Photo by Alan Olson More than 130 tattoo artists have set up shop at the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack for the Resurrection Island Tattoo Convention.

WHEELING — Thousands of tattoo, and tattooed, enthusiasts will have come through the doors of the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack this weekend for the return of the Resurrection Island Tattoo Convention.

More than 130 vendors had set up tables across the convention center for the second annual convention. Dennis Gilbert, owner of Breaking Skin Tattoo in Bridgeport, saw that larger cities such as Columbus and Pittsburgh regularly held large conventions, including tattoo conventions, and thought Wheeling would be able to support one as well.

The 2021 event brought between 4,000 and 5,000 attendees, according to Gilbert.

“I’ve got (137) artists from literally over the country– from the west coast to the east, south to north, and the level of artwork is mind-blowing,” Gilbert said. “People from the Ohio Valley don’t really get to see the level of artwork available out there. We have Ink Master artists from the TV show, they’re in there tattooing live right now.

“There’d never been a tattoo convention in Wheeling; you’d have to go to Columbus, Pittsburgh, Morgantown, any big city other than Wheeling, but you can’t see them here, so I thought, why not put one on? People told me it can’t be done– well, this is our second year, and we’ve already got the dates locked in for next year.”

The convention features a wide array of assorted attractions beyond the tattoo artists, who are plying their craft out in the open in the rooms of the convention center. In addition to artists, live bands, sideshows, suspension teams, burlesque performances, and taxidermy booths were among some of the other events which were set up by Friday afternoon.

“We’re bringing something to the Ohio Valley that’s never been here before last year,” Gilbert added. “We own a tattoo shop and we promote our artists by doing other conventions. Once we’d seen the level of how far the industry had come just from 10 years ago, the difference is amazing.”

Gilbert said that Wheeling, and the casino specifically, had proven a great venue for the convention.

“The casino’s an amazing place for the event– half the people here that had come from all over the country were here last year, and they love it so much because it’s a cool little town,” he said. “They’ve never been here and had a chance to come, because most of these artists are from big cities.

“For us, it’s huge, but for someone from Atlanta or Portland, it’s small to them, and they love the feel of it. It’s awesome.”

Day passes to the convention are $20 and weekend passes are $40. Children under 12 years old are admitted free. The event will run from noon to midnight Saturday and from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.