PUYALLUP FAIRGROUNDS — It's that time of year again, when Northwest Tatau Festival organizers kick it into high gear in preparation for 2 days of adrenaline-filled excitement. It's an event that brings together artists, tattoo fanatics, and those curious to learn more about the tatau.

In its first and second years, the Fest was hosted at the Tacoma Convention Center; but this year, to accommodate the hundreds of people expected to turn up, the event has been moved to the Puyallup Fairgrounds. Local sponsors include Samoa News and MASI (Miss American Samoa Incorporated).

There will be live tattooing, dance performances, lots of vendors, food trucks, and a live concert featuring Polynesian superstar Fiji and Tenelle.

It is an all ages event and there will be lots of activities for the kids. Free parking is available.

Fest organizer Whitey Chen has been busy promoting the event. "It's not everyday we can go to Samoa. Sometimes we don't return home for months, even years. One of the goals of this annual event is to bring Samoa to us. And we do this by offering the music, the food, the atmosphere, the company, and the traditional Samoan tattooing."

The event is extra special this year, as Vailima — a Samoan favorite — has signed on to be the major beer sponsor, the company's first major US event.

When Vailima was shipped to Alaska and Washington State for the first time, last month, Samoa News received reports from readers there that the supply ran out as quickly as it came in. People rushed to the stores to find the Vailima shelves already empty.

In addition to vendors and artists, researchers studying the link between tattoos and a robust immune system will be there. Dr. Michaela Howells, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and Dr. Christopher D. Lynn, Associate Professor and Director of Evolutionary Studies at the University of Alabama's College of Arts and Sciences (Department of Anthropology) came to the territory last year to spearhead a study — Inking the Community — that could prove the common Samoan belief that tattooing a certain area of the body helps alleviate ailments like gout and arthritis.

As with all previous years, the biggest draw of the Fest is the live tattooing of the pe'a and the malu. No machines are used. Instead, Master Tufuga Ta Tatau Su'a Suluape Alaivaa Petelo taps away at the "au" while family members of those getting tattooed stand by and watch, offering words of encouragement.

Su'a Suluape Alaiva'a Petelo will be headlining this year's event — as always — and he will be joined by others in the Suluape family including his son Su'a Suluape Paulo, Suluape Steve Looney, Suluape Angela, Suluape  Keone Nunes, Suluape Riccy Lamositele, and Suluape Si'i Liufau.

Everyone who attends this year will get a first hand glimpse of the tufuga at work. It is a long and tedious process but the end result is praise and glory. It takes a lot of patience of ensure all the lines are straight, the spacing is perfect. Men who get the pe'a are considered warriors, enduring excruciating pain for anywhere between 8-10 days, 8-10 hours a day. The women only take 4 hours total, 2 hours per leg, usually.

Other tattoo artists who will be showing off their stuff come from everywhere around the world, including New Zealand, Canada, Tahiti, and different states within the US.

Samoan tattoo artists will also be there, including Akiu Sale, Lui Talo, and Kamu Kamu.

Coordinators of the Tatau Fest told Samoa News in an initial interview, “We want to educate the world about the traditional art of the tatau and at the same time, offer a chance for all tattoo artists to display their work — whatever their style may be. This is a chance for us to come together and learn something new, share it with others who will be attendance, and keep the storyline going in the saga of the tatau tradition.”

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the door or online at ticketmaster.com

The 3rd Annual Northwest Tatau Festival in Washington State is set for June 29-30 at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. This year, as its first major event in the United States, Vailima has agreed to be the major beer sponsor. Local sponsors are Samoa News and MASI. [photo: Blue Chen-Fruean]