NIU’s Convocation Center is hosting its first Tattoo next month, but a Tattoo might not be what you think.

A Tattoo is an old Dutch ceremony — in old days, a drum core would parade around town, playing a rhythmic beat as a signal to the soldiers at the pubs it was time to return to base.

“It’s not a Ribfest or a Cornfest,” said Michael Embrey, executive director of the Heartland International Tattoo. “Anybody can do one of those.”

The show has a deep cultural foundation, which is something people enjoy watching, Embrey said. There will be more than 350 musicians along with drum and bugle cores, military bands and bag pipes.

“It’s become a new art form,” Embrey said. “The vision of creating an indoor stadium show has been around for 25 years.”

According to Embrey, this festival is the only one of its kind in the Midwest. There are two other festivals, one in Nova Scotia that runs for seven days in July and another in Norfolk, Virginia that runs for 10 days and has more than 650 performing groups in attendance.

“I want to create a tourist event in DeKalb that’s unique and different,” Embrey said. “Events are what bring people here.”

The event also will pay tribute to the armed forces and musicians who have died in war.

“The second half of the show is a tribute to USS Arizona,” said technical director George Astling. “The ship was sunk at Pearl Harbor and the musicians on board were all quartered at the bottom of the ship and died.”

There also will be a combined performance of all the acts for a grand finale, Astling said.

Tickets will cost $35 and the event runs March 25 and 26.

For more information, visit heartlandtattoo.org.