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Speakeasy Tattoo Hosted Massive Free Tattoo Fundraiser

By Jess Kleean and Photos by Ken Ketchie

From March 3-5 Speakeasy Tattoo Company hosted a charity driven three-day weekend including free tattoos, local beer and a whole lot of community fun! From the Art Crawl that Friday to the celebration Sunday night at Boone Saloon, the support from the community was awe-inspiring. Nicole Kinnamon, General Manager at Speakeasy Tattoo, said: “I think it went really well! We’ve done things in the past but never at this level. There was a good flow because people were genuinely interested and wanting to band together to help the community.”

But it wasn’t just the community that showed up! Over 1500 people and counting showed up to support the event from all across the state, with many driving hours to attend. According to the Speakeasy Tattoo Company Facebook Page, they made over 10,000 dollars for charity over the span of 3 days, which is absolutely fantastic! The breakdown of the amounts donated to each charity is as follows: 

Blue Ridge Conservancy $2,746.54
Planned Parenthood $2,367.09
Watauga Humane Society $2,044.04
Medi-Home Hospice $905.09
Wine To Water $893.54
DIY Skate Park $899.59
F.A.R.M. Cafe $716.74

Due to the success of the event, Speakeasy would love to organize this again next year! Nicole states: “Based on the turnout, this could be a really cool thing! We could make this a community-wide event bringing in more tattooers and charities, hosting it in a larger space, and, like always, working with the community as a whole… because that’s the great thing about working in the High Country:  we can work together as a community, we all know somebody who can help.”

Check out some of the awesome pictures from the event below!