I've been counting down the days since I booked my reservations. Durb Morrison, one of the founders of the event, sends out regular emails about what participants and visitors have to look forward to when they attend, keeping the excitement and anticipation high! After talking with Durb about the show, I believe Hell City is one of the most impressive convention efforts in the country. Now in its sixth year running, it's only getting bigger and better.
So, what's so special about Hell City? Here's the lowdown:
Hell City is run by two very passionate and dedicated guys - Durb Morrison and Tony Terrell. Together they plan and execute the entire show. Durb took the time to travel to other shows and "took the good, removed the bad and combined it all into one festival." The result? A weekend that you will not want to miss!
Here's just a few of the events and attractions over the May 16-18 weekend:
Tattoo Competitions - With lots of categories to enter - including worst tattoo and most unusual - there's sure to be a genre for everyone to fit in and see how their tattoo measures up! Several of the sexy Suicide Girls will be handing out the trophies to the winners, so there's even more incentive to compete!
Music - Devilcake, The Goodtime Engineers, and Brian Hoeflich & The All-Nighters will perform live at designated times.
Entertainment - Rubberboy (the world's most flexible man) and The Torture King are bringing their sideshows live to Hell City.
Heck City - Think you have to leave the kids at home? No way! Hell City has a special area just for the kids with temporary tattoos, balloons, coloring contests and much more! From Durb: "It's that generation that we want to really view tattooing as an art form with no stigmas attached. Our crowds are very friendly and respectful; it's a family friendly atmosphere every year."
Body Modification Services - With over 130 attending artists all under one roof, you're bound to find just the person you've been looking for to provide you with that tattoo or piercing you've been wanting. *
Fine Art - Hell City doesn't just focus on the art of tattooing. The fine art gallery and the Art Fusion Experiment are two very unique and exciting additions to this event.
Seminars - Educational lectures given by some of the most talented artists in the industry help other artists hone their skills or learn completely new techniques.
The Hell City Tattoo Festival offers everything a body art convention should be: entertaining, family-friendly, smoke free, educational, and accepting of all body art enthusiasts from the mild to the wild. Will it be all it claims to be? I'll be writing about my experience after attending the show.
See You in Hell!
If you haven't already made plans to attend, you'll want to do so quickly. Hotel rooms are few and far between now and advanced entry tickets will no longer be available for sale as of May 1, 2008. Here's the show location and details:
Location: Hyatt Regency (Downtown)
350 North High Street
Killumbus (formerly known as Columbus), Ohio
Tel: 614-463-1234
Fax: 614-280-3034
Entry Fees
Advance Order Online Until April 30th:
$18 per day
$50 weekend pass
Purchase at the Gate:
$20 per day
$40 two day pass
$55 weekend pass
Kids under 10 FREE
*"Anyone looking to get tattooed at Hell City should first view our website to see the attending artists and view their websites to see which styles grab their eyes. Most artists are available to tattoo anyone willing to take a seat and get a great piece of body art! Each artist books their own appointment, so it's best to get there early to meet with them or email them from the Hell City website." -Durb
