Established in 1997, the Virginia International Tattoo, a signature event of the Virginia Arts Festival, is an annual celebration of patriotism and international goodwill. Every year, the Tattoo welcomes over 800 performers from all over the world in a display of military bands, drill teams, massed pipes and drums, Celtic dancers, choirs, and more. It is the largest tattoo in the United States, drawing an audience of nearly 36,000 people each year.
>>Historically, tattoos stem from a 17th-century European tradition of military drummers alerting soldiers that it was time to return to their barracks for the evening. After hearing the call of the local regiments’ fifes and drums, the Dutch Low Country innkeepers would call “Doe den tap toe!” – “Turn off the taps!” The “tap too” evolved over time, and the word “tattoo” now refers to a ceremonial performance of military music by massed bands.
