Time for Real Tiki Presdential Party; Presidents Weekend at the Kon Tiki in Tucson AZ Feb 19

In light of the events in DC today, I thought that is was time to confirm the talk of a Presidental size Tiki party in the history packed Kon Tiki. It is now time for us to add to that 40+ years of history. I have spoken to Holden (Tiki Farm), I have spoken to Louie (Kon Tiki), and we all agree that Saturday of Prez weekend will be the day of the un-vailing of the new Kon Tiki Mugs. At the same time we will also be breaking in new menus as well (with a little help from Cruzan Rum). We are looking at starting around 5:30pm on Saturday with a full menu of island favorites and a bigger menu of drinks to go with them. I have spoken about this, but this time it is official. So sign on and let the good times roll.....

[ Edited by: Tiki Mo Fo on 2005-01-21 20:37 ]

[i]On 2005-01-20 23:30, Tiki Mo Fo wrote:

Saturday of Prez weekend will be the day of the un-vailing of the new Kon Tiki Mugs.

First night of new Kon Tiki tiki mugs?

Look mom, I going to make history!

I am quite excited about the unveiling of the new Kon Tiki Mugs. This sounds like it will be a blast from the past type event while making history in it's own way. The Kon Tiki has always been a famous landmark and they serve the best Lunch Box that I've ever had! Mister Sparkles and I will check into out plane reservations (coming from Washington DC) and will get some more East Coast Tiki Heads to join in on the fun. With all of the snow we have here a few fun filled days of sun will be inviting!

Saturday Feb 19 works for me. I'm there! I can make a road trip down there and stay with old friends.

I'm not sure I can make it. I'm on Jenny Craig and if I drink, then all I want to do is eat! Silly excuse, I know. Can't wait to see the responses on this one...

On 2005-01-26 18:27, Mrs. Arizona wrote:
I'm not sure I can make it. I'm on Jenny Craig and if I drink, ...

Doesn't matter what's in your new Kon Tiki tiki mug, just so long as your tiki mug is in your hand.

I know I'm the one who brought up the three day weekend as a good idea, but the 19th is actually my birthday so I won't be able to make it. Can't believe there is finally something going on in AZ and I'm gonna miss it. Make sure to take plenty of pics.

vw

[i]On 2005-01-27 13:27, vwtikigirl wrote:

I know I'm the one who brought up the three day weekend as a good idea, but the 19th is actually my birthday so I won't be able to make it.

I cant think of a better Bday celebration?

I have to agree with that......

Let's keep this idea going as the date gets closer. It would be a nice day trip from Scottsdale to Tucson. Screw the diet!!!!

Christiki and I will be there - we already have our plane tix and hotel reservations (long time ago) after talking to MoFO at opening night at lucky tiki

Aloha

I just got off the Kon Tiki hotline with Louie.... Cruzan Rum has confirmed that they will be there with all kinds of promos and goodies..... He also told me that no one will be disappointed with the new drink receipes that will be making their way out of the vault......

The Kon Tiki in Tucson is a treasure, this is a great idea for a gathering. It's pencilled into my schedule, but I can't quite confirm yet. I hope to make it!

There is a very good chance I might make it to this event. Can anyone suggest a decent place to stay near the Kon Tiki?

The "Hotel Congress" is the coolest hotel in Tucson! (Not "tiki", more "bullfighter western"!) They also have a great restaurant at the Congress.

On 2005-02-03 15:49, SON OF MOTHRA wrote:
There is a very good chance I might make it to this event. Can anyone suggest a decent place to stay near the Kon Tiki?

The Viscount Suites is basically down the street (and I think there is free continental breakfast).

I recommend Smuggler's Inn (listed below in the Arizona thread).

The Hotel Congress is one of Tucson's timeless treasures, with many a story to be told about who has walked through and what has gone on inside, but such stories may be better read than lived, unless you want a more Jack Kerouwac (sp) experience.

There also is always the Tiki Motel.

I have to agree with christiki the smugglers has a nice trop feel and is not to far out of reach on price. It is alos down the street for the magic carpet min golf course with a Tiki theme. At this time I have no one using the limo so I am in hopes that we will to help with the transport.

