For one weekend every summer, hundreds of twins gather in the small town of Twinsburg, Ohio, for the Twins Day Festival. They arrive in coordinated costumes, mirrored hairstyles, and name tags that say which twin came first.
Arriving there on Friday, the scene was surreal: there were simply twins everywhere, a visual stimulation unlike anything I had experienced before. But after spending the next few days among the pairs, I began to understand that the festival is about much more than the visual. It’s also a kind of mass family reunion, as well as a celebration of the rare intimacy of moving through the world with a double.
Founded in 1976, the festival has grown into one of the largest annual gatherings of twins in the world, drawing siblings from across the country and beyond. Some have been coming for decades, building friendships with pairs they see only once a year. Throughout the weekend, the twins moved through town together, competing in contests, posing for photographs, and leaning into their resemblance. This year’s 1980s theme made the spectacle even more colorful.
With my camera in hand, I moved through the parade route and festival grounds, stopping pairs to make their portraits. I have always been fascinated by twins—not only by their shared genetic makeup, but also by the way each sibling develops a sense of self. As I photographed, I noticed their subtle differences—from beauty marks to the different ways each person wore the same clothes. For one weekend, twins are surrounded by others who know the rare bond of twinhood—a bond perhaps only twins themselves will ever be able to fully understand.
Photo: Sabrina Santiago
Photo: Sabrina Santiago
Photo: Sabrina Santiago
