Twiggy the Water Skiing Squirrel is driving crowds nuts at the GR Boat Show

Phil Pinarski
·2 min read

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Crowds at the 79th Annual Grand Rapids Boat Show are going nuts for one special guest.

Twiggy the Water Skiing Squirrel will be performing all weekend long at DeVos Place, taking laps around a pool on the back of a motorized toy boat. Her handlers, Chuck Best Jr. and Toni Tedesco, brought her to the show to promote water safety.

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“Twiggy is a spokesanimal for water safety with the National Safe Boating Council,” Tedesco said. “The attraction to a cute squirrel on water skis, that’s never heard of because you typically think of squirrels in a tree. So, to see her water ski, she wears her life jacket to promote water safety. It’s the cutest thing ever. Everybody is attracted to the cuteness of a squirrel.”

This isn’t a new occurrence. Best’s family has been training squirrels to waterski for 45 years. It was originally just for entertainment, but after Chuck Best Sr. tragically died in a boating accident in 1997, the family turned its focus from enjoyment to education.

“I think Twiggy gets that message across perfectly because she’s cute, she’s unique, she draws a crowd,” Tedesco said. “Kids always love her, but the attraction she gets from adults, I think it just keeps it in their mind to always wear their life jacket.”

This is the 10th Twiggy that the Best family has traveled with. The squirrels gained national attention from appearing in movies like “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.” Of course, those were Twiggy X’s predecessors.

Twiggy X is best known for leaping from her skis to the motorized boat. Tedesco said it’s her own specialty trick that sets her apart from the Twiggys before her.

“They all have their own unique personalities and that’s just something that she’s always done,” Tedesco said.

Twiggy will perform multiple times on each day of the Grand Rapids Boat Show, which runs through Sunday. The performance is free to attend, but Tedesco said it’s best to arrive well before the show starts to ensure you get a good spot.

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