Once again the hard work from Steve Peace and the crew at Alberta Bound hosted an epic international Tattoo Festival at the BMO Roundup Center in Calgary, Alberta and showed the artists and fans true hospitality as well as a great time. The tattoo festival was, in my opinion even busier than last years show and even more international artists made there way here to lay down some truly killer ink. Tattoos.com took photos and videos all weekend as well as exhibited art work from the Death show. We also had guest artists Jason Stewart of Shinto tattoos in Australia at our booth laying down ink and once again walking away with best of show awards. Horikei from Gifu city was doing traditional Japanese hand tattooing all weekend in the booth and many fans got a chance to get an authentic Japanese hand tattoo. Liam Monahan, another Aussie and Marina Storme from Edmonton filled the other guest spots for us and were super busy all weekend. More friends than ever showed up to this years show and I got the chance to hang out with some new artists who's work I have admired for quite some time too. Bob Tyrrell and Nikko Hurtado were next to us and it gave me a chance to get to know Nikko a little better and start laying down some plans for us to host a workshop for artists at the Toronto show next June as well as have him tattoo at NIX for the first time. On the Saturday afternoon Dave from Great Canadian Tattoo co. is a sucker for punishment and had Aaron Bell finish a spectacular Japanese style serpent on his rib cage that was started in Toronto and that was just one of what must have been hundreds of epic pieces I got the chance to see both from just walking around the show and having the honour to judge the contests. 

It was difficult for us as judges to decide from so many great entries which ones were truly better than the others. Just like last year, Jimi Litwalk, who's is now working at Massive Tattoo in Las Vegas walked away with tattoo of the day with another clean piece with shading and line work that is simply flawless. In fact, between the judging and art show as well as hanging out with old friends like Dan Allaston, of New Moon in Ottawa,  and Jamie Izumi of Tora Tattoo, by the time the Saturday ended I was surprised I had the energy to actually attend the heavy metal Karaoke that was set up at the 522 club near the hotel. Once again hard rockin tunes, cold beer, tattooed babes and what has turned into annual "bromance" with Bob Tyrrell happened at the bar. We allowed the good times and suds to melt away my inhibitions which culminated in admittedly my personal low point of the weekend as Bob and I took to the stage. For last call to sing Iron Maidens "Run to the Hills" with Lexie from Dragon FX, who actually can carried a tune. It seemed like a good idea until I started to sing with them and saw the sea of smartphones held up by my contemporaries around the stage and realized that tomorrow I was going to pay for my foolishness. Please, I beg you just delete that shit, and I promise, I will never attempt any duets with Bob again.

The show wrapped up on Sunday with more contests and once again a spectacular sideshow entertainment from one of the best in the business and a true ambassador to tattooing Lucky Diamond Rich, who kept the crowds entertained daily with his off beat humour and finely honed sideshow skills. Lucky does a great job of wowing the crowds every day and this year was no different.  Steve Peace and his wife Lindsay and all the staff from Alberta Bound, Ken, Mark, Chris, and all the support staff really go the extra mile to make what is a huge undertaking  run like a well oiled machine for all of us attending the show. Their efforts to put the artists at ease by providing all their necessities and going that extra mile is what brings such a roster of top tier tattooists back here year after and gives a lot of people from Calgary the chance to walk through the doors of the BMO Center a get a truly global tour of the best tattooing has to offer. I can't wait to see what happens here again next year.
Pictures from the Calgary Tattoo & Arts Festival - October 12th-14th, 2011