Post #299723 by cocoanutz on Mon, Apr 16, 2007 6:31 PM

Hey Tiki People (Maryland area - that is!)

Man, have I got a story for you folks!

Never thought I'd see pictures of my family posted on Tiki Central but... I knew sooner or later I'd end up joining the mix. The Baltimore Sun article you mention is the story about my mom and dad. It's all so funny because I stumbled upon Tiki Central just prior to Christmas when I went to put an ad in Baltimore Magazine for our Polynesian dance group, Meki's Tamure Polynesian Dance Group. I told the receptionist at the magazine's office that I was there to see the sales rep and told her I was with a Polynesian dance group. The receptionist replied, "Polynesian dance group?!? I haven't heard of such things since the Emerson Hotel!" I was taken aback for a second. I can't recall how many times I mentioned the Hawaiian Room at the Emerson Hotel to people and they looked at me with no clue as to what I was talking about. So there I was with this woman explaining to me how when you wanted a special night out on the town, you just went to the Emerson Hotel Hawaiian Room. I spent the next twenty minutes telling her how that where my parents met, performed and eventually fell in love (and got married). She got the biggest kick out of that story and she said she'd look to see if she had any stuff that she accidentally took from the restaurant. I hadn't heard anything from her to date but I'm interested.

After her stories, I sort of needed to know alittle more about the Hawaiian Room. I stumbled upon Tiki Central when Google-ing Emerson Room Tiki Mugs brought me to Johntiki's rant about losing his mug on a botched eBay bid. It made me think about the mugs we recently tossed in the trash after my grandmother died (she was mentioned in the Sun article). My grandmother "borrowed" many decorations from the Emerson Hawaiian Room. I remember her story of carrying a seven foot palm tree home that she transplanted in her own "Hawaiian Room" in a rowhome in Locust Point. She had posters, mugs, shells, trees, monkey pod stuff, photos, salt/pepper shakers, etc. She died several years back and most of her stuff went to the landfill when her house was cleaned out and sold. I didn't realize how interested I would become in the stuff now that it is gone. The family still has a couple items.

So,I found myself intrigued by all of your tiki postings. I thought I'd look more into it after Christmas vacation. Our family went to New Zealand, Samoa, Hawaii and California the day after Christmas for four weeks. I knew I needed to collect a few mugs while I was away. I did just that while in Hawaii on the way home back to Baltimore. Not only did I get some mugs from Da Big Kahuna and Tiki's Grill and Bar (both at Waikiki), I also bought past issues of Tiki Magazine at the Thor Store in Waikiki. I didn't realize how deep I was in the Tiki movement until I was reading the magazines in my Waikiki hotel and the particular article I was reading was all about Tiki sightings all about Oahu. I read about the Sven Kirsten book and realized because my dad was in the traveling Polynesian dance group, I had the opportunity to travel across country in 1976 stopping at many of the prominent Tiki establishments. I even know some of the performers shown in Sven's book. Off the top of my head I remember stopping at the Hukilau in Pittsburgh and staying with the owner, a guy named Val. I remember all of the exotic decorations, the funny drink names (names a 10 year has no business repeating), the fish netting everywhere, the cheesy cellophane skirts the dancers wore. I had no idea that 30 years later I'd be wanting a restaurant like that!

Back to the present day, we returned from the Xmas excursion and I received a call from Abigail of the Baltimore Sun. Although the story is mainly about the overturning of the law regarding mixed marriages in Maryland, it has hit many different people in many different ways. Our dance group website has gone nuts with bookings, people want their kids taking hula lessons and crazy notions of opening a Tiki-type grill and cafe are swirling in my head. The website by the way is http://www.hula123.com I ordered the Kirsten book a couple of weeks back and can't believe that someone documented so many of the things that I lived thru growing up in a Polynesian entertainment type household. I've been to and performed at the Aloha Inn in Gaithersburg, the Marriott Kona Kai near DC, the Hukilau in Virginia Beach, the Hukilau in Chicopee, Massachusetts as well as other places I've forgotten. Some of you may remember such places.

I run our dance group now and I'm looking to put on some annual Tiki themed events in the coming year. Our calendar is somewhat booked to be trying anything this year. We mainly provide all live Polynesian floor shows wherever we get hired. I would love to meet some of you Maryland area people at some of our events. I wish I could attend the 2007 Hukilau in Ft. Lauderdale but we are already committed to other events. I look forward to hearing from some of you and I'm sure I'll be sharing some photos that I dig up from my memoirs (now know as Polynesian Pop artifacts!)

Enough for now my new found friends! Any Tiki carvers in Maryland? I'd love to learn.