Highland Tattoo on soon
Dylan Jones was only 22 months old when he held the hand of drum major Jason Hancock as they led the grand finale at the Manawatu¯ Highland Tattoo.
Now aged 10, Dylan is the poster boy for the 2018 Highland Tattoo which will be held September 30 at the Manfeild Stadium.
The Ka¯ piti boy will be dancing at this year’s tattoo with sister Daisy.
The tattoo is organised by Jason’s wife Sheran Hancock, a Feilding identity who has cheery confidence that an event drawing upon elements of a centuries-old military tradition would be popular locally.
Her affection for the sounds of Scotland is shared by many, including the family and friends whose participation in that inaugural event led to Dylan’s debut, who had been brought along by his grandmother, Ann Middleton and her sister and brother-inlaw, Marion and Roy Hitchcock.
All were at that time performing and are today still involved in Dylan’s life, with Roy his piping coach and Marion his dance teacher.
There will be plenty more familiar faces at the celebration of Celtic tradition involving more than 300 regional and national performers and crew with a display space configuring so that the audience sits on three sides of a quadrangle, with the fourth side being the traditional component of a Scottish castle.
Headlining the two-hour entertainment is Suzanne Prentice, who has become a huge supporter and friend of the show since the inaugural 2010 event. Re-joining her this year is another country music legend, Craig Adams.
There will be pipe bands, highland dancers, singers, kapa haka groups, a choir and stage band, a marching team, military vintage vehicles, and performing horse riders along with other animals and vehicles.
Manfeild Park Trust chief executive Julie Keane says the tattoo is a core activity for the Celtic Spirit Group and provides a rare opportunity to enjoy regional and national entertainers of the highest calibre.
“This will be the fifth tattoo at our venue. It’s a spectacular showcase of talent that lends itself very naturally to our venue whose appeal is also broadened by being held at a familyfriendly time.
“It is intrinsically a community event — it brings together performers of a diversity of exceptional talent from within our local area, and Sheran has a knack for bringing out the best of what we have to offer.”