SARA AND NANCY'S I.T.A. 1999 NEW ORLEANS ADVENTURE

Twins posing for photos in the lobby of the convention hotel, the New Orleans Marriott.

A little about the I.T.A., and a little about us!

The International Twins Association met in New Orleans, LA, over Labor Day weekend, 1999, for the 65th annual I.T.A. convention!
I.T.A. conventions are held every Labor Day weekend, in various cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Any twins or multiples can join, and each year, activities such as tours, boat cruises, dinner/dances, and the annual most/least alike contests, are planned.

We are Sara and Nancy, identical twins from Michigan. We participate in many twin gatherings throughout the year, including Twins Days, in Twinsburg, OH, and the Michigan Twins Association, of which we are co-secretaries! (please visit the M.T.A. webpage, listed in the links section)
We have attended the I.T.A. conventions for the last nine years, and always have a BLAST!

New Orleans is an exciting city, and sharing the experience with all our twin friends was terrific!
Here's OUR look at I.T.A 1999!

(The music is "The Lakes of Pohnchartrain", a traditional New Orleans tune)

Friday, Sept. 3rd. Mardi Gras Night!

Here's Sara in her Mardi Gras mask. Doesn't she look cute!

Many twins came dressed up for "Mardi Gras" night!! There was a Mardi Gras band, and all the twins played some fun games!

This was a great "get-to-know-you" game!! Two teams, one made up of the "oldest" twin, and one
of the "youngest", had to stuff as many balloons as
possible into the red or gray bodysuits worn by twins Kim and Misty.
Then the Clark Triplets, our Masters of Ceremony, counted each teams' score by popping the balloons! It was VERY funny!!!

It's the "TWINLY-WED GAME"!!
These five sets of twins were split up, and asked to answer questions the way they thought their TWIN would!
It was funny to see how, when they got back
together, some twins had answered almost
EVERY question the same, and some answered
almost NONE alike! (We won't mention any names though, right, Jim and Jeff?)
This was also a fund-raiser for the ITA. You could place a "wager" on who you thought would win!

Saturday Sept 4th.

This is Jackson Square.
It dates from the 1700's. There is a cathedral, and a statue of Andrew Jackson here. It's near the river, and our hotel.
It's also where you'll find all the "sidewalk artists", "palm readers", etc. Lots of cute, gifty shops surround it.

Here's a nighttime view of the city, as seen from the deck of the "Natchez" riverboat. The I.T.A had a dinner cruise on board Saturday evening.

Sunday Sept 5th, 1999. I.T.A. business meeting.

Here are Brent and Kent, from Colorado.

The Clark Triplets, Cary, Chris, and Charles. They're from Oklahoma. At the business meeting they were elected as the ITA Vice-Presidents for the year 2000 convention in Chattanooga, TN.

Here's a couple of cuties from the New Orleans area.

At just 5 mos., these were the yongest twins in attendance. That's their mom and big sister holding them.

At the business meeting, Grand Rapids, MI was elected as the location for the 2001 convention!

Sunday, Sept. 5th. Most alike/least alike contests.

Sunday, Sept 5th. After the contests.

Another big event going on in New Orleans Labor Day weekend was the "Southern
Decadence" weekend.
It's an annual gathering of gay men, and women, from all over. Many dress up in unusual, or outrageous outfits.
It was very cool, because all the twins were
looking at them, and they were looking at all the
twins!

We went down to Bourbon Street on Sunday afternoon to watch the "Southern Decadence Parade"!

These are some twins, and some of the "Decadence" crowd getting together for pictures on Bourbon Street!

These two are Jim and Jeff Thiel, from California. They were with us to watch the parade.

Go on to the next page to see more of our adventures in Louisiana, and to find some of our favorite twin links! Also, information on joining the ITA in 2001 in Grand Rapids, MI !