TIKI OASIS IV - How was the Event? How was the Resort? How was The REEF? - California Events

B babydoe Tiki Socialite Bay Area Joined: Jan 27, 2003 Posts: 265	B babydoe Posted posted on Sat, May 15, 2004 4:03 PM We are excited that we can bring an event that has created so many passionate responses! First I want to thank Casey for allowing us to take over the tropics for 3+ days; They are amazing hosts for our event! Without the tropics there would be NO Tiki Oasis. So things got a little screwy with wristbands or ice machines it is all part of bringing together 500+ people to one place at one time. We are always trying to fix these things but next year it will be just another problem we can't foresee. So plan ahead. Bring extra ice. Get there early. Do what you have to do to make sure you have a good time! Whenever I produce an event and I see a post that starts with 'Constructive Criticism' it is hard for me to read them as I tend to feel unappreciated for all the work we do. I know I shouldn't take constructive criticism personally as I am a well adjusted adult and all but after putting in my late night hours to make this event work and then having such a great weekend the last thing I want to hear is what was WRONG with it. Tiki Oasis is a volunteer-run event so one possible way folks can make sure little things are not forgotten is to help us with the set-up! (That will even score you a free ticket to the event!) With all it's flaws I think it still was an amazing vacation getaway. I had a great time and most everyone else did despite any flaws. Otto, Vander and I plan to do this for years to come. Otto and I produce about 2-3 large scale events a year on top of our day jobs and family life. I guess you can say that we are obsessed with having a good time. And we want to make sure these events to take place, so if no one else is throwing the event, we will. That is how Tiki Oasis came along! If you went to the past Tiki Oasis events you would know that the Reef Bar has been improved a trillion times over. Big fat smooches go out to Bamboo Ben and Crazy Al for creating an amazing environment and the Hotel for agreeing to let them take over on the decor! The Purple Orchid was a huge help with the bar this year offering support throughout the weekend. This was our first time adding the guest bartenders and we got some great feedback from those behind the bar on how to make this run more smoothly in the future. Let's face the facts here Tiki drinkers have a particular palette - it is hard to find really amazing Beach Bum Berry drinks at any busy bar! I am positive that based on the trillion improvements the bar made this weekend it will only get better with years to come. There are a lot of great ideas that have been posted. We appreciate the feedback and will consider all of it. The parking passes for hotel guests seems like an obvious one that we didn't think of before. I think that would solve many problems. In our rush to get the event together we forgot to post no parking signs for where the vendors would be setting up on Saturday - Sunday. I personally scrambled around trying to find the owners of the cars. 2 cars were asked to move and (at the time) those people said they were totally fine with it. One thing to keep in mind is that we all here TOGETHER to have a good time. This is not a corporate event but rather a family and volunteer-run event! The theme, the entertainment (including the burlesque) and the probability of the sex video shown during Seksu Roba was all posted on the website in advance. Although Tiki Oasis is open to kids we really don't want to change the whole event to be specifically kid oriented. What does that mean exactly? Seeing women in skimpy dress is fine to one parent but not to another.... who is to judge? In the future we will need to make it more clear that parents should use caution when watching the night time showcase. We certainly want everyone to have a good time and covering your kids eyes halfway through a band or dance act is not fun for your kids or the parent and we understand that. The burlesque that was booked has nothing to do with my event Tease-O-Rama. Tiki Oasis has had burlesque acts over the last few years and this is under the idea that Tiki News feels that Burlesque hearkens back to the days of floorshows and therefore burlesque fits the bill in our opinion. Just check out Tiki News #14!!!!! The entertainment tends to be things that WE (the producers) want to see and experience and lucky for us most people like our choices! Also the entertainment is there because they are friends with Otto and/or want to be a part of the event. Many do this at a reduced rate in order to be a part of the event. What did we end up with? GREAT entertainment that we are really proud to be associated with here! Some people (who will remain nameless) didn't even get paid but volunteered their talent!! I want to make it VERY clear here that there was NO band that was turned down because of the burlesque dancers. I am not sure why someone would say this when it is untrue! It annoys me as it is NOT a matter of getting rid of the dancers to have another band!! (please consider removing past posts with false info as that is not a true representation of our event) If people know Tahitian drummers, Polynesian dancers and bands of quality that are willing to work at a major discount have them contact Otto to get them on the bill. The room parties are not officially part of the event as they are not supervised. If someone is that out of control in your room... I am not sure what advice I would give other then asking them to leave, call the cops or shut down your party til they leave. As far as I know everyone who stays at the hotel must mention Tiki Oasis/Tiki News when booking so I am not sure who those yahoos were. It might mean educating new people...'Hey the drinks aren't free it is more of a barter system here...you got a tiki you wanna give me?!' That ought to shake them up! As for what is 'tiki' or should I say not 'tiki' at the Oasis I don't even know how to get into that.... BUT I can promise that next year there will be another twist to what 'tiki' is. It would be a good idea to read the website in detail before buying a ticket to make sure this fits with your idea and you will enjoy your time at the event even more. The beauty of life and our group as a whole is that people have their own sense of likes and dislikes! But this also means it is impossible to please everyone at all times. I swear I am not saying this to be rude - but rather that I would like to know that everyone who attends Tiki Oasis really wants to experience the event and have a good time! Other thoughts off the top of my head: We are going to invest in a large screen for the movie. We want to do some kind of breakfast for Mother's Day brunch. Good hangover food at the hotel would be great! But not sure how to afford that.... got ideas or connections? What about an in-room tiki movie for the kids while the adults play outside (or in their own room! tee hee!)? Same amount of vendors but making sure they are quality Tiki products to avoid the chance of a flea-market feel. Notes and signs to remind people to not leave valuables about. People who steal are mean and horrible people and should not be at our event. One item that was reported 'stolen' at the event was found later in their room. Don't let one bad apple ruin the bunch! One thing I am personally proud of at our event is that we are bringing together people from around the globe! One fan I spoke with from another country was just amazed to be there with all the Tiki fans. He didn't mind that he had to park one block away. WHEW! This is a long post! Sorry about that! Special thanks to everyone who sent us lovely thank yous. We really appreciate them! Extra kisses to King Kukulele for being our Emcee! Holden for Vendor assistance! Mateo for Volunteer coordination! Jim for Stage Management! Judd for Uke Jam! and soooo many others! XOXO Baby Doe, Tiki News Magazine

