February 24th marks Twin Peaks Day, and the arrival of Dale Cooper into the tiny town of his dreams. It is the day that Laura dies, and a quiet world falls apart.

One thing that never dies is the bond between Twin Peaks fans.

Thanks to the boom in social media groups and pages over the five years since Season 3 aired, Twin Peaks fans have been able to connect more easily than ever, and it is fair to say that 99% of those fans are wonderful people. Twin Peaks brings us together, but more than that, the themes of Twin Peaks – depression, trauma, PTSD, rejection and loneliness – bring us together.

The past two years have kept most of us apart physically, but the support has still been there, if not stronger than ever. We have watched our friends struggle with the shock of the pandemic and the personal fallout from that, and we have been there, with words, with gifts and with love. Our safe place still remained, untouched by wordly things.

Tragically, we have lost some of our number along the way. To name just a few, Amie Harwick, a writer and therapist, was famously murdered by (allegedly) her scumbag ex-boyfriend almost exactly two years ago. Brian Eastin, a friend to so many of us and a wonderful musician, sadly died suddenly in his sleep. More recently, Megan Mcgrorty a filmmaker among her many other achievements, left us just as suddenly. There are others, too many. We feel these losses deeply, and notice the empty spaces in our community where they used to be.

Through it all, the Twin Peaks fans have supported each other from afar. This is a world of its own, far removed from a TV show. In our world, we are friends, neighbours and family. Never again do any of us have to long for someone who understands us, for kindred spirits, for likeminded souls who accept us for the weird, quirky loners we may be.

It may be safe to say that most of us were fans without other fans for a long time before Fests and social media. I had no Peaks friends before 2016, and now I have thousands. And so many have shared interests, like The Cure, grunge, true crime. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but I never had friends who liked that stuff too.

And so many incredible talents! Writers, artists, actors – this community is rich with hard work and passion, channeling negative energy into glorious new creations.

We have all been through many life changes the past two years, whether financial, work, family, or mental or physical health. The constant throughout all this has been our online friendships, those beautiful souls who are there to listen, day in and day out. We have been isolated more than ever, and those kind thoughts have shone from our screens like warm hugs.

Now another Twin Peaks Day has come around, and we are still scattered, piecing together our new lives in separate countries and separate worlds, but as always there is hope.

The Twin Peaks family bond will never die. I am grateful that so many of us are still here, and I am confident we will all see each other again in those beautiful tall trees.