Thousands of tattoo fans expected to attend this weekend's Ink at The Bay festival

Thousands of tattoo fans expected to attend this weekend's Ink at The Bay festival
July 17, 2012
The Herald

The inaugural Ink at The Bay Tattoo Festival is a coming-out party for the local tattoo scene.

The event takes place 2 to 10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey.

Related: An interview with Juan Gonzalez

The festival is expected to draw about 40 artists from Monterey County and abroad, including from as far away as Italy, Switzerland and Brazil, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area and Las Vegas.

Juan Gonzalez, event organizer and owner of Exclusive Ink tattoo shop in Salinas, said the mainstream acceptance and popularity of tattoo art has opened the door for this type of event locally.

They are hoping to get 2,000 to 3,000 attendees for the event.

For non-tattoo enthusiasts, organizers have scheduled a Saturday evening concert. Vanishing Affair, Cali Nation, Automatic Animal, Hate For State, Dub Dog, Spin Farm, Voodoo Boys Trio, Thirty 9 Fingers and Ill G will perform. There also will be Aztec dancers, face and body art demos, DJs and a pin-up model contest on Sunday.

It's all aimed at promoting the local tattoo scene.

"I'm stoked that there is going to be a convention here," said Rick Webster, manager of Gold Coast Tattoo in Monterey, which is a sponsor of the event. "Guest artists can come here and tattoo and have a little vacation, too."