A Vernon tattoo studio is gearing up for a long day of pushing their limits in support of a worthy cause.
Five Fathoms Tattoo Studio (3222 30th Avenue, Vernon) is set to host their fourth bi-annual BC Children’s Hospital Flash Day Fundraiser on Sunday, May 19.
The event will see 25 artists from across Western Canada tattoo for nearly 18 hours straight, meeting with over 130 clients and donating 100% of the funds to the vital provincial resource.
“Everybody knows a kid who needs these facilities, whether here in BC or in Alberta. There is nothing worse than being sick when you are a kid, and these hospitals are awesome because they save and improve tons of lives.” said studio owner, Nick Matovich.
“We are lucky to be in a career that allows us to do work like this, because not everybody’s job allows them to raise a ton of money for something and just give it away and since we have the opportunity to I feel like we are obligated to,” he added.
According to Matovich, one of the biggest reasons he started up the event is his daughter Nova.
Nova was born in 2012 with a congenital heart condition known as Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Since her birth, she has undergone three serious corrective surgeries.
“When we were 20 weeks pregnant we were told [Nova’s] heart was not developing properly and at four days old she had her first surgery,” said Matovich.
“Her last surgery was at age four and now she is a seven-year-old happy, and healthy kid,” he added.
After an impressive inaugural year that saw the event raise an impressive $16,000, Matovich, his team of tattooers, residents and local businesses have stepped up to help each event since raise $25,000 or more.
“After the first year I was pretty speechless and even now there are no real words to describe how grateful we are for the success that it has had, it feels great to get all of this support,” said Matovich.
This year, Matovich is hoping to match or beat the 2017 total of $27,100 to bring their grand donation amount to over $100,000.
The event will officially begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, but according to Matovich eager tattoo fiends line up down the block as early as 4 a.m., some after travelling from across B.C. and Alberta.
“It is incredible. At first we thought it would just be Vernon people coming out, but we were surprised that people from Kelowna and even Penticton and Kamloops showed up — now as the years have passed we have people coming from as far as Terrace and Alberta to get tattooed.”
With such a large crowd waiting to get inked, organization for Matovich and his team is key.
To keep things running smoothly all tattoo designs are pre-drawn and displayed in the windows of the studio with prices ranging from a quick $50 tattoo up to a $300 two-hour piece — cutting down on decision time for attendees and eliminating drawing time for the artists
In addition to some new body art, attendees can look forward to live music from Kelowna surf-rock band Tidal Baby, raffle prizes donated by local businesses and delicious eats.
If you hope to get in on the action set your alarms for bright and early to line up and get on the list. Reception will take down your name and phone number to give you a ring when your appointment time approaches.
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