Post #799983 by hanford_lemoore on Sun, Jan 12, 2020 5:12 PM

Aloha!

20 years ago on January 12th, 2000, myself and another like-minded individual, Jennifer Thompson, decided to start an internet club focused on tiki bars. There was very little information about tiki bars on the web, and almost no pictures. We were clueless as to how Tiki Central would end up changing that.

The thing is, Jennifer and I had never met in real life - we had met electronically, through Yahoo's Instant Messenger service - and we didn't really know that much about tiki bars and whatnot. But we were willing to share what we did know, and eager to learn what we didn't.

Little did we know that those core principles would be the real magic that brought Tiki Central to life. Because the reason for its success was just that: people who didn't know each other, coming to the website to share what they knew, and to soak up all the great information that others were contributing.

My own personal curiosity in tiki was finding still-open vintage tiki bars to explore, but soon Tiki Central was gaining members whose interests spanned all different facets, from mixology, to music, to carving, and beyond. I quickly realized that there was much more to it than just that relatively tiny sliver I was interested in, and that everyone had their specialties.

My own specialty, it turned out, was simply providing the actual space, keeping the site running (barely at times), and trying to keep the ship in calm waters. The Tiki Central members at large filled it with talent, humor, information, and entertainment. We got together in real life, made real friendships, shared sacred knowledge, organized incredible events, and opened new Tiki Bars. You guys made it a true ohana. You guys brought tiki back to life.

Occasionally I'll hear someone say that Tiki Central has become less relevant. That newer technologies and websites like Facebook have replaced it. And I actually somewhat agree with that statement, but with a twist: Tiki Central made itself less relevant, and that was always its subconscious mission. Because when we started it, there was very little collected information out there. Very few books, not a lot of new music, no big events, and there was really no new tiki bars opening.

The members of Tiki Central changed all that, and more. Because of you guys, There's no way that today a single website could cover it all. It makes complete sense that it's grown well beyond Tiki Central's walls.

I don't want to say "mission accomplished" - because the mission is ongoing - but 20 years on, I'd say Tiki Central was a success at what it set out to do. I'm just happy I could be a small part of it all.

In the past I've thanked so many people who have helped me run this site, inspired me, and contributed to tiki culture, that this time around, I'm just going to thank every Tiki Central member over the years who made the site what it is today. To me, this anniversary is the ohana's anniversary. It's your anniversary. You all should be incredibly proud.

Here's to another 20 years! Mahalo.

Hanford
Co-founder, Tiki Central