Twiggy takes to the waves at Whoop-Up Days

By Lethbridge Herald on August 24, 2022.

Herald photo by Al Beeber Twiggy the water skiing squirrel puts on a show at Whoop-Up Days. The squirrel, or rather squirrels, perform daily at the Exhibition at 2, 4:30 and 6 p.m.

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Whoop-Up Days is back and making a huge splash with visitors to the Lethbridge Exhibition is Twiggy the water-skiing squirrel.

For anyone needing a break from the seriousness of life, watching Twiggy – or rather the Twiggies – perform will lift anyone’s spirits.

The rescued eastern grey squirrels put on a show that will put smiles on anybody’s face.

Twiggy performs at 2, 5 and 7 p.m. daily on the midway. There are plenty of bleachers set up so families can watch in comfort.

The original Twiggy started performing in 1979, the year after she was rescued by Chuck and Lou Ann Best after being blown out of her nest in a hurricane.

Shortly after the rescue, Chuck bought his daughter a remote-controlled boat as a birthday present and after friends joked he bought it for himself, Chuck told them he had to learn how to drive it so he could teach the squirrel to ski.

“My dad was not going to own up to that,” said Chuck Jr. Tuesday. Chuck Jr. took over the act after his mom Lou Ann retired after 39 years of performing.

“That’s where the idea came from; it was totally a joke. He then made a pair of skis out of styrofoam and got the squirrel to sit on the skis long enough to take a quick picture. He took that picture and put it in the local newspaper in Sanford, Florida where we’re from,” Chuck Jr. recalled. Twiggy started performing in September of 1979.

“That story went from the Sanford Herald into the Orlando Sentinel, hit the UPI circuit, went in newspapers all over the world,” he said, telling younger audiences “that’s what your parents called ‘viral’ back in the ‘70s.

“And Twiggy was a huge sensation, featured in tons of movies and tons of TV shows and here we are now, 43 years later” with Twiggy who is the spokesman of the U.S. National Safe Boating Council “Wear It” campaign that promotes water safety, making sure people wear life jackets just like the squirrel, said Chuck Jr.

Among the movies Twiggy has performed in are “Anchorman” and “Dodgeball.”

“She’s the only water-skiing squirrel in the world,” added Chuck Jr.

The show’s performing squirrels include “Twiggy No. 11,” a two-year-old squirrel whose real name is Da Baby, said Best’s partner Toni. This Twiggy has been water-skiing for almost two years.

Twiglet, another Twiggy that performs, is four-years old and Chuck Jr. says she “is definitely the professional.”

After Chuck Sr. suffered a heart attack and drowned while saving the life of his step-father in 1997, Lou Ann cancelled previously scheduled 1998 shows but the break was short-lived. Lou Ann made a squirrel-sized life vest for Twiggy and started focusing shows on water safety.

After retiring from 39 years of touring, Lou Ann passed Twiggy’s skis on to son Chuck Jr.

Twiggy is pulled around a pool by a toy boat standing on a platform with two skis and holding onto a raised T-bar with her front paws. She will effortlessly leap from the skis onto the boat itself.

The family-friendly light-hearted show may itself be worth the price of admission to Whoop-Up Days; it’s one of those adorable novelties that people will be talking about long after the fair is over.

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