TIKI CULTURE

It’s time for The Hukilau 2011!

Me, our friend Molly and my wife Colleen at the Mai Kai during The Hukilau 2010. I think that was Mai Tai number six.

That’s right kids, the big event is happening THIS WEEK…and it’s the 10th anniversary of The Hukilau, too!

PROOF that SoCal doesn’t have the monopoly on the koolest of koolness. The Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is the east coast answer to the Tiki revival!

This year promises to be a truly swingin’ event, with more music, art, drinks and fun than ever. Wahini Colleeni and I have booked a room at the Bahia Mar, where much of the action is taking place, so we can have ALL the fun! So if any of you reading this are making it down to Fort Lauderdale this weekend, look for us!

Some of the highlights of this year’s Hukilau include:

• A “Rumposium” by cocktail-slinger extraordinaire Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, held at the world famous Mai-Kai
• The Tiki Treasure Bazaar featuring 40 of the koolest Tiki and Vintage sellers around
• TONS of entertainment including performances by The Intoxicators!, The Tikiyaki Orchestra, Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid, Grinder Nova, The Exotics, The Fishermen, DJ’s Lounge Laura Taylor & Drew Farmer, DJ’s Jack Fetterman and Gina of the Jungle and more all emceed by our old pal King Kukulele.
• Appearances/symposiums by Ian Burrell, Martin Cate, Wayne Curtis, Stephen Remsberg, Kevin Kidney & Jody Daily, Dick Dale, Vintage Roadside’s “Beautiful Girls That Live Like Fish!”, Paul Roe’s “Hawaii - Sailors, Sex and the Birth of Old School Tattoos”, Harold Golen Gallery of Miami and more
• The Hukilau Master Mixologist Challenge
• PARTIES PARTIES PARTIES
• And maybe a few surprises…

Stolen Idols at The Hukilau 2010

The Mai-Kai dinner show and some of the symposiums are already sold out, but there’s still plenty of elbow room at the parties. For a complete line up of entertainment and the schedule, visit The Hukilau website.

Aloha kids, see you in Fort Lauderdale!

-Tiki Chris reporting from the beach in front of the Yankee Clipper, Fort Lauderdale

Volunteer at The Hukilau 2011 for free tickets!

The wonderful kids running The Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale, Florida are looking for volunteers to help on-site during the event. A few hours of volunteer work will get you a special 3-Day pass to The Hukilau! This can save you a lot of lettuce, lettuce you can use for more Mai Tais and Crab Rangoon.

The Hukilau 2011 is celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, so the festivities promise to be swankier than ever. It will be held mainly at the Bahia Mar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, with additional events at Bahia Cabana, The Yankee Clipper, The Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, The Mai Kai and more. Dates are June 9th through 12th.

Your truly, Tiki Chris will be there for the duration. I’ll be helping out this year as Vendor Coordinator, so if you’re planning on setting up a table at the event, we’ll become good friends in a short time!

See you in June!

(Note: Not all events are included in the special 3-day volunteer pass, but you get A LOT. For more information, visit the Hukilau website at http://www.thehukilau.com/2011/contact/)

ANNOUNCING: International Exotic Cocktail Day, Oct. 1st

Oy yez, Oy yez, let it be heard, this is the OFFICIAL WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT of International Exotic Cocktail Day, October 1st, 2010.

Ah, it feels good to establish a new holiday, and one that’s long overdue. Sure, there are other days like it…but not the actual, official, one-of-a-kind International Exotic Cocktail Day.

Pass the word! Tell your friends! Tell your co-workers! Tell your bartender!

What is International Exotic Cocktail Day? IECD, from now on to be held on Friday of October each year is a day to celebrate the pleasure of enjoying an Exotic Cocktail at your favorite Tiki Bar, on the lanai, by the pool or on the front lawn. It’s a day to imbibe in your favorite mixes with friends and family. It’s a day to remember the people who started it all and the people who keep the traditions alive today!

