Tiki Cherry Barrette, from My Baby Jo

My super-swell hair stylist, Kelli O’Neill, hipped me to these sweet tiki cherry barrettes from My Baby Jo. My Baby Jo sells clothing and accessories for the Rockabilly crowd — the redundant cherries / swallows / horseshoes / flames / tikis / dice approach to typical Rockabilly stuff is a little too Garanimals-y for me, but darned if the scene isn’t full of a ton of cute stuff regardless. These barrettes have cherries with handpainted tiki faces, so no two are alike — I like the simple style on the black & white ones pictured here, but some of the others look a bit too cartoony for my tastes. Each barrette is $15. My Baby Jo has a site for online shopping, or you can visit their retail store in West L.A.

• Floral Barrettes [My Baby Jo]

Three books from the beachcombing Hedley family

The family of Eli Hedley have three books newly available:

View from the Top of the Mast, by Bungy Hedley
If you’ve read her tales here or on Tiki Central, then you know she’s got some fantastic stories of an adventure-filled life to share. This book only covers her life growing up in the wacky Hedley clan, up until her early 20s, but it covers journeys to Hawaii, Tahiti and points beyond, not to mention her experiences on the California coast, growing up in one of Hollywood’s favorite hideouts.

How Daddy Became a Beachcomber, by Marilyn Hedley, illustrated by Flo Ann Hedley
This book was published in 1947, but has been out of print for many years, and has become very rare and sought-after. The family is offering reprints of this book, told by Hedley daughter Marily (Bungy’s sister).

Eli Hedley Beachcomber, 1943 Catalog (Reprint)
This is a reprint of Eli Hedley’s catalog of wares, with charming ink illustrations of the unusual items he offered. During WWII, Eli’s wares were used in decorating many bars, restaurants, hotels and homes, and he was especially favored in Hollywood. He was responsible for the decor is some of the most famous tiki bars, and the back pages of the catalog include a thick addendum of black & white photos of his tikis, his shop, the family homestead, and a 1943 article from Life Magazine.

The books are available now, and can be ordered from Amazon, from the book publisher, or from Bungy herself, if you’d like an autographed copy. Full details are on this thread at Tiki Central.

• Three books from the beachcombing Hedley Family — Available Now! [Tiki Central]
• Storytime with Aunt Bungy [Humu Kon Tiki]
• Visit to the Hedley Homestead [Humu Kon Tiki]

Picture of a tiki conga drum, from
the collection of Sabu the Coconut Boy

Sabu the Coconut Boy has unearthed yet more gems — it’s his schtick, it’s what he does. This time, it’s an article in a 1966 ARGOSY magazine, about the then-growing popularity of “singles” apartment complexes, where the young and unattached would in theory take advantage of their close proximity and throw amazing parties and hook up randomly and sow every last one of their wild oats in a fogey-less nirvana. I honestly don’t know what it was really like at these places; I’ve always figured that in reality they were more full of the sad, boring & lonely types than the fun & fancy-free types — after all, they didn’t exactly take off as a concept, y’know?

Sabu’s pictures depict a swingin’ scene in a Southern California singles apartment complex — the South Bay Club apartments in Torrance, to be exact. The happy, flirtily dressed young things, cavorting with a veritable beatnik-symphony of instruments, are fascinating enough, but the star of the show is a great big conga drum, carved into a very nice tiki. The pictures posted by Sabu paint a very fun picture — Vintage Girl said exactly the same thought that ran through my head at seeing the picture below — it looks exactly like a scene from a Tiki Central party in Room 135 at the Caliente Tropics during Tiki Oasis. So maybe the concept isn’t so far-fetched, after all.

