Exotica 2007 Surf into Chicago 7/7/07

On 2007-06-30 18:07, BambooLodge wrote:
Yes James, the Chef is closed TEMPORARILY. Susan was there last night when you went by there, so you could have knocked on the door and asked her, it's not like you don't know her. Funny, you had to ask this question here, when you could have just asked us last night when you were at Sandbar.

Wow! So what exactly are you trying to say?

On 2007-06-30 18:07, BambooLodge wrote:
We will update here when ever we have new info.

This is all I asked for, Mr. Happy.

I am sure that all of the people who are planning their weekends around this event, including those coming in from out of town, will be a bit more relaxed when we know that all is well in Shangri-La.
Given that they've been closed for two weekends now, and that Paul's (owner and founder) health isn't that great, I had some rather serious worries.
I'm not in the habit of pounding on the doors of restaurants that have 'closed until further notice' signs on their doors (and I wouldn't know Sue's car if I saw it), so thanks a lot for sharing what you know - it is a relief for me (and for the many others who were in the dark, I am sure) to read your statement that the temporary closure is for improvements.

The latest update on Chef Shangri-La....
As of now they are still closed, but are 90 percent certain they will re-open this weekend. Now for the kicker, now there is evidently some issue with their liquor license having lapst, so even if they do open, there is a very good chance they will not be serving cocktails. They are checking into possible BYOB, but don't count on it. If they are open, and even if they aren't serving drinks, we will be there showing our support.
Susan asked us to let everyone know how very, very sorry she is about all this.
It's just been one frickin' thing after another. Hope we're wrong, but it seems that the Chef's days might just be numbered. We will up date again on Thursday
D&C

that really sucks!! we can't afford to lose another tiki place in chicago......hope it works out. I was concerned when the topic first appeared cause i thought they may have gotten pinched for underage drinkers......

For those of you who cannot make it out to Tiki Terrace on Thursday and may find yourself in front of your computer...we will be doing a little Exotica-Chicago warm-up on our radio show (Surfabilly Freakout). Tune in to wpgu.com from 9-10p (Central) on Thursday to hear many of the bands that will be playing on Friday night and Saturday.

Looking forward to a great weekend!

Hey everyone! Tiki Terrace will be vending too! Like the Chef, we had to close a week ago due to a family emergency. But, we are open again and working hard to maintain without our brother Jim. I hope all goes well for the Chef. I know just one week out was had a HUGE impact on our business :(

Anyhow, we will be vending at the Fitzgerald too. We hoped to use the Exotica date to launch our apparel line, but are still a bit away from going "online". Still, we will have a very good aresenal of apparel on hand and will be giving out quite a bit of freebies and maybe do a raffle (a raffle if da bossman is ok wit $1 tickets). We wanted to raffle off a limited edition piece... only 10 made and each numbered. Bamboo Ben has #2 and we will raffle #3... it is a pretty huge embroidered tiki piece and possibly the biggest in production today/ever (over 250,000 stiches) on a Dickies jacket... we will custom out the text on the front for the winner (maybe a mention of the Exotica event if you like???). We have a pretty good variety of designs for cheap! So stop by the booth and give Bob a hard time!!! He loves his Patron and voodoo tequilla, so if you buy him a drink, Im sure he will deal! He is our favorite drunken regular at Tiki Terrace.

We also been working on a drink special for the Thursday night event at our place. We JUST FINISHED IT TONIGHT and we are really excited about it. Served in real coconuts from Hawaii.... has 4.5 oz alcohol... Guaranteed mo betta than any other coconut contained cocktail anywhere in the Midwest!

we'll also give away free raffle tickets on Thurday night... Just ask Phil or Scott for the tickets!

Shootz! Have a great weekend in Chicago!

