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The Virginia International Tattoo: Where 250 Years of Freedom Takes the Stage  – VisitNorfolk

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The Virginia International Tattoo: Where 250 Years of Freedom Takes the Stage  – VisitNorfolk


If you’re uncertain what the words “Tattoo” and “Hullabaloo” mean in the context of Norfolk, Virginia’s largest annual event, Scott Jackson is happy to explain. 

“About 15 years ago, I took a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, to see the Edinburgh tattoo, which is the biggest tattoo in the world and the most famous,” says Jackson, Producer/Director of the military-themed spectacle known as the Virginia International Tattoo. “My hotel was at the bottom of a road called the Royal Mile… and when you walk up this mile on the night of a tattoo performance, it’s totally vibrant. It’s so exciting. There’s music on every corner. There’s street performers. There’s food, there’s beer. When I got to the castle, I already felt great. I was already in a great mood.” 

The annual Virginia International Tattoo runs April 16–19, 2026, and this year it carries the theme of America’s 250th anniversary. The timing is not lost on Jackson, a student of military history who discovered, in preparing for this year, that George Washington himself called for the first tattoo in American history. 

“At that time, a tattoo was a small military ceremony,” Jackson explains. “It was basically a time each night when soldiers were called back to a base, and there was a roll call, and a military ceremony, sometimes called a beating retreat.”  

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From that origin story, Jackson has built a show that threads 1776 through every act. The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, performing in 1776 uniforms, will demonstrate how fifes, drums and bugles once served as battlefield communication, the original radio operators of the Continental Army. The French Navy Band and a Royal Air Force rifle display team called the King’s Color Squadron represent the allies who stood with the colonies.  

“There’s a great line from the musical Hamilton,” Jackson says, “‘I want to be in the room where it happened.’ Well, these were the countries that were in the room where it happened.” 

South Korea’s Army Band provides a “a giant umbrella of Korean culture,” with traditional dance and costumes, a taekwondo display team, and two K-pop stars currently serving their mandatory military service.  

“In the U.S. in the ’50s, Elvis Presley was drafted into the Army, who felt like it was a distraction, so they actually staged him in Germany. He basically had a desk job,” Jackson says. “Well, the South Koreans said, ‘Oh, you’re a K-pop star, we’re drafting you. We’re sending you to Virginia Tattoo to represent.’” 

More than 800 civilian and military performers from six nations will fill Scope’s arena floor. For those making the drive from the Richmond region and beyond, the experience begins well before curtain. According to Jackson, that is precisely what you don’t want to miss.  

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The festivities aren’t just inside the arena, Jackson notes. For several hours before each performance, the exterior Scope Plaza comes alive with brass quintets, traditional Celtic dancers, beer tastings, festival food and a market of makers selling Tattoo-related merchandise. This is the Hullabaloo, a free pre-show open to the public and Jackson’s answer to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.  

“When you can, come early and relax, because then when the show starts, you’re already in a great place,” he says. “If you haven’t gone yet, this is the year to go.”  

Tickets are available at vafest.org or by calling (757) 282-2822. Show times are Thursday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. 



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Honking on the highway: Family of geese escorted off I-66 in Virginia

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Honking on the highway: Family of geese escorted off I-66 in Virginia


Those honks you heard on I-66? They weren’t from cars.

Police officers in Northern Virginia herded a family of Canada geese off the highway Thursday afternoon, as lanes were shut down to keep everyone safe.

The geese were spotted on I-66 westbound near the exit for Sycamore Street. Metro Transit Police got to them first, and Arlington County officers and Virginia State Police also responded to help, acording to Arlington County Police.

Video shows police vehicles slowly following the geese — two adults with a cluster of fuzzy yellow goslings — as they waddled along the far right shoulder toward milemarker 69.6.

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Lane closures were put into effect about 1:30 p.m., and police were able to escort the geese off the highway within about 15 minutes.

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County police quipped on Facebook: “What’s good for the goose…is probably to stay of I-66. 🪿 Virginia State Police , Metro Forward Police Department, Virginia Department of Transportation and ACPD officers worked together to assist a family of geese off a busy highway in a feat so great it gave us goosebumps!”



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More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth $1M seized in Bristol, Virginia State Police says

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More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth M seized in Bristol, Virginia State Police says


More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth more than $1 million were seized this month in Bristol, according to the Virginia State Police.

Multiple search warrants were executed this month by VSP and the Holston River Regional Drug Task Force in at various areas across the city between May 1 and May 13.

On May 1, a search warrant was executed at a business on Euclid Avenue. Around three pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $13,500. The location was within a school zone and a childcare facility.

On May 6, another search warrant was executed at a warehouse in Bristol. Virginia State Police seized 250 pounds of marijuana (street value of $1,135,000), 192 marijuana plants ($576,000), 50 pounds of THC edibles ($22,700). Charges are forthcoming, police said.

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Another search warrant was executed on May 13 at a business on West State Street. Around 25 pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $112,500. Additional evidence was also seized.

In addition, another search warrant was executed on May 13 at a business on Paulena Drive. About 30 pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $135,000. Additional evidence was also seized.

The Office of the Attorney General is reviewing the investigation for any possible applicable civil enforcement actions.

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The Holston River Regional Drug Task Force includes the Town of Abingdon Police Department, Bristol Police Department, the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Town of Lebanon Police Department, as well as Virginia State Police.



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Va. governor concerned redistricting battle could make voters reluctant to cast ballot this fall – WTOP News

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Va. governor concerned redistricting battle could make voters reluctant to cast ballot this fall – WTOP News


Days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of their ongoing redistricting battle, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she’s focused on the fall midterm elections and ensuring voters are motivated to turn out.

Days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of their ongoing redistricting battle, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she’s focused on the fall midterm elections and ensuring voters are motivated to turn out.

After a bill signing at Inova Schar Cancer Institute on Wednesday, Spanberger made her most extensive public comments about the state’s redistricting plan. She cited the state’s May 12 deadline for any map changes, and said as a result, this year’s elections will proceed under the current map.

Spanberger’s remarks came a few days after Virginia’s Supreme Court struck down the Democrat-led redistricting push. Primaries in the state are scheduled for Aug. 4, with the November general election to follow.

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“What needs to happen is we need to focus on the task at hand, which is winning races in November,” Spanberger said.

“I believe, somewhat doggedly, that we will win two to four seats in the House of Representatives. … That is my goal. That is what I know is possible.”

The map Democrats proposed, experts said, could have resulted in a 10-1 Democratic majority representing Virginia in the U.S. House. But Republicans challenged the process Democrats in the General Assembly used to put the constitutional amendment before voters.

In a 4-3 opinion issued Friday morning, Virginia’s Supreme Court sided with the Republican challengers.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gave Republicans until Thursday evening to respond to Democrats’ request for the emergency appeal.

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Spanberger defended the process the General Assembly used, adding: “I think I certainly would have wanted to, and did want to, see a different outcome with the Supreme Court ruling.”

Over three million people participated in the rare April special election, and Spanberger said she’s concerned those voters “have had the experience of casting a ballot in an election that was very important to them, including those on both sides of the referendum vote, only to have it be overturned, essentially, by the Supreme Court of Virginia.”

Elected officials, she said, will have to work to ensure “that people know that their votes do matter, and that when it comes to the ballot they’re going to cast — whether it’s for a primary over the summer or for the general election into the fall — that they shouldn’t feel depleted or defeated, that their votes matter.”

Spanberger called the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court “important, but when it comes to the execution of elections, no matter the outcome in that case, we will be running our elections beginning next month with early voting on the current maps that we have.”

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