Swingin’ party in 1966, from the collection of Sabu the Coconut Boy

• Proof that Tiki was part of the Swinging Singles Culture in 1966 [Tiki Central]

Sidewinder’s Fang, photo by Craig Lee
for San Francisco Chronicle

On Sunday, September 24 from 3-7 p.m., Forbidden Island will be holding a sale of tiki flotsam & jetsam in their parking lot, and they’re also opening their lot to other vendors who would like to sell their wares to a collection of ideally tiki-crazed and booze-hazed patrons. The impetus for the sale is an overflow of great tiki items collected during the planning and build-out of Forbidden Island that didn’t find a final home there — including lots of bamboo. Forbidden Island co-owner Martin Cate is also adding in lots of items from his overflow of stuff at his home bar (the Novato Grotto, a.k.a. the Forbidden Island Test Lab). Vendors there will be selling tiki items, Hawaiiana, vintage clothing, vinyl, and other sundry items. Martin promises “Drink Specials!” and “Surprises!” but also, “Rodeo Clowns!,” which may be more appropriately classified as a threat. Sunday the 24th is the day before my birthday, and seein’ as how Forbidden Island will be closed on Monday, I’m unlikely to say no to any birthday drinks that come my way. Forbidden Island is located at 1304 Lincoln Ave (at Sherman) on the lovely isle of Alameda.

Speaking of Forbidden Island, they’ve had two fantastic write-ups lately. The first is actually a write-up of our Tiki Crawl that happened last month, on the Kaiser Penguin blog. It’s a great article, and Forbidden Island appropriately gets heavy mention, including the recipe of their very-tasty China Clipper (one of the great drinks to come out of Martin’s lab). The other is an article in the San Francisco Chronicle looking at summer drinks around the Bay Area; again, Forbidden Island gets the meat of the article, and several more recipes are included there. Congrats to Forbidden Island!

Oh! Also! The Jab, DJ extraordinaire, and dapperest chap that ever dapped, has a special night at Forbidden Island, the third Tuesday of every month. And, every Wednesday, there’s a whole mess o’ tikiphiles there, including Hanford & me.

• Forbidden Island, Alameda
• Forbidden Island: Spectacular Sunday Super Sale Sept. 24th! [Tiki Central]
• Tiki Crawl VI [Kaiser Penguin]
• 6th Annual Tiki Central Tiki Crawl: Day Three [Humu Kon Tiki]
• Good libations: Cool and fruity cocktails are making a splash on summer drink menus around the Bay Area [San Francisco Chronicle]
• DJ Jab at Forbidden Island - this Tuesday the 15th & every 3rd Tuesday! [Tiki Central]
• Forbidden Island, Alameda [Critiki]

Schmama Lama & me at Hooptylau 2004

It’s time once again for one of my very favorite tiki events, Hooptylau in California’s Central Valley. This event celebrates both the Central Valley’s rich tiki history, and its inherent trashiness. Attendees are invited to bust out their most questionable aloha wear, with the most outlandish winning prizes (this year’s challenge is to combine western wear with aloha wear). At last year’s event, we returned to our two rented vans after our visit to Minnie’s to find that we’d interrupted someone in the middle of siphoning gas out of them. Hoopty! This year, my mom, the Schmama Lama, will be joining us — she went to Hooptylau in 2004, and she’s been singing the Hooptylau theme song ever since.

It’s taking place Saturday and Sunday, September 16 & 17. Here’s this year’s schedule:

Martiki at Hooptylau 2004

1. On Lock Sam’s in Sacramento — not Polynesian, but an intruiguing old-school Chinese joint in downtown Stockton with “Mafioso curtain booths” — and they serve tropical drinks.
2. Pollardville Chicken Kitchen — again, not Polynesian, but this building was once the great Islander in Stockton. In the mid-’80s, it was moved and turned into a fried chicken joint. It’s being demolished in the coming year, and we’ll visit it to pay our respects and load up on alcohol-absorbing greasy chicken.
3. The Dark Marq Room — this is the home bar of Hooptylau hosts, the drunken hat and tikicleen. Enjoy their massive collection, heavy with Islander memorabilia, and some excellent mixology.
4. Tropics Motel & Tiki Lounge — the Tropics was once one of the Ken Kimes chain (which included what is now the Caliente Tropics in Palm Springs), and has some massive Ed Crissman rootball tikis. The motel has weekly rates, and there is usually some laundry out to dry on the chain link fence that separates it from its former bar, the Tiki Lounge. The Tiki Lounge is still operational, but smartly wants nothing to do with its former partner — today, it’s a semi-restored gay bar, with central fireplace and bamboo booths.
5. Minnie’s — the queen bee of Central Valley tiki, Minnie’s would be a gem in any city. The Chinese food is surprisingly good, and the restaurant is full of not just tikis, but many oil and black velvet paintings by Burke Tyree. The drinks don’t match the quality of the food, but one drink — the Jerk — is a must-have for the uninitiated. It’s borderline hazing, but you’ve just gotta suck it up.

