Human-induced and natural disasters are affecting tourism and leisure settings globally. Festivals are key attractions that draw large numbers of visitors to share an experience. When emergencies interrupt event experiences, communication with attendees is key to reducing the negative outcomes resulting from the situation. Social media is an integral component of emergency communications. This study examined twitter communication during festival emergencies to understand how people communicate. Two festival cases that experienced a major emergency were examined. In total, 438 tweets across the two festivals revealed the nature and purpose of tweets leading up to and during the emergencies. Findings show a difference in twitter activity before and during an emergency. The changing nature and purpose of tweets provides insight useful for practitioners looking to develop their emergency communication skills. During the ideas fair, on-line training tools will be available to demonstrate how the findings are integrated into emergency management training.