the fifteen dollars registration fee. If you are just a regular visitor, you can buy the entrance ticket at the door and it costs less that if you are registering as a twin. This year, there was 1800 registered pairs of twins at the Twins festival, which is a really big number.

The festival grounds are divided into several spaces. The first space you will see once you enter, are some carnival rides, but I do not really trust those rides anymore, because there was an accident in Ohio this summer with one of those carnival rides, where several people ware harmed and one kid died, so I decided that, even if I love amusement parks, I will skip the rides at Twins festival.

Then, you will notice a lot of stalls, offering you compensation for a DNA research on twins. So basically, if you qualify, you will be paid to participate in a study. Needless to say, you need to have a twin brother or sister to be able to participate.

Then, there are food and drink stalls, and some of them will give out free samples, such as popsicles. Free popsicle on a steaming hot summer day? Yes, please.

There is a big sign with the timetable of events in the middle of the festival grounds - if you are looking to attend a contest or any other entertainment that Twins festival offers, you can check that timetable to see when these events start.

Then, there is a playground and a place where people (mostly kids) can play games to win prizes. By prizes, I mean plastic toys from Kinder surprise, but this is a welcome distraction from the hot sun for people with kids. There are also some stalls with local crafts, airbrushing and face painting, but everything is pretty expensive.

You will also notice a few pavilions, and this is where most of the entertainment acts and contests take place. My two favourite events of the Twins festival were, without a doubt, the magician and the twin talent show. The magician's name is Drew Murray, and he is incredibly entertaining even for adults. The bad thing is that he had the very same act both years I attended the Twins festival, but it was still interesting.

Please, do yourself a favour and see that talent show. Some of the acts are just people looking to embarrass themselves, but most of the acts are outstanding. My favourite act from both years were definitely the eighty year old twin ladies, singing a rap song. You have to see it to believe it!

Another interesting part are the twin contests - they are looking for most similar identical twins, or most different non - identical twins and so on. The process takes a while, but it is very entertaining and funny. And there is shade! A lot of people see these shows just so they can rest and sit in the shade for a while, and it is a very good idea to do so.

At the end of each festival day, they take a group photo of all the participating twins and other multiples. And again, it is really cool to see all the twins together.

Before you leave, make sure you check the souvenir stand. Even if you do not buy anything, it is worth looking at things they are selling. Do not confuse a souvenir stand with other seller stands - the souvenir stand is situated right after the entrance to the festival. The souvenirs they are selling, are reasonably priced (for example, two dollars for a magnet and fifteen dollars for a T-shirt) and their T-shirts are hilarious.

Food and drinks

You will notice quite a few food stalls all around the festival grounds, and each one of them has different types of food. The prices are a little bit higher than average, but still cheap, keeping in mind that this is a festival. After sampling most of the foods (and drinks) they are selling, I suggest you to try the following: pulled pork sandwich, freshly made orangeade and, last but not least, a funnel cake. I have never tried funnel cake before the Twins festival, but after trying it, I figured out that it tasted similar to a dessert we have in my home country. And do not be fooled, funnel cake is not really a cake - it is fried dough, topped with a lot of powdered sugar. Pretty unhealthy, but very delicious.

In the very middle of the festival grounds, there is a fenced area. This is a so - called beer garden, and only adults over 21 years of age can enter, and if you decide to have a beer or any other alcoholic drink, you have to drink it inside the fenced area. Alcoholic drinks are not too expensive and they have a pretty decent selection of beers, but try not to drink too much, because alcohol and hot summer sun do not mix very well most of the time.

A few tips for surviving the festival day

Since the Twins festival is happening in August, the temperatures will be really high. Bring a hat and a lot of sunblock, because there is not a lot of shade on the festival grounds. Also, make sure you stay hydrated - drink a lot of water.

Most of the food stalls do not accept credit cards, only cash. There are a few ATMs on the festival grounds, but they charge high fees, so if you can, bring some cash with you.

The worst part of the Twins festival is definitely a lack of clean restrooms. They only have portable restrooms, and they get incredibly gross after just a few hours, and there is often no toilet paper inside. So if you can, use the restroom right after you arrive to the festival.

A few words for the end…

Visiting the Twins festival is an amazing experience, whether you have a twin brother or sister or not. And you will not be bored of walking around. You can watch the contests and performances, shop for local crafts, or just grab a drink and watch time go by. The festival can be pretty crowded, but crowds are a part of the festival fun.

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