How to Celebrate International Exotic Cocktail Day: Share recipes with your friends, gather in crowds and drink exiting concoctions around your Tiki bar, or meet up at the Mai Kai (or your favorite Tiki Lounge). Whatever floats your boat, kids! Be sure to garnish everything you drink that day with a cocktail umbrella, pineapple slice and a cherry, even at work. Drink virgin frozen drinks at work all day and add the booze later on. Have an “over the air” cocktail party where you and your online friends around the world make the same drinks at the same time and tweet or FB your results, and toast each other across the globe. Try to make exotic cocktails you’ve never had before, or go with your old favorites. Have buttons and stickers made up that say “International Exotic Cocktail Day”. Go ahead, after all, it’s International Exotic Cocktail Day, so have a ball!

How International Exotic Cocktail Day got started: I was sipping a Blue Hawaiian one evening while looking for ideas for upcoming Tiki Lounge Talk posts when I decided to google “Exotic Cocktail Day”. Nothing came up as an actual day of remembrance and revelry, so like a good Tiki kid I found it my duty to execute this all-important holiday.

How to share this great news: If you’re reading this than no doubt you’re on board with this great holiday. Spread the word, kids! Twitter your pals, post it on Facebook & MySpace, Digg it, blog it, send out a mass email, whatever you can do to get your F&F in on it. Remember, it’s all about living the kool and breezy Tiki lifestyle, so get hip, kids!

Official Facebook Event Page: HERE

The Retro Tiki Lounge on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RetroTikiLounge

Here’s some great drink recipe posts from Tiki Lounge Talk: http://tikiloungetalk.com/category/drink-recipies/

Cheers!

Tiki Oasis in Sunny Cali Starts Thursday!

Tikiphiles from all over the galaxy will be hitting the landing pads in San Diego this weekend for Tiki Oasis, “the largest and longest running Tiki Event on planet earth.” If you’re going, you’ve already laid down the lettuce for your tix and are probably either checking into the hotel or getting ready to jump on the plane. If you’re not going, you can live digitally vicariously through the tweets, posts and pix of the lucky ducks that will be there! (Just check out Tiki Central for Tiki Oasis Overload).

According to the official website, Tiki Oasis is “a family produced event by Otto and Baby Doe von Stroheim of Tiki News Magazine…the Tiki Oasis is the Tiki community’s annual reunion! Guests have the opportunity to honor historic sites and celebrate all aspects of Tiki Style. We are proud to celebrate our 10th Anniversary Tiki Oasis event!

Crown Plaza Hotel, site of Tiki Oasissis

This kat will not be traveling the 3000 miles this year…I dumped all my dough on The Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale But I’ll be keeping an eye on the posts of some of my pals who will be there, including Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid (who will be performing), the kool kats at Fez-O-Rama and the kids at Vintage Roadside. And believe me, I will be with you in spirit (that spirit being dark rum!)

Wishing everyone at Tiki-O a great, swingin’ time! Have a Mai Tai for me…and feel free to post comments or photos here or at The Retro Tiki Lounge on Facebook!

Aloha and Mahalos, Tiki Chris reporting from the travel desk at Tiki Lounge Talk.

Ohana In Full Swing, Tiki Kon 2010 Coming Up Fast!

Seriously, who wishes they were sipping a Mai Tai right now? I do!

While the North-East is celebrating Ohana Luau at the Lake this weekend, clear across the other side of the country Portland, Oregon is setting up the Tiki torches for this year’s Tiki Kon 2010: Atomic Tiki!

The weekend starts off Friday night with the bands Lushy, The Apolo Four plus DJ Drew Groove swanking it up at The Tonic Lounge. On Saturday it’s Thatch Tiki Bar for Exotic Cocktails, then everyone swings over to Tony Starlight’s Supperclub and Lounge where, according to the Tiki Kon site, you can “Enjoy the out of this world exotica music of Sneaky Tiki and the Lava Lounge Orchestra and an evening of entertainment with the commander of our tiki space voyage, Tony Starlight!” I’m hip.

Sunday kicks off with brunch at The Alibi, Portland’s oldest Tiki Bar and a tour of the best home Tiki Bars in the area. Mix in custom exotic cocktails specially made for the event, exotic art and ticket prices so reasonable you’ll think you’re back in the ’50s and you’ve got the makings of a very swankadelic scene.

Check out Tiki Kon’s website for the lowdown.

Wishing all our Tiki Friends a swingin’ weekend at Ohana! We’re with you in spirit…that spirit being rum, of course.

-Tiki Chris sitting at the Pirate Island Tiki Bar, sulking he’s not at Ohana but happy the palm trees here are real.