Hot Lava (a.k.a "How Bowers") plays baritone ukulele and sings with America's best tiki music band, The Crazed Mugs. He lives in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife and son. Contact
You are currently browsing the Tiki Talk weblog archives for December, 2005.
From November 20 through December 18, 2005, the Patronaat in Netherlands is hosting a tiki art exhibition. Featured artists are Tiki tOny, Angelique Houtkamp, Claudia Hek, Michiel Hoving and Mappe.
The opening event is happening on Sunday, November 20, from 5-11 p.m, with rockabilly performances from Miss Mary Ann & the Ragtime Wranglers, Mischief and Milwaukee Wildmen.
According to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bill Zwecker, the Chicago location of venerable Polynesian restauranteur Trader Vic’s will close after the ball drops this New Year’s Eve.
END OF AN ERA: For those who haven’t dined at Trader Vic’s in the Palmer House Hilton recently — you better hurry. The legendary Polynesian-themed eatery is serving its last Singapore Sling and closing its doors forever New Year’s Eve. In its heyday, the restaurant was a favorite Loop watering hole frequented by honeymooning newlyweds and Hollywood stars alike. The Chicago outpost of the worldwide chain of South Seas Island eateries — famed for inventing the mai-tai cocktail — opened in 1957.
Rumors of the closure of the restaurant began flying this summer after tiki-unfriendly management took over the location. No word yet as to what generic steakhouse will take its place.
UPDATE: Word is that the Palmer House location is closing, but the decor will be packed and stored until another Chicago location can be secured. They hope to reopen in 2007.
Link to article | Link to Trader Vic’s Chicago website | Discuss at Tiki Central |Thanks Otto!
The Poi Company made a run at selling poi over the internet for 5 years before shutting its doors in 2003.
The company’s founder, Craig Walsh, still maintains a website about the mashed taro product, with facts, recipes, and information on where it’s still available for sale.
Tiki jewelry artist Kristi Yacich, who goes by the name “Purple Jade,” lost everything she and her husband owned when Hurricane Katrina flooded their home in New Orleans. They’ve been living out of a hotel room ever since. Mug maker Tiki Farm has come up with a brilliant way to help Kristi out, commissioning her to design a limited edition mug that Tiki Farm will sell. 100% of the profits will go directly to her to help with expenses and get her back on her feet.
The mug is two-sided, in the vein of the “comedy tragedy” masks and happy/sad tiki mugs of yore. The sad side, “Remember,” to commemorate Katrina’s devastation and “Rebuild,” the happy side, as a sign of optimism that the city will one day return to its former glory. Naturally, it’s colored purple, green, and gold in a nod to Marti Gras.
The mugs are available in two styles: purple on the outside and green on the inside, or green on the outside and purple on the inside. A set of both styles is also available.
Each mug is priced at $25 ($50 for the set) and will be available to order for two days only, starting on November 30th. This is great way to directly assist one of the storm victims and spread the feeling of ohana.
Looking for something a little flashier than a match to start your backyard tiki torches or fire dance sticks?
Zippo, the famous lighter company, made a nice tiki-themed lighter as part of their 2004 collection. It’s still available from retailers today.
The prices varies wildly by store. The best price I could find was $23.75 at Amazon.com.
The internet community/message board devoted to all things tiki, Tiki Central, is sponsoring a tiki mug design contest. The winner will have their design turned into a real, live tiki mug by mugmaker Munktiki.
Entries can be done in any visual media, from pencil sketches to computer art, so this is a great opportunity for creative folks to stretch their talent.
I love the Internet, but I used to love it more. Back in the early days, before everything went utterly and completely corporate, before the advent of the single-post blog, people used to take the time to put whatever they felt like online with gusto.
I was really pleased to discover So Cal resident Wes Clark’s groovy website, Avocado Memories, where he’s posted a great number photos from his childhood. One of his pages details a tiki hut that his Hawaii-loving dad built for him by the backyard pool—it’s bound to make more than a couple of us modern-day tiki fanatics a little gushy inside and perhaps spawn a rash of hut building for our kids.
