Bridgeport Alum Kristy McVaney Cunningham Co-Organizer of State's Premier Tattoo Event; Happening Now in Morgantown
By Julie Perine on September 27, 2014 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
Happening this weekend at Morgantown Event Center is the Second Annual West Virginia Tattoo Expo with about 150 artists offering services on-site. Also featuring a vendor fair, demos, contests and a Miss Tattooed West Virginia pageant, the expo drew 5,000 people last year and is considered the premier tattoo event in the state.
Behind it all is 1998 Bridgeport High School alum Kristy McVaney Cunningham and her husband Rocco, a graduate of Notre Dame High School.
Open through 10 p.m. today and from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, the expo is open to the public with kids under 12 admitted free with a paying adult. A Kids’ Zone offers face painting and other activities. A one-day pass is $15 with a $5 discount with a student or military ID.
The MEC is located at Waterfront Place.
Rocco Cunningham is a tattoo artist and is former owner of Pike Street Studios Tattoos and Body Piercing in Clarksburg, where the couple lives.
In a short film by BHS alum Jason Adams, Cunningham shares why his profession is important to him.
“The sound of a tattoo machine is extremely comforting to me. It lets me know good things are going on as long as it’s in the hands of a professional. It’s a sound that lets me really zone out and into the piece I’m working on,” he said. “A tattoo can be a piece of art on someone’s body. It can mean something to someone or they might want to decorate their body with a design they want to see the rest of their life … It’s a really big honor to be able to tattoo somebody – and to think of all the places that my artwork has gone and the people who have seen it. I’m truly grateful to be in the tattoo industry. It’s one of the greatest experiences of my life.”
To better understand why some people are passionate about their tattoos, view Adams’ short film HERE.
Visit the expo site HERE.
Shown here is Rocco and Kristy McVaney Cunningham.
