Royal Pair
It seemed only right for Claire and Victoria Nebel to don a pair of tiaras and sashes earlier this month to begin their reigns as princesses.
After all, the 15-year-old twins from Center Township were presiding over the 2019 Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio.
This annual international event, staged on the first full weekend of August, is recognized as the “Largest Annual Gathering of Twins in the World” by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Event organizer Sandy Miller said this year, 2,411 sets of twins descended on Twinsburg, a town of 20,000 located 25 miles southeast of Cleveland.
Among them were Claire and Victoria.
The daughters of Josi and Dr. Donald Nebel were chosen as princesses on the basis of an essay they wrote.
“We had to write an essay,” said Claire, who differs from her fraternal twin by being two inches taller and wearing glasses.
“It's why you like to be twins,” said Victoria.
“And we had to list our volunteer work,” said Claire. “We help out at the fish fries at our church, St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in Herman.”
“We also volunteer at the community dinners,” said Victoria.
The Nebels' official duties were pretty light. The princesses had to be available for four photo opportunities during the event.
And, along with the twin kings, queens and princes, they took part in the Twin Days Festival parade.
“We got to ride in a rocket ship,” said Victoria of their parade float. “And we have to pass down the crown and sash next year to the next princesses.”
The Nebel twins also say they have been invited to attend, along with all the other kings, queens, princes and princesses ever chosen, when the festival's 50th anniversary rolls around in 2026.
That inaugural event in 1976 brought 36 sets of twins to town.
Since then, the event has expanded to include a parade, contests and the crowning of kings and queens, princes and princesses.
“We estimate with 20 to 25,000 visitors this year, the town has doubled in size,” said Miller.
According to Miller, the festival began in 1976 as a way for Twinsburg to celebrate the country's Bicentennial.Twinsburg itself came into being in 1876, according to Miller.“It was originally known as Millville,” she said. “Aaron and Moses Wilcox were twin brothers. They offered to give $20 and land for the first school in the village if the town was named after them and called Twinsburg.”The city fathers took the twins up on their offer and acquired both a new school and a new name.Claire and Victoria have been coming to the festival since they were babies, said Josi Nebel.They were born July 21,2004.Don Nebel, a recently retired optometrist, said “I saw it (the Twins Days Festival) in the paper under northeast Ohio events. The first year, they were in strollers.”“I like walking through the festival. I'm in a minority being a single,” said Josi Nebel.“From the original 36 sets of twins, it's grown,” said Sandy Miller of Twin Days. “It's all been word-of-mouth. We don't advertise. People who live close by the town may not know about, but it's known internationally.”“This year, we have twins from Germany, Italy, Australia, Nigeria, France, China, Japan, Russia and Uruguay,” she said.Claire said, “It's fun to see all the different twins from around the world.”“The goal of the Twins Days Festival is to provide a vehicle for celebrating the uniqueness of twins and others of multiple birth, and to provide a celebration of the heritage of Twinsburg,” said Andrew Miller, executive director of Twins Days, Inc. “We provide fundraising opportunities for local community groups and give back to the community by underwriting several scholarships to both twins and residents.The money's nice, but the sense of community and family is nicer, according to organizers.“It's definitely important. It's like the world's support group,” Sandy Miller added. “It's not like a convention. It's like a big reunion. It's very family oriented.”“And we recognize twinless twins, those that have lost a twin,” Miller said. “We have a saying, 'Once a twin, always a twin.'”“Each year, it's different, depending on the economy and what's going on in the world,” she said. “This year more twins made it than have in the past three or four years.“It might have been because this was the first year people could register online instead of through the mail. It's been a learning curve for all of us,” Miller said.This year's theme was Home for the Holidays. Twins were encouraged to dress representing their favorite holiday.Claire and Victoria, because they were born in July, chose matching outfits with a Fourth of July theme.It was one of the few times the Nebel sisters have dressed alike. But since they are twins it's easy for them to borrow each other's clothes.“She just comes in the middle of the night and says 'I'm wearing this' when I'm trying to go to sleep,” said Claire.Victoria said. “I like brighter colors. Claire likes dark. I like jewelry. I guess that makes me high-maintenance.”There are other differences between the twins.Victoria said, “Claire is about two inches taller than me.”Victoria wears contact lenses, while Claire sticks with glasses.“I just don't like putting things in my eyes,” Claire said.The two, who are going into ninth grade at Butler Intermediate High School this fall, will be sharing a homeroom, as well as spots on the volleyball team.They also share a liking of mathematics and geometry, although Victoria concedes Claire is the bigger reader.They don't share a bedroom or all the same group of friends, and they don't always get along.Victoria said, “We do many, many things together. Sometimes she can be annoying.”“She's annoying also,” said Claire.But, they said, having a twin can make up for the occasional annoyance.Victoria said, “When you are in an unfamiliar place, you always have someone by your side so you don't feel alone.”Claire said, “I just like having someone in my grade at school. We know most of the same people.”
