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Medicine Hat Military Tattoo announced for May 2018

Oct 24, 2017 | 5:46 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Kiwanis Club of Medicine Hat plans to help the community while saluting the military in May.

The club is hosting the Medicine Hat Military Tattoo on May 5, 2018 at the Canalta Centre.

“We’ve been planning this since May 2016,” said Leann Webb, chair of the event’s planning committee, who says 20 people have been involved with the planning.

A military tattoo is a demonstration of military bands, musicians, drummers, pipers, marching troops and dancers. Several military bands from across the province are taking part in the event, alongside a Japanese drum group, a youth fiddle group from Calgary and the three local high school bands.

“There’s a very good variety of performers,” said Webb,

The name comes from a 17th century Dutch phrase “Doo den tap toe,” which translates to “turn off the tap.” The phrase was a signal for tavern owners to turn off their taps, and allow soldiers to retire to their barracks. The phrase has evolved to refer to the last duty call of the day, as well as a ceremonial form of evening entertainment performed by military musicians.

Famous military tattoos have been hosted in Edinburgh, Scotland, Halifax, Nova Scotia and Vernon, B.C.

The event also has a charitable aspect to it. Two-thirds of net proceeds from the event will be donated to the Medicine Hat and District Health Foundation. The remaining third of the proceeds will be used by the Kiwanis Club for community programs the club runs, such as education programs and the Regional Science Fair.

“The Kiwanis Club’s whole motto is serving children and the community,” Webb said. “We picked the health foundation’s neonatal unit to be our major fundraiser donor.

“The Kiwanis Club also does a lot of charity work within the city. We have community parks, we have the Cadet program, we have Key Club leadership programs and scholarships. We do lots of different fundraising, so this is another part of our fundraising.”

Tickets go on sale in November 1 at the Canalta Centre box office and online at Ticketmaster.ca and will cost $30 each.

Military vehicles will be on display outside the Canalta Centre all day on May 5, while prior to the performance, several groups will perform in the lobby and concourse areas. The performance begins at 7 p.m.

The club is looking for sponsors to help put on the event. Those interested can contact Webb by email at rljwebb@telusplanet.net.