We are excited that we can bring an event that has created so many passionate responses!

First I want to thank Casey for allowing us to take over the tropics for 3+ days; They are amazing hosts for our event! Without the tropics there would be NO Tiki Oasis. So things got a little screwy with wristbands or ice machines it is all part of bringing together 500+ people to one place at one time. We are always trying to fix these things but next year it will be just another problem we can't foresee. So plan ahead. Bring extra ice. Get there early. Do what you have to do to make sure you have a good time!

Whenever I produce an event and I see a post that starts with 'Constructive Criticism' it is hard for me to read them as I tend to feel unappreciated for all the work we do. I know I shouldn't take constructive criticism personally as I am a well adjusted adult and all but after putting in my late night hours to make this event work and then having such a great weekend the last thing I want to hear is what was WRONG with it. Tiki Oasis is a volunteer-run event so one possible way folks can make sure little things are not forgotten is to help us with the set-up! (That will even score you a free ticket to the event!) With all it's flaws I think it still was an amazing vacation getaway. I had a great time and most everyone else did despite any flaws. Otto, Vander and I plan to do this for years to come.

Otto and I produce about 2-3 large scale events a year on top of our day jobs and family life. I guess you can say that we are obsessed with having a good time. And we want to make sure these events to take place, so if no one else is throwing the event, we will. That is how Tiki Oasis came along!

If you went to the past Tiki Oasis events you would know that the Reef Bar has been improved a trillion times over. Big fat smooches go out to Bamboo Ben and Crazy Al for creating an amazing environment and the Hotel for agreeing to let them take over on the decor! The Purple Orchid was a huge help with the bar this year offering support throughout the weekend. This was our first time adding the guest bartenders and we got some great feedback from those behind the bar on how to make this run more smoothly in the future. Let's face the facts here Tiki drinkers have a particular palette - it is hard to find really amazing Beach Bum Berry drinks at any busy bar! I am positive that based on the trillion improvements the bar made this weekend it will only get better with years to come.

