War of 1812 Introduces John Terence, Chief Warrant Officer (Ret'd) MMM, CD Producer

Photo by Gary McWilliams, Ontario Visited

"The Battle" at the Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival
Interview with Mr. John Terence, Producer, Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival

WAR OF 1812 & the Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival

"Getting into the Act" ...

I wondered how Mr. Terence and his team went about gathering such amazing talent to perform at the Canadian International Military Tattoo & Festival and what their criteria might be. Chief Warrant Officer (Ret'd) John Terence tells me he “has been in this game a long time”. As reported above, John has travelled the world extensively to many places. He gets contact information from Acts world wide. John attends the “The International Association of Tattoo Organizers – IATO” A note about this organization … IATO “is a community of military tattoos of highest level, aiming to sustain and help its’ members. To enter this association, the festival should be a non – commercial event of high cultural level and importance existing for not less than 3 years. Among the members of the IATO there are the most famous and spectacular festivals, such as: the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Berlin Military Music Festival, the Netherlands Military Tattoo, the Norwegian Military Tattoo (NMT), the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, the Swedish Military Tattoo and so on.”

I asked John if applying to this Festival was similar to an art show where you would need to be “juried” to be accepted. Although the Board of Directors has a large say in who will be able to participate in their Festival, John has the last word. I thought that not many would be given the opportunity to take part as the space is limited and the competition strong. John tells me that he once had a rock Band apply. He was kind to advice them that this Festival and performance was not quite what they were looking for and encouraged them to continue on their quest. John states (as I will explain later in this interview), “Always end on a Positive Note”! My next question relates to one of my favourite questions ... "What is the importance of "living history", "history" and the "War of 1812".

(To Be Continued)