The next day, the gang is invited to a day of restoration at Jungle Trader’s Outpost, a lush backyard paradise (Jungle Trader is a landscaper) complete with a brand-new swimming pool.

As I hinted at above, the theme this year is Western-meets-Tiki, so get to brainstorming about how to work some dusty boots into your most garish aloha outfit. For full details, including how to get tickets, and where to stay, check out the thread on Tiki Central.

• hooptylau 2006 — the un-tiki tiki event – [Tiki Central]
• Hooptylau — Central California’s Tiki Crawl [Humu Kon Tiki]
• The Islander, Stockton [Critiki]
• The Dark Marq Room, Ripon [Critiki]
• Tropics Motel, Modesto [Critiki]
• Tiki Cocktail Lounge, Modesto [Critiki]
• Minnie’s Restaurant, Modesto [Critiki]

Still from TripSmarter.com video of Trader Vic’s in Atlanta

Martiki dug up this 4-1/2 minute video on TripSmarter.com of my favorite of all the stateside Trader Vic’s, the one in Atlanta. The Atlanta Trader Vic’s opened in 30 years ago, in 1976, and unlike many older Polynesian restaurants, it thankfully hasn’t been remodeled, and remains a dark, moody and mysterious place — it’s a great example of an ideal Tiki restaurant. The video has a couple of annoying aspects — the camera moves around too much and too quickly, where I would have rather seen nice, long panning shots of the restaurant. There is a brief appearance by Tiki Road Trip author James Teitelbaum, mis-identified as “John.” The host of the clip apparently went through the same “make it perky, but keep it bland!” traning they seem to put every personality from HGTV & Food Network through. All that aside, it does give a decent look at one of my favorite restaurants. If you want to see more of the Atlanta Trader Vic’s, I have a bunch of photos on Critiki from my trip there in 2004, when (thanks to pablus & Tiki Kiliki) I had the opportunity to photograph the restaurant when it was empty.

UPDATE: James “John” Teitelbaum has chimed in on the Tiki Central thread, turns out he has no memory whatsoever of being interviewed for this video. Just goes to show, give ol’ Teitelbaum a few Mai Tais, and he’s game for just about anything. Next time I see him, I’m totally going to bring a marionnette, some lederhosen and a viking helmet. The kind with blond braided pigtails attached.

• Trader Vic’s Video [TripSmarter.com]
• Atlanta Trader Vic’s and “Big Johnny” Teitelbaum [Tiki Central]
• Trader Vic’s, Atlanta [Critiki]

Adventureland at Walt Disney World

Ah, another August goes shooting by. Earlier in the month, I was in Internet-free Downieville, a wee little almost-ghost-town a few hours from pretty much anything, in the Sierras. It’s very pretty, but it ain’t tiki, so that’s all I’ve got to say about it here.

After that, we headed out to Walt Disney World for a whole week. My two previous trips to WDW have been woefully short, and the last one was curtailed by an unfortunate double-whammy of a terrible cold and an asshole who thought it would be funny to s#!t all over Tiki Central, requiring us to spend the day in the hotel room doing emergency cleanup duty. But this was a much happier trip — a whole, solid week, happily unencumbered by illness or delinquents. Even with that much time, we felt we had about a week more in us — there was still so much to see and to do. It was hard to leave.

The reason for our trip — not that it really would take a reason to bring us to a Disney park — was to visit with some old friends from Hanford’s LucasArts days, who are now working on an R & D Imagineering project at Epcot. The project was being tested with the public, and we came out to be guinea pigs, and to spend some quality time with them. The project is called Team Possible (based on the Kim Possible animated series on the Disney Channel), and it’s an interactive all-over-the-park game that uses a handheld “Kimmunicator” (actually, a high-end cellphone) to send you on a scavenger hunt of sorts. I don’t want to give away any more than that, but I will say that it was really fun, even though we’re not acquainted with Kim Possible. It was very well-integrated into World Showcase, so that anyone not playing the game would never know there was anything new there. It was a great way to see the park, and we saw all sorts of things we otherwise would have missed. Our experience was great, and hopefully they’ll use the concepts and technology they had in this test for a more permanent game of some sort. If you’d like to know more, keep an eye on Hanford Lemoore’s blog, he’ll likely be making a more detailed post about it soon.