There are a lot of great ideas that have been posted. We appreciate the feedback and will consider all of it. The parking passes for hotel guests seems like an obvious one that we didn't think of before. I think that would solve many problems. In our rush to get the event together we forgot to post no parking signs for where the vendors would be setting up on Saturday - Sunday. I personally scrambled around trying to find the owners of the cars. 2 cars were asked to move and (at the time) those people said they were totally fine with it. One thing to keep in mind is that we all here TOGETHER to have a good time. This is not a corporate event but rather a family and volunteer-run event!

The theme, the entertainment (including the burlesque) and the probability of the sex video shown during Seksu Roba was all posted on the website in advance. Although Tiki Oasis is open to kids we really don't want to change the whole event to be specifically kid oriented. What does that mean exactly? Seeing women in skimpy dress is fine to one parent but not to another.... who is to judge? In the future we will need to make it more clear that parents should use caution when watching the night time showcase. We certainly want everyone to have a good time and covering your kids eyes halfway through a band or dance act is not fun for your kids or the parent and we understand that.

The burlesque that was booked has nothing to do with my event Tease-O-Rama. Tiki Oasis has had burlesque acts over the last few years and this is under the idea that Tiki News feels that Burlesque hearkens back to the days of floorshows and therefore burlesque fits the bill in our opinion. Just check out Tiki News #14!!!!! The entertainment tends to be things that WE (the producers) want to see and experience and lucky for us most people like our choices! Also the entertainment is there because they are friends with Otto and/or want to be a part of the event. Many do this at a reduced rate in order to be a part of the event. What did we end up with? GREAT entertainment that we are really proud to be associated with here! Some people (who will remain nameless) didn't even get paid but volunteered their talent!! I want to make it VERY clear here that there was NO band that was turned down because of the burlesque dancers. I am not sure why someone would say this when it is untrue! It annoys me as it is NOT a matter of getting rid of the dancers to have another band!! (please consider removing past posts with false info as that is not a true representation of our event)

If people know Tahitian drummers, Polynesian dancers and bands of quality that are willing to work at a major discount have them contact Otto to get them on the bill.

The room parties are not officially part of the event as they are not supervised. If someone is that out of control in your room... I am not sure what advice I would give other then asking them to leave, call the cops or shut down your party til they leave. As far as I know everyone who stays at the hotel must mention Tiki Oasis/Tiki News when booking so I am not sure who those yahoos were. It might mean educating new people...'Hey the drinks aren't free it is more of a barter system here...you got a tiki you wanna give me?!' That ought to shake them up!

As for what is 'tiki' or should I say not 'tiki' at the Oasis I don't even know how to get into that.... BUT I can promise that next year there will be another twist to what 'tiki' is. It would be a good idea to read the website in detail before buying a ticket to make sure this fits with your idea and you will enjoy your time at the event even more. The beauty of life and our group as a whole is that people have their own sense of likes and dislikes! But this also means it is impossible to please everyone at all times. I swear I am not saying this to be rude - but rather that I would like to know that everyone who attends Tiki Oasis really wants to experience the event and have a good time!

Other thoughts off the top of my head:
We are going to invest in a large screen for the movie.
We want to do some kind of breakfast for Mother's Day brunch. Good hangover food at the hotel would be great! But not sure how to afford that.... got ideas or connections?
What about an in-room tiki movie for the kids while the adults play outside (or in their own room! tee hee!)?
Same amount of vendors but making sure they are quality Tiki products to avoid the chance of a flea-market feel.
Notes and signs to remind people to not leave valuables about. People who steal are mean and horrible people and should not be at our event. One item that was reported 'stolen' at the event was found later in their room. Don't let one bad apple ruin the bunch!

One thing I am personally proud of at our event is that we are bringing together people from around the globe! One fan I spoke with from another country was just amazed to be there with all the Tiki fans. He didn't mind that he had to park one block away.

WHEW! This is a long post! Sorry about that!

Special thanks to everyone who sent us lovely thank yous. We really appreciate them!
Extra kisses to King Kukulele for being our Emcee! Holden for Vendor assistance! Mateo for Volunteer coordination! Jim for Stage Management! Judd for Uke Jam! and soooo many others!

XOXO Baby Doe, Tiki News Magazine

Post #91403 by babydoe on Sat, May 15, 2004 4:03 PM