Virginia Beach Tattoo Festival

A decade-old coastal-Virginia festival pairing a summer beach-town setting with tattoo contests at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

Event details

About

The Virginia Beach Tattoo Festival is presented by GoodHumans, LLC and reached its 10th annual edition in 2025, with the next show set for August 7-9, 2026 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The summer festival gathers tattoo artists, vendors and a steady stream of attendees for a weekend of live tattooing, contests and entertainment in a popular coastal-tourism destination.

For working artists, the August timing and beach-town location turn the event into a summer-vacation draw, putting booths in front of both local clients and out-of-town visitors. The contest program gives artists a competitive stage, while the convention-center floor and Mid-Atlantic position make it a useful stop for reaching the coastal-Virginia market and networking in a region with fewer major shows.

What to expect

Best for

Artists wanting a summer, beach-town show in the Mid-Atlantic

For artists: booths, applications, hours

For the 2026 edition a booth cost $750 and held two artists; two booths were $1,500, three $2,250. Pricing is per booth; one of the two sharing artists signs as the responsible party. Applications go through an online form on the organizer's site; 2026 booth space is sold out.

Every artist needs a valid Virginia DPOR license or temporary license, current DPOR-approved bloodborne pathogens, CPR and first-aid certificates, and a government ID. For 2026, out-of-state artists had to file the limited-term license with DPOR at least 30 days before the show, absolute deadline July 16, 2026. The Virginia Beach Health Department inspects each artist at load-in; without permit, certificates and inspection there is no tattooing and no refund. The form asks for five square-cropped tattoo images, a headshot and a 75-150 word bio.

The 2026 show ran Aug 7-9: Friday and Saturday 12pm to 11pm, Sunday 12pm to 7pm, with artist load-in from Thursday 3pm. Visitor tickets were $25 for one day, $45 for two, $50 for three, plus taxes and fees. Contests ran at 7pm Friday and Saturday and 5pm Sunday.

The venue is Virginia Beach Convention Center, 1000 19th St, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. The 2026 hotel block at the DoubleTree by Hilton Virginia Beach was $199 a night, group code BTF, booked by July 9, 2026.

Notable: A summer beachfront festival that hit its 10th annual edition in 2025.

How we check this listing

We last confirmed these details on 2026-07-06. Dates and prices are taken from the organizer and change between editions, so treat the organizer's own page as final before you book travel or a booth.

Checked against: https://virginiabeachtattoofestival.com/, https://www.visitvirginiabeach.com/event/10th-annual-virginia-beach-tattoo-festival/10452/, https://www.instagram.com/vbtattoofest/, https://virginiabeachtattoofestival.com/artist-application/, https://virginiabeachtattoofestival.com/virginia-dpor/, https://virginiabeachtattoofestival.com/load-in-information/, https://virginiabeachtattoofestival.com/schedule/, https://virginiabeachtattoofestival.com/hotel-information/