At Ohio Celebration, Guests Come Pre-Paired : Festival: The town of Twinsburg holds an annual Twins Day. It started in 1976 with 36 sets of siblings; this year’s hosted close to 3,000.

Hellen and Ellen are trying with much difficulty to make their way to lunch. They can’t seem to take a step through the festival crowds without being stopped by someone who wants to shake their hands or take their picture.

Wearing matching polka-dot dresses, matching floppy denim hats and matching smiles on their matching faces, the 80-year-old identical twin sisters are a novelty more for their age than their appearance at the annual Twins Day Festival held recently in Twinsburg.

In its 24th year, the weekend-long celebration attracted close to 3,000 sets of multiples from all 50 states as well as Australia, Japan, England, Germany and Sweden.

“I can’t remember there being any twins when we were growing up,” says Ellen Rindflesch, of Oregon City, Ore., as she beams at all the matching faces smiling back at her and her sister, Hellen Heuvel. “It’s wonderful!”

There are tall twins and short twins, twins in buggies and twins on walkers, and even a triplet or three.

From the youngest--the 3 1/2-week-old Dakota brothers from Barberton, Ohio--to the oldest--88-year-old Beulah Norris of Cullman, Ala., and her sister Eula Banks of Lakeland, Fla.--twins participated in contests, parades, an enormous group picture, medical studies and just the chance to visit with other twins.

Dressed in matching straw hats and bald eagle T-shirts, the Demonet brothers, David and Larry, 59, of Reading, Pa., not only look identical, but they seem to speak with one voice as well.

“How are you enjoying the festival?”, they are asked.

“It’s great!” they chime in together.

“Where are you from?”

Again, in unison, “Pennsylvania!” they respond enthusiastically.

“Hope you have fun here.”

“Bye-bye!” chimes the duet as they raise their right hands to wave.

The festival began in 1976 as a means to mark the Bicentennial by honoring Twinsburg’s founders, identical twin brothers Aaron and Moses Wilcox. Originally called Millsville, the town changed its name to honor the twins who donated six acres of land toward a town square and $20 for the village’s first school.

Thirty-six sets of twins attended that first modest celebration, and the numbers have grown ever since.

Today, researchers eager to use twins in their studies have found a gold mine of willing participants at the festival.

Multiples formed lines to participate in studies looking for research information concerning bone density, aging, breast cancer and DNA testing.

But for most, it’s simply a chance to renew old friendships and begin new ones.

The polka-dotted Hellen and Ellen are still working their way through the masses, smiling and waving and even signing an autograph or two.

“They attract a lot of attention,” says Hellen’s daughter Helen Schakols, who brought the energetic octogenarians to the festival.

Her mother looks at her with a patient smile.

“In some way, dear, we always do.”