Pre-show lanai at the Enchanted Tiki Room in Orlando

Pre-show tiki

But on to the tiki… we passed on seeing the Enchanted Tiki Room show there (the “Under New Management” version there is painful, simply painful, watch it at your own risk), but we did spend some time at the building it’s housed in. The building itself is very impressive, and full of delicate details — and, the lanai plays Exotica classics in a loop, including Martin Denny. The pre-show on the lanai is very different from the one in Anaheim, but there are a few of the Anaheim lanai tikis to be seen there. In addition, the entrance to Adventureland has a number of great tikis and shields, and there are some fantastic tall slit-drum tikis that spit water near the Enchanted Tiki Room.

‘Ohana restaurant at the Polynesian Resort

Tikis and carved poles
at the Polynesian Resort

The best Polynesian Pop to be seen at Walt Disney World is at the Polynesian Resort, near the Magic Kingdom. The Polynesian Resort has been there since WDW first opened in October 1971. It’s a large resort, with over 800 rooms in 11 different “longhouses” named after Polynesian islands. The pool area has a volcano with a built-in water slide. The main building houses ‘Ohana restaurant (which also has a bar, serving tropical drinks including a Tropical Itch, complete with backscratcher), and has some neat tikis, masks, war clubs and other carvings, and plenty of bamboo. The hotel also has a luau and Polynesian floor show, called Spirit of Aloha, in one corner of the grounds.

Bar at ‘Ohana restaurant

That’s about it for tiki at Walt Disney World… should I also mention the nearly-tiki stuff? (Shades eyes with back of hand) Wait a minute… (folds ring finger down) I love that idea.

Typhoon Lagoon

There are two more things at Walt Disney World that are not quite tiki, but tiki-friendly, to be sure: Typhoon Lagoon, and the Adventurer’s Club. Typhoon Lagoon is one of WDW’s two water parks, and it has a well-executed shipwreck theme. The vegetation is thick, and vintage surf tunes are played throughout the park, except for the fish & chips bar (where they sold “fish & chips w/fries” — no joke), which plays great sea shanties. Who doesn’t love a good sea shanty? The Adventurer’s Club is one of the nightclubs in Downtown Disney, and is themed as a 1937 private club for, well, adventurers. A crew of talented improv comedians mingle and entertain through the whole evening, putting on periodic shows. The walls are positively encrusted with dusty artifacts, including a few tikis, and even a decidedly post-1937 pupu platter in the Treasure Room.

Adventurer’s Club

I could go on and on about all the great things at Walt Disney World (Expedition Everest is beautiful! Canada is a lifetime journey for the traveller! Mocking Steven Tyler is fun!), but I won’t. Instead, take a gander at photos from my trip, and check out the updated entries on Critiki.

• Walt Disney World 2006 [Humuhumu's Life in Photos]
• The Enchanted Tiki Room, Orlando [Critiki]
• Disney’s Polynesian Resort, Orlando [Critiki]

1977 Mai Kai Calendar,
from the collection of Swanky

Swanky has posted some images from his 1977 Mai Kai calendar on his Swank Blather blog. The Mai Kai produced these calendars for many years, but stopped some time ago. The calendars typically showcase their beautiful, barely-clothed serving wahines, but occasionally depict other scenes of life at the restaurant. The image at left gives a great view of a side dining room, with its cases full of shrunken heads. Another image Swanky has posted gives a rare peek at the brightly-lit, behind-the-scenes area in the Molokai Bar where all the drinks are made. If you ask at the Mai Kai Gift Shop, they can usually scare up a few old calendars for you.

