Full day of festivities planned around the Heartland Tattoo

Flint Scottish Pipe Band
Flint, Michigan

Tartan Day Parade/Village of Hoffman Estates 50th Anniversary Parade

The day kicks off with a celebration of both Tartan Day, a national holiday recognizing Scotland and it's influence on the foundation and growth of the United States, and of the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Village of Hoffman Estates.

The Village will spring out of the long, cold winter by featuring the Midwest's only Tartan Day Parade. "Tartan" is a woolen cloth distinctive of Scotland, woven in stripes of various colors at right angles to form a rectangular pattern.

This inaugural procession kicks off at 10 a.m., winds down Hassell Road and ends at the Village Hall at noon. Come out and witness pipe bands, marching bands, VIP's and other groups march through the heart of the Village.

Festival of Nations
Hoffman Estates Village Hall

Celebration of Nations

After the parade, join us for a "Celebration of Nations" festival from noon to 2 p.m. This free event includes a variety of diverse cultures that comprise our Village and showcases their unique heritages. This event promises to deliver an one-of-a-kind experience. The festivities also include a collection of vintage British automobiiles and a showcase of some of the newest cars from five Hoffman Estates Area Auto Dealerships.

Highland Games
Heavy Athletics Demonstration

Heartland International Tattoo Pre-show Celebration

Kick off your visit to the Heartland International Tattoo by picking up some great Scottish and Irish gifts from one of the fine vendors in the Marketplace at the Tattoo, inside the Sears Centre Arena. The doors open at 5 PM for shopping, checking out the Highland Games Heavy Athletic Event demonstration (yes, they'll be tossing logs and bales of hay), sipping Guinness, or learning about bagpiping, highland dancing and all things Scotland. If you don't get a chance to see the British Cars at the Village Hall, they'll also be available right outside the main entrance to the Sears Centre Arena. It's all fun and its included in the price of your Heartland International Tattoo ticket.

United States Air Force Academy
Flight of Sound

Heartland International Tattoo

If the sound of bagpipes, drums and bugles gets your heart racing and your toes tapping, run, don't walk to the Sears Centre Arena right away. The largest Military Tattoo and peageantry event of its kind in the Midwestern United States, the Heartland International Tattoo features a massed pipe band of more than 60, the heart pounding rhythms of the "Phat Man Clan" Percussion Ensemble or the wall of sound from the United States Air Force Flight of Sound and the Classic Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. Brass bands, Highland and Irish Dancers, and plenty of other surprises await at the 2009 Heartland International Tattoo. For more information or to purchase your tickets go to searscentre.com.