If you left the banquet dinner hungry, it was your own fault. The Caribbean food was incredible and there was more than enough for everyone. Now it was time for some Tiki drinks!
If someone is going to teach you about the wide world of rum, that person should be Martin Cate. I believe Martin’s bar, Smuggler’s Cove, touts having the largest collection of rum. Martin came up to Tiki Kon to talk about rum…
Day One of Tiki Kon was jammed pack with Tiki drinks, live bands, and even more Tiki drinks. As much as I would have liked to have slept in Saturday morning, I knew I couldn’t. The Island Marketplace was going on and the good Tiki stuff sells quickly. They say the early bird gets the worm, so I got up, got dressed, choose my aloha shirt for the day, got some Starbucks (hey, I’m from Seattle!), and headed to the Island Marketplace…
The third and final act of the night of day one of Tiki Kon 2017 was The ‘Verb. Seattle representing again! The ‘Verb busted out some awesome surf rock that had everyone dancing, including me! The go-go dancers came back on stage to show the crowd how it’s done!
This incredible B-52’s tribute band features Tiki Kon’s own Justin DuPre! They rocked the house and played all the hits including Love Shack, Planet Claire and last but not least Rock Lobster! To quote Fred Schneider…. Let’s Rock!
Kicking off the live music for Day One of Tiki Kon 2017 was Seattle’s own the Delstroyers! They rocked out with full-throttle surf rock with go-go dancers to boot! The crowd loved it!
The Tiki Ohana is scattered throughout the country and sadly, you can’t be everywhere at once to hang out with all these great people. What can you do? You bring everyone together with a Tiki marketplace, live music, Tiki drinks, and throw in big name Tiki celebrities talking about Tiki. You might call it a reason to book a flight to Portland, Oregon. I’ll call it Tiki Kon!
“Fashion isn’t an island; it’s a response” –Amanda Hallay
No truer words spoken.
I’m always keeping an eye open for anything Tiki related, TV news spotlights, magazine articles, or even random videos on YouTube. I check it all out! I stumbled upon this video. It’s called Fashion and The Tiki Craze.
The video itself was just still pictures, but what was being said what spot-on Tiki history! This video wasn’t just talking about why people wore aloha shirts or sarongs, it was explaining how the events of the era created the Tiki craze. I would say this is required viewing for anyone interested in learning about the history of Tiki.
I was so impressed with the Tiki video that I went ahead and checked out another video. I clicked on a video talking about ’50s fashion and it was so engaging that I went ahead to the ’60s fashion video, then the ’70s. These videos are over an hour long and I watched them all in one evening. I couldn’t stop. I was learning history through fashion! The woman behind the Ultimate Fashion History Channel is Amanda Hallay and I knew she needed to be a Tiki VIP. Here is her story…
It’s the late ’50s and you’re a restaurant owner. The Tiki craze is in full swing and you want to open your own Polynesian paradise. Where do you go to buy the Tiki décor that will fill up your establishment? You go to Oceanic Arts!
Most people who are familiar with the Alibi tend to have a love/hate relationship with this bar, myself included! Okay, “hate” may be too strong of a word. The word actually would be “disappointment.”