Most Fun Ever… Hell City Tattoo Convention, Columbus Ohio

Prior to leaving Toronto to go to Ohio, I would tell friends and people would give me the most puzzled looks and ask the most amusing questions:

“You going to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?”
“Why are you going to Ohio?”
“Oh, like where Drew Carey was from in that show?”

Yeah, OK – Ohio isn’t the most ballin’ place to go to, I suppose.  But I guess it’s the purpose and the people.  I was taking my virginal snow white skin down to the Hell City Tattoo Convention.

As we headed out on our journey, things that made the 7 hour car ride go faster were the following:

+ChatRoulette (thank god for our American friend in the car who enabled our MacBooks, IPhones and IPads with wireless and free of roaming data)

+Huge Ice Cream Cups

+Oldschool CDs like Weezer – Blue album and the Romeo & Juliet Soundtrack

We made one final pit stop before entering Columbus, OH and I found this trinket in the gas station that I’m kicking myself in the ass for not buying.  God Bless America!

Arrival time into Columbus was 1AM and we needed beautiful sleep before rocking out the next day.

The Hell City Tattoo Festival is a tattoo convention put on by tattoo artists, featuring world class artists and collectors from around the world. Whilst walking to the Convention, I stumbled across my most favourite street ever, Gay Street.  Ha!

I arrived bright and early into the convention to check out each and every single booth.    Personally, I don’t have any tattoos but I’m surely interested in the art value of them.   This festival has everything.  Tattooing on site.  Body jewelry.  Clothing.  Live art competitons.  An art show.  Kids area, for your lil’ hellions (as they put it).

By 11:30AM, every single booth I’d pass had person after person getting some type of tattoo done.  It almost made me feel as if I should too.  But nah, I like my skin as is.  I did see someone who entered into the Hell City Tattoo Contest for “Best Colour”.  She had Lil’ Wayne, Lil’ Jon and Snoop tattooed on her leg.  I’m seriously kicking myself for not taking a photo of that.

The art show was pretty rad.  So many amazing pieces and so many pieces that I wanted to buy.  I will give tattoo artists credit, amazing skills in the art department.  I wish I had that.

The biggest thing about the event was the party at the Bar on 2 (aka. the bar at the Hyatt Convention Centre) that night with all the tattoo artists and the people I went down with, Suicide Girls. Things got messy here as we kept throwing plastic rocks down escalators, eating delicious cupcakes, stealing drinks off the bar, learning the “Purple Rain” and doing other ridiculous things.  You know, just keeping it real in Ohio, fool.

Next day was the last day of Hell City.  Yeah, short trip.  But what are you gunna do? We packed it all up and headed back into Canada. The drive back home was hilarious.  Taking a pit stop in the ghetto of Detroit.  Oops.  All in all, we had the most fun ever in Ohio and raised HELL!!