Taylor Swift mania sweeps Waterloo Region as fans head to Eras tour in Toronto

The wait is finally over for thousands of Taylor Swift fans.

The superstar kicked off the Toronto leg of her Eras tour on Thursday. All six of her shows have sold out.

Businesses in Waterloo Region have also jumped on the bandwagon to support the singer and her highly-anticipated show.

Night & Ink, a tattoo shop in Kitchener, is offering a flash sheet of Swift-related designs for the singer’s fans.

“We have a few different scripts, like sayings from her songs: Lover, Fearless, 1989,” said tattoo artist Lauren Snow. “Just a bunch of different ideas from her different albums.”

Candice Rubie wanted to get a tiny tree to represent Swift’s 2020 release Folklore.

“That came out during the pandemic and it was just my favorite thing to listen to. I swear I listen to it every day,” she told CTV News.

Candice Rubie gets a Taylor Swift tattoo from Night & Ink in Kitchener on Nov. 14, 2024. (Heather Senoran/CTV News)

Rubie can’t wait to see Swift at the Rogers Centre next Thursday.

“It's all the songs you've loved, as opposed to just the newest album,” she explained. “It's like attending 10 different concerts in one night.”

The months leading up to the shows have been busy.

“Making friendship bracelets with my friends, celebrating and listening to the songs with new meaning,” said Rubie.

Emily Battler, a fan from Guelph, expects the first Toronto show will be memorable.

“I think it's going to be a pretty huge show given it's her first show in Canada,” she told CTV News.

Emily Battler and her mom, aunt and friend in Toronto for the Taylor Swift concert. (Provided)

Battler will be there with her mom, friend and aunt, who are equally excited for the concert. The group, like many, made matching bracelets for the occasion.

“We're going to have some wine, we're going to have some food, we're going to go to the concert,” Wendy Battler explained. “We're going to be part of the crowd. It’s just such a great vibe.”

The pair said they waited in the ticket queue for a long time to score some really great seats.

It’s just what you do as a lifelong fan.

“She kind of made songs that went along with every stage of life I was in,” Emily Battler said. “She's only really a couple of years older than me, so it's kind of a relatable journey.”

The Battlers have been to an Eras show before, but this time it feels special because it’s closer to home.

“We didn't have the most fabulous seats in L.A. And this time we're looking straight on, dead centre,” Wendy Battler said. “We'll get to see the whole stage and the whole performance.”

GO Transit, also expecting large crowds traveling to and from the city, have adjusted their schedules to accommodate concert-goers. Trains on the Kitchener line will be run even later than usual on the nights of Swift’s concerts.