new member introduction - General Tiki

T tikicat67 Member Vermont Joined: Jun 25, 2006 Posts: 18	T tikicat67 Posted posted on Mon, Jun 26, 2006 11:34 PM Aloha everyone, I am so excited to be here! My fascination with Tiki started when I was 5 yrs. old (1972) and living in Athens, Ohio. My parents took me to the Kahiki in Columbus and that one visit made an incredibly lasting impression on me. A wall of real tropical birds! Another room with a huge aquarium! The fireplace, the gigantic Moai out front, the bamboo telephone booth where you went around and around until you reached the telephone in the center! I now live in Vermont and vowed that one day I would go back and see the Kahiki again to see if it was as magical as I remembered it. In 1998 I was working in a bookstore when a woman paid with a check from Columbus. I asked her if the Kahiki had survived the years and she assured me it was going strong. When I finally had the time and money to make the trip, I went online and to my horror discovered the Kahiki had been razed in 2000! After a protracted period of mourning, I decided that I needed to do something to ease my pain. So I have been researching all things related to the Kahiki and on June 28 through July 8, I am making a belated pilgrimage to the Columbus area. There, my partner (who just opened Hula Cat, a retro culture/Hawaiian garb store in VT) and I will continue my research and conduct interviews for a book about the Kahiki. If you have any anecdotes, historical perspective, ideas, contacts, etc. I'd love to hear from you! Mahalo, Tikicat67

Aloha everyone,

I am so excited to be here!
My fascination with Tiki started when I was 5 yrs. old (1972) and living in Athens, Ohio. My parents took me to the Kahiki in Columbus and that one visit made an incredibly lasting impression on me. A wall of real tropical birds! Another room with a huge aquarium! The fireplace, the gigantic Moai out front, the bamboo telephone booth where you went around and around until you reached the telephone in the center! I now live in Vermont and vowed that one day I would go back and see the Kahiki again to see if it was as magical as I remembered it.

In 1998 I was working in a bookstore when a woman paid with a check from Columbus. I asked her if the Kahiki had survived the years and she assured me it was going strong. When I finally had the time and money to make the trip, I went online and to my horror discovered the Kahiki had been razed in 2000! After a protracted period of mourning, I decided that I needed to do something to ease my pain. So I have been researching all things related to the Kahiki and on June 28 through July 8, I am making a belated pilgrimage to the Columbus area. There, my partner (who just opened Hula Cat, a retro culture/Hawaiian garb store in VT) and I will continue my research and conduct interviews for a book about the Kahiki. If you have any anecdotes, historical perspective, ideas, contacts, etc. I'd love to hear from you!

Mahalo,
Tikicat67

Post #239865 by tikicat67 on Mon, Jun 26, 2006 11:34 PM