Post #218697 by tikibars on Fri, Mar 3, 2006 2:46 PM

On 2006-03-03 11:23, pappythesailor wrote:

On 2006-03-03 10:26, WooHooWahine wrote:
How about instead of writing all about The Perfect Tiki Event; someone should plan the Perfect Tiki Event? Trust Me if You Post it TC'ers will show :) ~ WooHooo

Yeah, caerthe. You axe a lot of questions. What's your angle? Are you going to get us all together and make tiki-flavored soylent green?

As someone who is quite involved in a lot of Tiki events, I have followed this thread with great interest.

Some of the ideas from caerthe and the people who have responded to his/her posts are great. Some of them are definitely things that Tikikiliki and I have thought of for Hukilau, and I will bet that some of the same ideas are also things that have been suggested during planning meetings for Tiki Crawl, Oasis, Exotica, and all the other annual events.

A lot of the suggestions are for things that already happen regularly at events. I think there has been a fair amount of feedback here on TC about what worked and what didn't.

At least a few of the new suggestions are things that are already slated for Hukilau this year, such as seminars (Jeff Chenault, for example will be doing a panel about Exotica music, and we're going to set up a few more panels for the same afternoon).

To answer WooHoo's question: I think I can speak for all tiki event organizers, past and present, when we say that we all try to make every Tiki event "The Perfect" one, but we are working within the constraints of the law, and of cash. It costs a ton of money to make an event happen, and planners have to make vey careful decisions about what to spend money on so that they don't have to completely massacre the attendees with high ticket prices. I think that Mondo Tiki in 2003, various Hukilaus I've been to or worked on, Oasis, and even small region events like Hot Rod Hula Hop in Columbus, are all ALREADY "The Perfect" events - within the constraints of the real world recources that the organizers have to work with.

One example of a great idea that just isn't feasible was having tattoo artists at an event.

I love this idea.

The word 'tattoo' is a Polynesian word, and Polynesian tattoos are among the most intricate and beautiful in the world. I have a few myself, and plan on more. I know a few master tattoo artists who would love to set up shop at a Hukilau or Oasis. BUT - this would be illegal. There are all sorts of laws about where tattooing can happen, and an entire event can get shut down if some cop decides to bust a tattoo artist who didn't go through the considerable legal formalities and expenses to get a permit. So it ain't gonna fly.

There are many other examples of great ideas that we'd love to see but that just won't work for various reasons.

Fire is very hard to get permission for....

So, yeah, we ALWAYS strive for "The Perfect"... but there are obsticles, and there is also the fact that everyone's idea of perfect is different.

Ultimately, if as many members of the ohana as possible can gather in a place that is relaxing and comfortable, and enjoy seeing faces tat we don't get to see nearly often enough... to me, that's all you really need. It's people. The rest is all gravy.

Now, a question for caerthe:
I wonder the same thing as Pappy.
Are you planning an event?
You're asking a LOT of very detailed, very specific, very diverse questions.

Have you been to an Oasis, an Exotica, a Hukilau, a HRHH, a Crawl, a Tabu Tiki Night, or even to one of our ohana's home bars?
If you want to know what makes an event great, come on out to one, meet the 'ohana, make some friends, and you'll learn real fast what makes us tick. I will be first in line to buy you a Zombie, and welcome you to the club. Just friendly advice. And if you've already been out to some events, then I can't wait to see what you're cooking up on your own.

Hmmm... 'cooking'?

Did I say "It's People" that make the events rock?

...with gravy?

Maybe Pappy is right!

Soylent Green!