Intro
Hello and welcome to the Washington Tattoos inaugural blog post. We are very excited to be launching this platform and to be engaging with our followers through a blog format where we will discuss and promote Scottish music and culture as well highlighting the work we do with veterans support, military appreciation and high level competitive sports in Washington, DC.
Scottish Government Mission Statement
In our mission of bringing the spectacle and tradition of the Royal Military Tattoo here from Edinburgh to Washington, we are focused on building relationships both domestically and internationally with likeminded people that encourage others to learn about Scottish culture, music and arts thereby furthering opportunities for engagement and collaboration in the wider Scottish-American landscape.
Music
We are very passionate about a range of musical disciplines here at the Washington Tattoo and look forward to sharing our future interactions with Drum Corps, Bagpipers, Traditional Musicians and highland dancers to name a few of the areas we are keen to promote and feature throughout.
Culture
We have been humbled to have received such a warm and inclusive welcome into the pre established Scottish community and network of the east coast this year, the support we received from numerous Scottish-American Cultural organizations as well as our friends at the Scottish Government USA at our inaugural mini tattoo at Bull Run Winery back in April was immense.
Off the back of this, we were invited up to New York City for the 24th annual tartan week celebration by the NYC Tartan Week Committee, here we really enjoyed learning about the rich history of Scots in America and the passion that these organizations bring to maintaining and preserving their celebrations of Scottish heritage here on the East coast, and with the proximity of such a strong Scottish cultural base as NYC to Washington DC, we look forward to interacting and collaborating with these organizations in the future, and learning more about their mission of furthering engagement and the unity between the US and Scotland.
D.C Sport
We are very excited to be building new connections with organizations that make up the vibrant sporting community of Washington D.C, and in further deepening the relationships we already have, such as with our friends over at Old Glory DC. We are particularly excited to work with these organizations on military and veterans appreciation nights and their home games.
Military Appreciation & Veterans Support
As many of us here at the Washington Tattoo have a service background in both the US and UK Armies, as well as a passion for upholding the traditional military roots of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a big initiative that we seek to drive is using our platform and connections as a basis to show support and appreciation to our military and those who selflessly give up our lives so that we can domestically live the lives we do. We aim to do this through music concerts, cultural art shows, home games for the Washington sports teams and banquets to name but a few.
Furthermore, as veterans it’s very important to us, and our identity to do our part in providing support and aiding our colleagues and peers post service and their reintegration into society.