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.”  

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.  

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.