• 1977 Mai Kai Calendar [Swank Blather]
• Mai Kai, Ft. Lauderdale [Critiki]

Postcard from the Suttles’ Tiki Point, from the collection of SilverLine

For some reason, moai statues have a way of cropping up in the most unlikely and random places. One of these is the Moai that overlooks Courtyard Hollow, a small part of the Great Lake o’ the Cherokees, in Grove, Oklahoma. SilverLine posted the above postcard, which probably dates from the late ’60s, on Tiki Central, which is labeled “The Suttles’ Tiki Point, Located on Lake Road #6, Grove Oklahoma,” and tikijackelope and ZuluMagoo dug in to find what could be learned about it. Sure enough, the fellow’s still there. The moai may have been constructed in 1967 by Earl Suttle, who once owned the land it sits on. The moai may not be accessible by road, but it isn’t hard to get to by water, and ZuluMagoo has seen it in person and shared recent photos on Tiki Central.

• The Suttles’ Tiki Point, Grove, OK (other) [Tiki Central]
• The Suttles’ Tiki Point? [Tiki Central]
• The Suttles’ Tiki Point [Critiki]

by Mr. Bali Hai

Thanks to the new ability for anybody to add images to Critiki, there’s a lot of great new stuff to look at. A lot of this is a backlog of photos I’d taken recently, but about half of it is images submitted by tiki enthusiasts just like you. All told, 186 new images have been added to Critiki in the past few days, spanning across 31 different locations.

The onslaught of new images inspired Mr. Bali Hai, of Eye of the Goof, to create this clever bit of propaganda. Now you can’t resist! You must join your tiki brothers and sisters, and do your bit for the greater tiki good!

If you have photos or scans of stuff from your collection you’d like to contribute to Critiki, it’s sooper easy — just look for the link to “Add it to Critiki” on each location’s page.

• Bamboo Hut, San Francisco — 6 new images
• Bishop Museum, Honolulu — 1 new image
• Don the Beachcomber, Las Vegas — 1 new image
• Don the Beachcomber, Waikiki — 2 new images
• Eli Hedley’s Home, San Pedro — 7 new images
• Funhauser Decor, Vancouver — 5 new images
• Hawaiian Room, New York — 1 new image
• Hilton Hawaiian Village, Waikiki — 1 new image
• Jade Island, Staten Island — 16 new images
• Kahala, Barcelona — 1 new image
• Kona Club, Oakland — 3 new images
• Mai Kai, Ft. Lauderdale — 26 new images
• Martini Monkey, San Jose — 2 new images
• Otto’s Shrunken Head, New York — 4 new images
• Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden, Palo Alto — 6 new images
• Royal Hawaiian, Laguna Beach — 13 new images
• Samoan Sea Apartments, San Pedro — 4 new images
• The Alibi, Portland — 1 new image
• The Conga Lounge, Oakland — 4 new images
• Tiki Cocktail Lounge, Modesto — 1 new image
• Tikis Woodcarvings, North Myrtle Beach — 6 new images
• Tonga Hut, North Hollywood — 5 new images
• Tonga Room, San Francisco — 9 new images
• Trad’r Sam, San Francisco — 1 new image
• Trader Vic’s, Emeryville — 15 new images
• Trader Vic’s, Honolulu — 1 new image
• Trader Vic’s, Palo Alto — 2 new images
• Trader Vic’s, San Francisco — 13 new images
• Waikiki Wally’s, New York — 14 new images
• Waikikian Hotel, Waikiki — 1 new image
• Young’s Cafeteria, Glen Dale — 14 new images

UPDATE: I’ve been inspired to create on of my own:

Work to build a powerful Navy Grog

Hot Rod Hula Hop 2

The Fraternal Order of Moai and Drifters Car Club of Columbus are throwing the second Hot Rod Hula Hop. It’s a two-day affair, starting Friday, August 18 with a “Feast of the Tiki Gods” at Tropical Bistro, with former Kahiki mixologist Jim tending the cash-only bar. A buffet-style luau dinner will be served, and the full menu will be available as well. Hawaiian guitarist Francis Llacuna will be performing, and “Sam” the Kahiki bar parrot will be on hand, as well. Tickets are $12 ($11 plus a $1 handling fee), and you’re encouraged to get yours quickly, as seating will be limited.

Saturday’s main event is happening at Largo’s Tavern, with five bands, three DJs, tiki carvings all around, vendors, cocktails, food and kustom rods galore. The lineup includes The Madeira, Fisherman (a huge favorite of mine), the CryptoKats, Knuckel Drager and the Crimson Cats. A custom event mug will be for sale at the event, which goes from noon until 2 a.m.