Hotel Congress is more of an experience than a comfortable place to stay. So it depends what you're looking for.
It's been quite awhile since I've been to Kontiki, so I can't wait to see the new atmosphere. Hopefully still great Scorpions and seafood. It's had many owners and many changes. At one time there was water running under the bridge with Koi. There was a point when housed live Macaws. One owner had you cook your own "monkies on a stick" at a habchi on your table. That doesn't mix well with strong drinks, wicker, rittan, bambo, and valuable carved wooden poles, trust me....

[ Edited by: mustdangsally on 2005-02-05 14:27 ]

I talked to Louie, and they want to do new T-shirts as well. They came up with a new designed and wondered if they should do some to mark the date. What do we think?

On 2005-02-07 12:32, Tiki Mo Fo wrote:
I talked to Louie, and they want to do new T-shirts as well. They came up with a new designed and wondered if they should do some to mark the date. What do we think?

I'm up for one - just so long there is something on the front and back and it is available in XXL.

Do they want pre-purchase?

Wahinees may want tank tops or other style shirts.

On 2005-02-03 22:04, Tiki Mo Fo wrote:

At this time I have no one using the limo so I am in hopes that we will to help with the transport.

!! ???

A limosine to a tiki bar? Bring it on!

Is that how you roll in Tucson went frequenting tikibars?

Or, do we need to retain a driver, insurance, etc?

Well, my buddy has a H1 that has been well it is much longer now. He said it is ours but I am sure that I will have to tip the driver... I just want to make sure that we have enough intrest... I will be getting a van or a burban, since we can not all fit in my vette....... But then again I am trying not to drive at all.....

You roll it with the H1?

I like it - a most appropriate tikimobile, particularly for the desert oasis Tucson.

I'll be glad to help make it happen, particularly if it means a pickup at Smuggler's Inn, to your place, Kon Tiki and return.

PS - I'm totally envious of your corvette (assuming its convertible).

I am still working it, so we will keep our fingers crossed. I may now have to come in on Late Fri nite so that may throw another curve. I need to save some days for the food and drink show in LV later this month. As far as the vettes I have 2 and they are both hard tops (t-top, targa top). I am still trying to get something like a van so on Sunday we can maybe do some touring.

I was wondering what time we were looking to meet up still. I still think that getting together earlier for dinner and a more private group is still best. I am still thinking happy hour times. Please let me know what you think.

Dinner at Kon Tiki instead of cocktails at your place - all good.

Drinks at my place can still work with me.... I have great views of the sunset and of the moonrise. The only problem is I am kinda out in the hills. However, I guess now will be the time finalize things.

I just bought my airfare for this weekend, I resisted the urge to make it a long Arizona weekend, I'm just popping to Tucson for the party. I get into Tucson in the early afternoon, and leave the next morning. Sounds like the cool kids are staying at the Smuggler's Inn? I'm down for any pre-Kon Tiki gatherings, if there's room for me. :) Should I bother to get a rental car, or can a taxi take care of my needs for the evening?

*On 2005-02-16 13:08, Humuhumu wrote:
*
Sounds like the cool kids are staying at the Smuggler's Inn? Should I bother to get a rental car, or can a taxi take care of my needs for the evening?

While I can't vouch for the quality of the company, I will certainly be more than happy to give you a ride during the evening.

[i]On 2005-02-16 13:08, Humuhumu wrote:

I'm down for any pre-Kon Tiki gatherings, if there's room for me. :)

I understand Tiki Mo Fo is finalizing his plans, as well.

Otherwise, I was thinking of paying homage at the giant tiki head minature golfland, which I understand is not too far away.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=1325&forum=1&13

Yes, as you can see from an earlier post. That course is almost walking distance from the Inn. I was also thinking of touring the area on Sunday... Let me know. I am still open on hosting a get together at Tiki West.

So Mr. and Mrs. Cheeky Half finally lifted their tired heads and noticed that something was going on in their own back yard.

Can we join your party too?

