Post #80487 by kongtiki on Fri, Mar 12, 2004 6:08 AM

It is with no small amount of regret that we must announce that there will be no official EXOTICA event in Chicago this summer.

While we are grateful for the continued interest in the event and the tiki treasures of Chicago -- as well as highly appreciative of all those who made the trip last summer -- life events for many of the EXOTICA planners have created obstacles which have either overwhelmed or precluded any actual planning efforts to make an EXOTICA weeked this summer worth your time. Everything from an outbreak of babies to cross-country moves to a number of personal projects have tripped us up in our efforts to present a coherant set of events that improve on the lessons of last summer to create the type of weekend and atmosphere we'd all like to enjoy.

Historically, the Chicago EXOTICA weekend seems to occur about once every four years, not unlike the Olympics, so this news should not be all that surprising. However, if you can't wait the four years for your next visit to Chicago, there is talk that those that remain in town may get their act together in time to field an all new event by summer of 2005. And thankfully, with or without EXOTICA, the great tiki haunts -- from Trader Vic's to Hala Kahiki to the Chef Shangri-La -- remain.

So until next times, friends, Aloha!