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Penticton tattoo shop hosts successful heart fundraiser, even after being vandalized twice

Black Petal Tattoo raised $3,500 for Ooknakane Friendship Centre on Valentine’s Day

It was all heart on Valentine’s Day at Black Petal Tattoo in Penticton, where 34 tattoos were created and $3,500 raised for the Ooknakane Friendship Centre.

The fundraiser went ahead with gusto, even after the business was targeted for the second time, just two days previous, with rocks thrown at the shop windows.

“The event went very well,” said Brooke Cederholm, Black Petal shop manager. “All of the artists donated their time. We’re usually closed on Mondays so they did this on one of their days off. We were also thankful to have two volunteers to help run the front counter.”

Black Petal’s three artists completed 34 tattoos and the artists all broke their own personal records for the most number of tattoos in a day, she added.

The tattoo shop on Lakeshore Drive has been victim of what appears to be targeted vandalism.

On Jan. 19, two men are seen on surveillance video with a bag of rocks, which they hurled at the front windows.

WATCH: Men throw rocks through Black Petal window fronts

On Feb. 12, at 2:12 a.m., the shop was hit again. A slender man, resembling one of the first vandals, threw rocks at the windows, smashing them.

Cederholm has no idea why the business is being targeted.

“This does not line up with the wonderful community we’ve been a part of so far, nor does it reflect who we are as a business,” she said.

“It’s very concerning to us why this deliberate and repetitive abuse is happening. All we want to do is provide some rad tattoos and go home to our families,” she said.

Just before Valentine’s Day Black Petal posted on social media that the business would host a flash tattoo day of hearts, with 100 per cent of proceeds going to the friendship centre. The funds will support Indigenous mental health resources.

Clients waited in line on the street. The event was such a success that the team at Black Petal plans on a repeat.

“We’re so positively overwhelmed with the amount of support and feedback. We guarantee we will be doing these events again,” said Cederholm.

The artists want to focus support on small, local, non-profit organizations that don’t always get the exposure they deserve.

As for the vandalism, Cederholm asks if anyone has any information, no matter how small, to contact police.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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