Before she got the party started Saturday night, pop star Pink had her eye on Niagara Falls.
“It’s my second time here,” said one of the top-selling female singers of the past decade. “I went on the Maid of the Mist last time. I was considering the barrel this time.”
With hits like So What and Trouble, the 30-year-old Pink — real name, Alecia Moore — was in town for the grand opening of husband Carey Hart’s first Canadian location of his Hart & Huntington Tattoo Co. chain. The couple were greeted by hundreds of fans gathered at a VIP reception at Margaritaville.
Best known as a motocross star and cast member of The Surreal Life, Hart opened his first tattoo shop with former business partner John Huntington in 2004 at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. The shop was the subject of the A&E reality show Inked.
He has been married to Pink since 2006.
The red carpet event was attended by tattoo artists, Inked stars and the pop band Stereos, but it was Pink most people were waiting for. Though she wasn’t scheduled to perform or sign autographs, several fans crammed Margaritaville — and even got drenched by the rain outside — just for a glimpse.
After some brief interviews with the media, including The Niagara Falls Review, ET Canada and MuchMusic, she was quickly whisked upstairs for the VIP party, where a huge section was roped off from the public.
Several people thought their VIP ticket, which cost $125 each, would get them a chance to meet the singer, but security (including some Niagara Regional Police officers) ensured no one got near her.
“I’m not really a Pink fan … but with the price of the ticket, we thought we’d have access other people wouldn’t,” said local publicist Chris Dabrowski, who wanted to pitch the singer an idea involving a charitable sponsorship. He ended up writing the proposal on a piece of paper for staff to hand to her.
Welland’s Mike Alfieri, co-owner of the Fallsview Boulevard shop, was thrilled to have Pink in the house, but admits the extra security added unwanted stress to the event. He apologized to several fans who expected to meet her.
“She came here to support her husband,” he said. “It’s good, but look at all the people … I had to break off that VIP area.
“Other than that, we had a killer day today. This was probably one of their best grand openings.”
Even one of Alfieri’s relatives was kept behind the rope, at least 30 feet away from Hart and Pink.
“I just want to get a picture of them both,” she said.
The grand opening was a day-long event, with a portion of Fallsview Boulevard closed to accommodate skateboard and motocross ramps. After the ribbon- cutting at noon, Hart signed autographs for hundreds of fans inside the posh tattoo shop.
“Here we are about eight months after this whole thing started,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”
Pink, injured during a concert in Germany last month when she slammed into a steel barricade, showed no ill effects during her Falls trip.
“I’m good … though (Carey) doesn’t give me much sympathy,” she said with a laugh.
“She takes it like a champ,” added Hart.
