There are plenty of strange and wonderful festivals out there, but the annual Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio may be the only one that's truly double the fun. As the world’s largest annual gathering of twins, Twins Days has been celebrating the unique bond between twin siblings since 1976.
The festival, held from August 5 to 7 this year, welcomes identical and fraternal twins—as well as triplets, quads, and all other multiples—and their families. For three days, guests can chow down on ice cream and other festival foods, participate in a talent show, and make friends in a setting where having a double is the norm.
The town itself has a lengthy history involving twins, which predates the festival by over a century. Originally called Millsville, the town changed its name in the early 19th century at the behest of identical twins Moses and Aaron Wilcox, who offered the town 4000 acres of land for a public square and $20 toward starting a school in exchange for renaming the settlement Twinsburg. Nowadays, the town wears its twin affiliation proudly, and residents can attend Twins Days for free.
In the short documentary above, called “Twins Days,” filmmaker Alex Markman meets some of the twins at last year's festival. Featuring interviews with twins of all ages, the film explores what it’s like to go through life as a pair.
Banner Image Credit: National Geographic, YouTube
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