The Virginia International Tattoo will be the only major event of its kind in 2021, and it all takes place this weekend.

For more than 20 years, the Virginia International Tattoo has had the honor of being one of the biggest around. The annual event began in 1997 and has since combined military bands, pipe and drum performers, drill teams, Celtic dancers and more to salute the military.

This year it’ll be the only major event of its kind.

Because of a pandemic that lingered too long, Norfolk will host the only large-scale tattoo to take place in 2021 and it all goes down this weekend.

“It’s exciting to feel like we’re carrying the torch for tattoos right now,” said Scott Jackson, the event’s producer and director. “It’s both a responsibility and very humbling.”

Tattoos around the world had plans to go forward with events earlier this year, Jackson said, but one by one, those plans fell to the wayside.

In December, the virus “seemed so out of control” that Jackson wasn’t sure the annual event, which was canceled last year, would happen at all.

“Then the vaccines came online,” he said. “That was like a ray of hope.”

This year’s theme is one of few holdovers from last year’s. This tattoo will be a “salute to the greatest generation,” the veterans of WWII.

“We will have war veterans at each of the shows,” Jackson said. “They’re coming from all around the country and have been waiting until it was safe to travel.”

Tipping his hat to science and a tremendous effort from frontline and health workers, Jackson said he and the festival’s organizers were able to begin tentative planning in January.

As the number of COVID cases trended down through spring, Jackon’s team kicked planning into overdrive, working to figure out how they could put on a show that historically draws thousands of spectators from around the world.

The Virginia tattoo is typically held indoors, Jackson said, but he knew early on that wouldn’t be possible this year. After six weeks or so of wall-to-wall meetings, they nailed down the location and date.

For the first time ever, the Virginia event will take place outdoors at Old Dominion University’s S.B. Ballard Stadium.

Generally, the cast includes military and performance groups from around the world. With travel options up in the air throughout the planning, Jackson and his team secured a cast consisting only of groups from the United States.

He even managed to snag a couple of outfits that have long been on his must-have list: the Kilgore College Rangerettes (think Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in cowboy hats and boots) and the Chicago Wheel Jam, a Cirque-Du-Soleil-inspired gymnastics group that puts a new spin on giant wheels.

Despite the COVID restrictions being, Jackson said they’re still implementing a number of safety plans, including socially distanced seating and mandatory masks for performers and staff.

They also developed a jigsaw puzzle-style stage specifically for the 90-minute show. They built 18 rolling platforms that they can move around and create different formations.

“It’ll be like a giant game of Tetris on the field.”

Their excitement is shared by the more than 400 performers and the Virginia Arts Festival staff, too. Jackson said each rehearsal is packed with people who are eager to do anything they can to make the shows successful. Whether he asks a group to play an extra piece of music or add something else to their routine, Jackson said “there’s a great vibe of everybody wanting to be there and contribute more.”

“You got it!” Jackson said. “That’s all I hear.”

What he looks forward to most is the finale of each show when the entire cast will assemble and perform something special. He won’t spill the details, but promises “great music and a great story.”

He hopes tattoo lovers and those new to the festival will connect with the military groups, with each other and just enjoy the shows. It will be one of the first large-scale events to take place in the region since March 2020.

“My crystal ball has been broken for about 14 months,” Jackson laughed. “If I could say anything about this year and this show, it’s the right place and right time to make a statement about how we can be back safely and that we haven’t forgotten where we’re coming from.”

If you go

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Where: ODU’s S. B. Ballard Stadium, 5115 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk.

Tickets: Stadium seating, $10–$100. Suites, $600–$800.

Details: vafest.org, 757-282-2822.

Amy Poulter, 757-446-2705, amy.poulter@pilotonline.com