DODGE CITY, Ala. – While many local tattoo shops boast Friday the 13th specials for flash art and piercings, Dodge City Tattoo Company has upped the ante by pairing the specials with a Halloween and horror-themed art market. Vendors and attendees alike braved the chilly drizzle while a hundred or so tattoo hopefuls weaved in lines around the parking lot for a chance to get a great deal on a piece of art to last a lifetime.
The market focused on handcrafted goods that lean on the spookier side; artfully arranged cloches, original paintings, whimsically designed trick-or-treat bags, handmade plushies with multiple eyes and limbs and even spooky or horror-themed baby and toddler clothing were available for purchase while popcorn and barbecue kept hungry guests satiated as they waited for their turn for some tattoo therapy. Bands like Power Sink and Ramblin’ Ricky Tate serenaded the crowd with rockabilly sound.
Owner John Riendeau shared that while shop mainstay artists like Rene Pretorius and Kortni Quick were holding down the fort, reinforcements were called in. Emi Aster, a previous artist at the shop and even Adriana from Blue Rose and Brian Burx from Wantful Things made appearances to slowly work their way through the long list of guests. After nearly 17 hours of tattooing, Dodge City Tattoo Company boasted an astounding 172 tattoos completed, with some artists going all the way to 4 a.m. Cult classics of the flash pages to choose from were a jack-o-lantern and skeleton hand, which were a crowd favorite.
“I’ve been tattooing on and off since I was a teenager so I’ve made some good connections with people I can call on to help,” laughed Riendeau.
Riendeau also said the Town of Dodge City along with the shop’s neighbors have been key in the success of events the shop hosts, sharing the working relationship the shop has enjoyed with them since the beginning.
“The Town of Dodge City is amazing. We’ve had a great relationship with them since the beginning. Mayor Tawana Canada would stop in all of the time, and it was like a friend visiting. Her passing really left us all heartbroken. She was amazing. The current mayor is a great guy and, like Tawana, is easy to talk to and is like a visit from a friend,” said Riendeau.
Riendeau also noted his thankfulness to Life Church, the shop’s neighbor, for allowing the shop to use its parking lot – and returning the favor.
“The church has always been accommodating to us every time we ask as well,” he said. “We also make sure to check when they host their trunk or treat so that we can close early that day and allow them the use of our parking lot for their event.”
While the parking lot has cleared for now, Riendeau said he is already receiving messages for information about next year’s Halloween market, keeping the momentum going to create an annual event to keep people from hours away coming back to visit our community.
“We knew going in last year that we wanted to throw an annual Halloween party, so next year is definitely a possibility,” he hinted. “This is just my second year hosting this, and I had people driving over two to three hours just to come set up for this one! I’m super humbled and grateful that they feel this event was worth coming to from so far away.”
For more information about Dodge City Tattoo Company or future events it hosts, visit www.facebook.com/dodgecitytattoocompany.
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