GREENSBORO, N.C. — Imagine seeing sets of twins or multiples everywhere; now that is a double take!
Thousands of twins from around the world are heading to the small town of Twinsburg, Ohio, to participate in the annual Twins Days Festival.
A set of Triad twins has made the trip to the world's largest gathering of twins for the last nine years. Rebecca Rodgers is five minutes older than her identical twin sister Carrie Cauthen.
“She's bossy,” Cauthen said in a brief tiff with her twin. “I'm not bossy,” Rodgers said. “I’m a good leader! “She doesn't compromise,” said Cauthen, who snuck in the last word.
The 72-year-old twins are best friends. The sisters finish the sentences of the other and have a special bond that only multiples share.
“People always say you look like somebody! You must have a twin,” Cauthen said. “The bond is there. It’s formed in the womb before birth. I don't know how you can describe it because this is all we've ever known.”
For the last nine years, Rodgers and Cauthen have jotted off from their homes in Greensboro and Winston-Salem to head to the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio.
“Usually, there are about 2,000 twins,” Rodgers said. “No, it's 2,000 sets of twins,” her twin sister chimed in.
The Twins Day Festival is always held the first weekend in August and features several events, including a 5K, parade, group picture, and Twingo, an offset of Bingo, but with twins.
“Everybody goes! Older people, young people, babies! I think the oldest set of twins is now in their 90s, and some twins have been every year,” Cauthen said.
There is a reason twins from all over keep coming back.
“The entire town comes out for this," Cauthen said. "Everyone treats you like a celebrity!”
"If you're not a twin, you become the cameraman all weekend because you're taking pictures for all the twins," Rodgers said. "It's a lot of fun!"