To learn more and get tickets, check out the Hot Rod Hula Hop website.

• Hot Rod Hula Hop 2
• Pics of the finished HRHH mugs now posted on the second page! [Tiki Central]

Tiki exhibit at San Francisco Airport

San Francisco International Airport is currently showing a truly fantastic exhibit about Polynesian Pop, titled “Reflections of Paradise: Tiki Culture on the Mainland”:

Several periods of Pacific Island influence on mainland American pop-culture are documented through record albums, sheet music, restaurant menus, bar decor, and of course, Tiki mugs. From the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco that introduced many visitors to Hawaiian music and art, to the regular revival of tropical-themed bars and restaurants, this exhibition charts the ebbs and flows of a cultural influence that continues to offer fantasy and escapism to mainlanders everywhere. The show focuses on the Bay Area with an emphasis on Northern California King of Tiki Trader Vic including over thirty artifacts from the Trader Vic’s Restaurant collection.

The display is full of some beautiful pieces and images, much of them very rare. It’s a good sized display and very striking, downright gorgeous. I wish that it was a travelling exhibit — it so effectively communicates why Polynesian Pop is such an interesting and rich area of American history. Even if you’ve seen the pieces in photographs before, there’s nothing like seeing them in person.

Tomorrow at noon, there will be a free tour of the exhibit followed by a Q & A session with the exhibit’s curator, Jeff Stevens, and Otto von Stroheim. The exhibit is located in the main lobby area of the International Terminal, and is well before the security checkpoint (i.e., easily accessible to the non-ticket-holding public). Short term parking is easy and not too terribly expensive. The exhibit runs through September 2006.

• Tiki Art exhibit Q&A at SFO Sat, Aug 5 FREE [Tiki Central]
• Sfo Airport Tiki exhibition [Tiki Central]
• Polynesian Pop Exhibit at San Francisco Int’l Airport [Humuhumu's Life in Photos]

Tapa Punch Mug from
Hilton Hawaiian Village,
from the collection of Shani Thomson

A huge improvement for Critiki: it now has built-in photo uploading. Critiki has a great archive of photos of locations, and images of collectibles; now it’s easier than ever before to add your own items to the archive. Each location now has a link to upload an image for that location; there are just a few restrictions: the photo must be one you took, it has to be at least 500 pixels wide or tall, and it’s gotta be free of people. Once the images are uploaded, they are held for review.

The images are the most effective part of Critiki — looking at a photograph or a postcard can transport you to a place you otherwise wouldn’t be able to see; scans of menus, matchbooks, swizzles and photos of mugs help complete the fantasy. There are a ton of fantastic images in there already, but there’s so much more that could be — please consider contributing from your own collection of images!

This is the first image added using the new system: it’s a Tapa Punch Mug from the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, and it comes from the collection of Shani Thomson.

• Critiki

DSK Designs Mogumbu lamp

After a three-year production break, Dave Krys has brought back his Mogumbu shrunken head swag lamp for a limited run. The lamp is hand-painted cast ceramic, a bit smaller than a human head, with twine stitching an long black hair, and looks nice & creepy whether it’s lit or not. It comes with 12 feet of cord and chain, a red lightbulb, an in-line switch, and ceiling hooks for hanging. He can also customize it with a shorter chain and a canopy to cover the junction box if you’d prefer a ceiling mount. He’ll be selling them soon on eBay, but is first offering them at $150 (their full selling price is $175) to Tiki Centralites.

• mogumbu!! shrunken head hanging lamps are back!!! [Tiki Central]
• DSK Designs

Crazy Al’s Super Custom APE mug

Crazy Al has created this one-of-a-kind custom APE mug, with gorgeous hand-painted Fijian tapa cloth design fez. He says this is the first, and that there will be others, but no info about how many or when — just that they’ll all be different. They will be sold on eBay, but he hasn’t listed it yet (Crazy Al says, “it’s been a few years since i posted on ebay, so as soon as i figure out how to do it all over again, I’ll post when the auction will start”). If you’re ready for some serious eBay bidding warfare, keep an eye on the Tiki Central thread for details.

Fijian tapa designs on Crazy Al’s super custom APE mug

• First Super Dooper APE-Fez MUG!!! [Tiki Central]