If you go
› What: Tattanooga› Where: Camp Jordan, 323 Camp Jordan Parkway, East Ridge› When: 1-10 p.m. Friday, April 21; noon-midnight, Saturday, April 22; and noon-7 p.m. Sunday, April 23.› Admission: $15 one-day pass, $35 three-day pass, free for ages 10 and younger› Online: www.tattanooga.com
Tattanooga features a bike and car show and contest.
Tattoo art by Eric Newby.
Tattoo art by Wil Wilderbrand.Close to 150 tattoo artists from across the country – one even traveling from Anchorage, Alaska – are converging on Camp Jordan for the second Tattanooga, Friday-Sunday, April 21-23.
Promoter Eric Newby of Inked Expressions in East Ridge says during his 20 years in the tattoo business he has seen what ideas worked at festivals, so he pooled the best of them for Tattanooga.
“After working different conventions all over the U.S., I’ve seen what I felt would bring in more people. That’s why we added bands and car shows. So when we reached out to artists last year for the first Tattanooga, we got a huge response. After the first year did so well, and the artists made good money, word spread throughout the artist community,” he explains of the event’s success although only in its second year.
“We sold 4,000 wristbands for the first expo last year and we expect to double that this year,” says Dollie Martin of Dead Girlz Tattoo, show coordinator.