I went to an annual twins festival in Ohio with over 1,800 sets of twins. Here are 9 things that surprised me.

10.08.2023 - 17:01 / insider.com

I was waiting in my hotel lobby for an Uber to take me to the annual Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio when I met Dina Brewer and Rina Nicholas, 67, who came all the way from California. Like me, it was also their first year attending the event, and none of us realized the difficulties of getting a rideshare in suburban Ohio.

Luckily, they had met Kenn and Karl Mathews, 54, the day before — more seasoned festival goers who drove from New Jersey. Kenn and Karl offered us all a ride, and before I knew it, I was in the car laughing with two sets of identical twins.

I didn't fully know what to expect as a non-twin at a three-day celebration involving look-alike contests, a talent show, and a themed parade.

But I ended up having a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience that wasn't just fun and fascinating, but also very moving. Here are nine things that I learned along the way.

The town of Twinsburg was originally founded by identical twins Moses and Aaron Wilcox in 1818 — twins who were so close, they died hours apart from each other.

Twins Days, which began in 1976 as a small, one-day celebration, quickly expanded from one day to a weekend, and eventually broke a world record for the largest gathering of twins.

The festival began with a few food booths and a concert, but has since expanded to include a range of activities including bingo, golf, and a hot dog roast. It alsoincludes arts and crafts vendors, live entertainment, a fireworks show, and even on-site researchers seeking twin volunteers.

Festival goers are encouraged to bring their whole families or friends along, so anyone can partake and celebrate with the twins.

The bulk of the festival takes place in a large park and a neighboring high school in Twinsburg, so I imagined it stayed separate from the rest of the town.

In actuality, the whole town participates in helping the three-day weekend run smoothly, from driving attendees to different destinations in golf carts to crowds cheering on the parade.

I met volunteers who work at Twinsburg High School or have kids there, and was told it can take hundreds of people to run the festival. Some on-site volunteers have been working it almost every year since its inception in 1976.

The festival has a different theme each year, which is reflected in the parade. This year's theme was "Shiver Me Twinbers," so I saw many Captain Hooks, mermaids, and, my personal favorite: Two parrots with tiny pirates on their shoulders. People who drove cars through the parade also decorated them as ships or with balloon bubbles.

The people who didn't go for full costumes in 83-degree weather still dressed alike, whether it was fully matching outfits or graphic tees. Even fraternal twins (who seemed outnumbered by