Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

HH Hurricane Hayward Grand Member (1 year) 16 miles from The Mai-Kai Joined: Jun 07, 2008 Posts: 1867	HH Hurricane Hayward Posted posted on Thu, May 26, 2016 8:32 PM AceExplorer: That's an article from last October or November. I wrote about it in The Week in Tiki blog I posted on Nov. 21 ... http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2015/11/21/the-week-in-tiki-nov-2-15-2015-the-hukilau-and-miami-rum-fest-tickets-makahiki-arrives-wayne-coombs-tribute-tiki-bars-galleries-and-more/ finky099: In answer to your question, there's quite a fascinating history ... Originally, that spot in the garden was occupied by a famous Tiki carved by Barney West (most likely dating back to the early '60s) that was dubbed "Barney." Here's a photo I took in April of 2008 ... Unfortunately, old Barney was in an advanced state of decay. In June 2009, he fell over backwards and crashed through the fence into the furniture store parking lot, smashed beyond repair. Barney later became the official mug at The Hukilau 2010: http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=4209 He was quickly replaced by a Tiki that The Mai-Kai pulled out of their warehouse, which many noticed was familiar: (June 2009 photo by AlohaStation) You can see more photos and read about the saga of Barney in the "Mai Kai - Tiki Archeology" thread here: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=26630&forum=1&start=60 It turns out that this new Tiki (carver unknown) formerly stood guard in the old Surfboard Bar, which was The Mai-Kai's main bar in the years before The Molokai was built: You can also find it in a famous artist rendering that appears on page 136 in The Book of Tiki and also on this postcard: Note the wings attached to his back. Owner Dave Levy tells me that the wings are still in the warehouse, and they will be reattached when the Tiki is refurbished and installed in the indoor garden behind the stage. I was on hand at The Mai-Kai on Saturday, May 21, when he was removed to make way for King Kai ... Will Anders (right) and Tom Fowner guide King Kai into place. Tiki Kiliki and Will Anders in the first photo taken with King Kai. I have lots of photos of the installation that I'll be posting in a special report on The Atomic Grog on the entire history of the King Kai project, plus an in-depth look at the work Will Anders has done creating replicas of Tikis throughout The Mai-Kai. The next major project: Will, Tom and Jeff Chouinard are creating three new Tikis to replace these old, decayed fern wood Tikis under the porte-cochère ... (Photo by Tiki Kiliki) The hope is that these will be installed in time for The Hukilau in two weeks. Speaking of The Hukilau, it's worth noting that the official 2016 mug is also inspired by a historic Tiki: The official limited-edition mug, sculpted by John Mulder and produced by Eekum Bookum. The mug was inspired by this Tiki that used to live in The Mai-Kai's garden. At some point, he was moved inside, where you can find him behind the stage in the main dining room.

AceExplorer: That's an article from last October or November. I wrote about it in The Week in Tiki blog I posted on Nov. 21 ... http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2015/11/21/the-week-in-tiki-nov-2-15-2015-the-hukilau-and-miami-rum-fest-tickets-makahiki-arrives-wayne-coombs-tribute-tiki-bars-galleries-and-more/

finky099: In answer to your question, there's quite a fascinating history ...

Originally, that spot in the garden was occupied by a famous Tiki carved by Barney West (most likely dating back to the early '60s) that was dubbed "Barney." Here's a photo I took in April of 2008 ...

Unfortunately, old Barney was in an advanced state of decay. In June 2009, he fell over backwards and crashed through the fence into the furniture store parking lot, smashed beyond repair. Barney later became the official mug at The Hukilau 2010: http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=4209

He was quickly replaced by a Tiki that The Mai-Kai pulled out of their warehouse, which many noticed was familiar:

(June 2009 photo by AlohaStation)

You can see more photos and read about the saga of Barney in the "Mai Kai - Tiki Archeology" thread here:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=26630&forum=1&start=60

It turns out that this new Tiki (carver unknown) formerly stood guard in the old Surfboard Bar, which was The Mai-Kai's main bar in the years before The Molokai was built:

You can also find it in a famous artist rendering that appears on page 136 in The Book of Tiki and also on this postcard:

Note the wings attached to his back. Owner Dave Levy tells me that the wings are still in the warehouse, and they will be reattached when the Tiki is refurbished and installed in the indoor garden behind the stage.

I was on hand at The Mai-Kai on Saturday, May 21, when he was removed to make way for King Kai ...

Will Anders (right) and Tom Fowner guide King Kai into place.

Tiki Kiliki and Will Anders in the first photo taken with King Kai.

I have lots of photos of the installation that I'll be posting in a special report on The Atomic Grog on the entire history of the King Kai project, plus an in-depth look at the work Will Anders has done creating replicas of Tikis throughout The Mai-Kai.

The next major project: Will, Tom and Jeff Chouinard are creating three new Tikis to replace these old, decayed fern wood Tikis under the porte-cochère ...

(Photo by Tiki Kiliki)

The hope is that these will be installed in time for The Hukilau in two weeks. Speaking of The Hukilau, it's worth noting that the official 2016 mug is also inspired by a historic Tiki:

The official limited-edition mug, sculpted by John Mulder and produced by Eekum Bookum.

The mug was inspired by this Tiki that used to live in The Mai-Kai's garden.

At some point, he was moved inside, where you can find him behind the stage in the main dining room.

Post #764276 by Hurricane Hayward on Thu, May 26, 2016 8:32 PM