We were in Kon Tiki last night and Louie said that 'The Official Party' is starting at 4 pm. There's even a banner proclaiming an appearance by The Cruzan Rum Girls.....

It's been our experience (and we do tend to spend a little too much time in Kon Tiki) that the place is much better enjoyed in the late afternoon. Friday and Saturday nights in particular are very busy. Packed to the bamboo rafters with a 'younger' crowd who are not necessarily there to appreciate the fabulousness of the place.

We were going to stop in sometime around 4ish and would love to meet up with you all....

Mr. and Mrs. Cheeky Half

What side of town are you guys located at? We have had some talk of meeting up at my place before hand. Of course at that time I thought that the kick off was around 6pm. I will call Louie and Holden today.

Weather seems to be improving slightly.

On Saturday, partly cloudy with highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s and slightly warmer and more sunny on Sunday.

I was very concerned about leaving LA in the rain, only to go to another rainy destination.

Okay, it's finalized. I will be driving up along with 2 of my sidekicks. We'll be getting into town early in the afternoon and leaving Sunday. We're staying at the Hotel Congress.

So as it stands, is everyone meeting at the Kon Tiki around 4:00?

Is there going to be a gathering at Tiki Mo Fo's place of habitat before/after? If so, how do we get there and what time?

Yes, we are still looking to meet at my place before hand, but we are looking to stay until sunset. That means will not make the 4pm kickoff. I will be driving tonight 2 AZ. So if anyone is still interested drop me a msg at [email protected] and I will answer later today or tomarrow or even call back then as well.......

I just talked to Louie, and it was more of a misprint than a start time. I told him that a few of us were not even coming in until Sat afternoon, and for him not to really look for us until 6ish. So sunset watching (because I am wishing for the rain to go away) is still on at my place. I am thinking of bring your favorite drink to share with the group........

[ Edited by: mustdangsally on 2005-02-19 15:59 ]

Pictures? Pictures? I hope the mainstream party atmosphere did not disrupt the tikiness of the place for those of you could make it.

I just wanted to say that I had a great time...... Looking forward for more good times.................

The hospitatility of Tiki Mo Fo was only exceeded by the incredible time had at Kon Tiki. What an incredible tiki mecca Kon Tiki is!

I left behind one of Tiki Diablo's tiki pendants for the bartender, who was very into tiki as a parting gift on Monday.

Louie is the consumate manager, keeping the tiki flame alive - and generously sharing the tiki love and Kon Tiki freebies with all TCers (especially those from out of state).

[i]On 2005-02-18 08:11, SON OF MOTHRA wrote:
Okay, it's finalized. I will be driving up along with 2 of my sidekicks. We'll be getting into town early in the afternoon and leaving Sunday. We're staying at the Hotel Congress.

You guys are amazing (if not insane) - not only for actually staying at the Hotel Congress, but also for making the marathon drive in the pouring rain, and then driving back the next day.

I had the most lovely time! Meeting all the local tikiphiles was really special, you guys are great and I wish you lived closer. The Kon Tiki has long been on my most-underrated list, and this last trip only confirmed all my memories, and then some. This place is the beautiful time capsule that everyone wishes they had in their town. It's fantastic. (Okay, so the drinks are meh at best, and the fries are the only good thing on the food menu, but really--it's still easily in my personal Top 5 Tiki Places I've Been).

Here are the pics! (beware... there be lurkers afoot!)
http://photo.humuhumu.com/v/kontikitucson/

Some personal highlights: the tile "pool" in front... with actual water in it! (Standing rainwater from the storms); a strikingly pathetically sized and useless wedge of lime (the drinks at Kon Tiki are so sweet they probably physically reject the limey tartness anyhow); a disgraceful (and thankfully extremely temporary) inflatable Cruzan Rum Promotion Truck suspended from (gasp!) a float lamp; the really lovely new Kon Tiki mugs (two sizes!); and a parade of lovely Tucson tikiphiles with a few L.A. tikiphiles thrown in for good measure.

Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki

[ Edited by: Humuhumu 2005-09-23 15:18 ]

Thanks for the pics, Humuhumu! Would any of you experts know if their new mugs are the first to be based on Milan Guanko? Was there any news on the scorpion bowl discussed here: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10980&forum=7 ? Did they have new T-shirts as discussed earlier in this thread?
It looks like Kon Tiki has indeed spruced up a bit, I don't remember that many float lights working when I was last there. Did they repair the tiki up by the host stand, the one with the eye out as seen here: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=8141&forum=2 ?
As to drink quality, I don't know Louie well, but the times I've talked with him, he seemed very customer-friendly so he might be open to input on recipes. I may be in Tucson in the next couple months and was hoping, if I can manage not to be the driver, to try my first classic tiki drink there; I'd like to lose my "tiki drink virginity" someplace special.
Did anyone check out the The Hut, while there: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=9361&forum=1 ?
Did anyone play mini-golf?
And how was the Hotel Congress?

The Hotel Congress is great. It's like walking through a door to the early 1900s. It is the ultimate hotel DIVE. I still can't get over the fact when you check in they give you earplugs to dull the surrounding noise of the club right below you and the traffic right outside. Our particular room was right over a place were they were having a bar mitzvah. It was classic. The minute we walked in our windows were being rattled by Havah Nagilah blaring from the PA system. After we left for the Kon Tiki and stumbled back in around 2:30 in the morning, we decided to find the "so called" Hotel Congress Ghosts we were told frequent the boiler room and the attic. The clerks frowned on our snooping around and soon caught on to our shenanigans. They caught us as we were exploring pitch black hallways that lead to God only knows where and were obviously off limits. After a few harsh words they grounded us to our room. Oh well. The legend of the Haunted Hotel Congress remains an unsolved mystery.

The Kon Tiki is a wonderful place. Sadly, I have to say that the stunning decor and the fantastic company we were in was its only real saving grace. It has been overrun by the younger artsy crowd who can get a little on the wild side. I saw more people drinking beer than exotic cocktails. I went up to the bar, ordered 3 zombies and clinched in horror as the bar keep set 3 glasses next to each other and sloppily poured our poisons by running the liquor bottle over all three glasses at once. Not much love goes into the mixing there. I can't speak to the food since we showed up too late to order anything, but it was fairly easy to drive to the Jack in the Box down the street and smuggle that in. No one seemed to care that we were all gorging on Jumbo Jacks and Chicken Strips! All the employees were extremely friendly. They let me back in after hours just so I could take some pictures of the place while it was empty. All in all this is one of the great Tiki palaces still in existence. And it's there in most of it original greatness. The carvings haven't changed. The tikis are still the same with some added paint. The wall decorations, glass floats....everything. I would have loved to have seen it 40 years ago. Drinks and locals aside, I recommend everyone venture down at least once, because it is worth seeing. Plus Tucson is just a pretty cool town on its own.

Thanks to all those that made it down and hung out with us and a huge thanks to Jay for being the best host you could ask for.

[ Edited by: SON OF MOTHRA on 2005-02-25 11:01 ]

I just looked at the pictures Humu posted and realized in the last couple shots there's about 5 empty cocktail glasses surrounding me. And I was wondering why my head hurt the next day......

I know what you mean about the young crowd at night, though when I was there, "artsy" would not exactly have fit; "trendy" would have.
The place can be placid and almost museum-like in the afternoons though, especially in the early part of the week.

Louie is indeed a very customer service-oriented manager, and he went out of his way to make us feel welcome (and to try to help us get some food in our stomachs, even after the kitchen closed!). Kon Tiki is a must-see, but not for the drinks, which are very popular with its young college crowd, but are far too sweet and unbalanced to please the tiki audience. tikijackalope, you should definitely go to Kon Tiki, but if you want your tiki drink de-virginization to be special, the list of places I can whole-heartedly recommend is sadly short. Trader Vic's, Tiki-Ti, Mai Kai, Hale Tiki, Chef Shangri-La... the best bartenders today are behind home tiki bars, people like Martiki, pablus, kick_the_reverb, Dr. Z, bigbrotiki and Alnshely.