Having lived in Nova Scotia my entire life, people are always surprised when I tell them I’ve never been to the Tattoo. I’ve been told countless times that it is something you need to experience at least once, and having now experienced it for myself I absolutely agree.
I’ve had the chance to get press tickets to the show in the past, but it was always for an evening I wasn’t able to attend (#fitnessinstructorproblems) so this year when they reached out and were able to get me tickets for the Sunday, June 30th matinee show, I was so excited to finally be able to mark this show off my bucket list!
Two of my besties came along with me making for a fun girl’s day (neither of them had been to the Tattoo before either), and when we picked up our tickets and headed to our seats we were pretty excited to discover we were in the fourth row! Truly, I don’t think we could have asked for better seats if we had tried.
Between traffic and parking, we got to our seats with about 10 minutes to spare, just enough time to get settled before the familiar sounds of bagpipes began to fill the Scotia Bank Centre.
The amount of coordination and organization it must take to put this show together amazed me, with acts from all over the world seamlessly moving on and off stage throughout the 2 1/2 hour performance, I was in awe for much for that time.
This year’s theme “Power of Peace” was woven throughout the show with a special focus on the Berlin wall coming down which happened 30 years ago this year.
Since I was only 7 when the wall came down, much of that history passed me by so it was really interesting to learn more about that time, since most of what I knew up until that point was from movies and books.
I don’t think there was a single act that I didn’t enjoy, from singing to bands to drill teams (including Black Diamond Drill Team as seen on Australia’s Got Talent), Chicago Wheel Jam, and of course the Highland and Irish dancers were big favorites of mine.
If forced to choose a favorite act, I’m going to go with the USAF Honor Guard Drill Team who were truly amazing. And because we had such awesome seats, even if you miss this year’s show you can still watch it!
You’ll have to forgive me for shooting everything in portrait mode, I was taking my video for Instagram, but hopefully, you’ll still enjoy it!
Another clear crowd favorite was the Jiffy Jeep performance where team New Brunswick and team Nova Scotia went head to head to see who could take their jeep apart and put it back together the fastest. You’ll have to watch the video to see who won, but I will tell you the winning team set a new team record that day!
Since Canada Day itself was a rainy, dreary bust, I am really glad I had the chance to enjoy a performance that definitely showcases Canadian pride while also making lots of room to let other countries shine.
If you still haven’t experienced the magic of the NS Tattoo, put it on your bucket list. There is still time to catch this year’s show if you act quickly! Go to www.nstattoo.ca to get your tickets today!
Have you been to the Tattoo (this year or another year)? What was your favourite act?
Disclosure: I was provided with free tickets in exchange for this review but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.