AKRON, Ohio — More than 1,000 people are expected to visit the Rubber City Tattoo Invitational over three days at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron.
For the people drawn to the event, each tattoo tells a permanent story.
Nicole Metzgar has a rose tattoo in honor of her mother.
"My mother passed away from cancer, and she designed this before she passed away," Metzgar said.
She is also getting an anime character from "Demon Slayer" inked — a creation estimated to take 7 hours to finish. Metzgar says she doesn't mind the wait or the needles.
"I think art is beautiful, and I think it's kind of amazing to have such like a beautiful, perfect creation from one person," Metzgar said.
Kenny Uzarevic is adding tattoos of Johnny Cash and Muhammad Ali to his collection of about 20 tattoos. For him, it's about self-expression.
"Just two people I always admired growing up as a kid," Uzarevic said.
When asked whether it hurt to get the tattoos, the Eastlake native smiled.
"There are times. I like it though. It's fun. Yeah, I don't mind it," Uzarevic said.
Jaime Mautz is getting a black crow and sparrow inked on her left arm. Birds are her passion.
"I actually work with birds of prey. I have for the last 18 years with the Medina Raptor Center, so I love birds," Mautz said.
She says her tattoos also help her heal from the bullying she experienced as a kid.
"Growing up bullied, overweight, whatever, like these give me so much more self-confidence, just make me feel so much better about myself," Mautz said.
For tattoo artist Travis Koller, creating tattoos helps him live out a childhood dream — in a different way.
"When I was younger, I always dreamt of being an illustrator for like Disney or like Pixar and stuff like that," Koller said. "There wasn't really job openings and stuff, so my next best thing was taking this and putting it on people," Koller said.
This is the fifth year for the Tattoo Invitational, which runs through Sunday at the Knight Center. More than 200 artists and vendors are on hand.
"I just think it's fascinating and I think it's beautiful and I like to wear it and show it," Metzgar said.
Tickets are $25 per day or $50 for the entire weekend.