Tikitatt (me) and my wife Shanna just happened to be in Chicago and just got home about an hour ago. We live in Huntington Beach, CA. and decided while in Chicago we had to check out Hala Kaliki. Funny thing was we remembered some people from last years Tiki Oasis party in San Diego. Hope everyone had a great time and will post our pictures soon. Again, it was great seeing everyone again being a little sober this time. Well should say we started there and not quite sure where we ended up. What a great week we had in Chicago. BTW, too tired to spell check.... Oh well!

Mahalo to all,
Tikitatt

A big Mahalo to all those involved with Exotica 2007! Duke & Amy, The Vastas, Eddie Angel, Fitzgerald's, all the volunteers, the bands and all those wonderful fans who purchased one of my tiki creations on Saturday. Your compliments keep me carving and it is an honor to have a place in your homes and tiki hideaways! Jen and I were hot and tired by the end of the day, but like 2005 we had a blast!

Thanks again everyone!

:drink:

I was in chi town saturday driving from summerfest in Milwaulkee - but no tiki for me just an airport run but I'm interested in what went down - I was so close but just couldn't swing it - any pics vids ???

My girlfriend and I spent about 10 hours soaking up the surf music, the tiki vibe, and about 150 ounces of cool beverages at Saturday's event.

Being our first real tiki event since getting into the scene (we're building a home tiki bar), we didn't really know anyone but everyone that we did speak to was very friendly. We ate both lunch and dinner at the Wishbone next door, wandered down the street to Horrorbles and picked up a miniature Gort doll from "The Day The Earth Stood Still", asked Duke and Amy about our Treasure Craft "albino tiki", gave up a small fortune on Lake Tiki's fine crafts, got some great shirts from various vendors, but mostly just sat and took in the music, hour after hour. (We also sweat quite a bit - ninety-something degrees...phew!) The bands were all top-notch, the dancers were amusing, and I got to see The Trashmen do "Surfin' Bird", a song I used to listen to over and over on my record player as a kid.

And, oh yeah, I proposed to my girlfriend before leaving. (She said yes)

Thanks to everyone involved. Needless to say we had a blast and won't soon forget it.

And, oh yeah, I proposed to my girlfriend before leaving. (She said yes)

Thanks to everyone involved. Needless to say we had a blast and won't soon forget it.

Congrats, that is awesome! The wife and I had a great time as well. It was like an endurance competition at some points with the heat, but the bands and vendors made everything worthwhile.

Man, what a killer party!! Should have some pics up very soon that I'll share with everyone...big thanks to the Vastas and the Dukes for keeping it going!!

Got a lot of the pics up under my MySpace page...user name Mattfink of course. You'll have to friend me to look at them though.

cheers,

Matty

We'd have posted sooner, but we are still trying to catch up with the rest of our lives here following Exotica.

Anyway, we wanted to extend our sincere gratitude to the performers, vendors, venues, and most importantly, the attendees who made Exotica what it was this year. We had a great time and were really thrilled with the outstanding bands, dancers and vendors who worked so hard to offer everyone something really worth coming out in the heat and humidity for.

We could go on and on, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few:

Again, many mahalos everyone!
-Duke and Amy

A big thank you to all of the organizers of Exotica. Your efforts are truly appreciated. The band line-up was great and it was wonderful to hang out with friends and enjoy the atmosphere. What a fantastic event! Thank you for letting me be a part of it.

found this on SG101

The Reluctant Aquanauts videos from Chicago Exotica 2007
Midwest surf guy Guy

The Reluctant Aquanauts - 23 Skidoo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDm2fc-y48E

The Reluctant Aquanauts - 7 Seconds to Perfection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puXj6SzKglY

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Altered State Trooper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYi5PiBxVYw

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Dirty Robber
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj9K7Mg10dY

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Ekranoplan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvAb_aNIT50

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Fistful of Dullards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR-Opi3nOIw

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Jubal Jubal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg47spJWTkE

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Justine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qij6riwJus

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Meatwagon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xigeymba6_U

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Minutemen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRAw8KcFXlw

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Pankration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYEQse7m6YQ

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Spit Bath
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLDrbUNqu6A

The Reluctant Aquanauts - The Old Smuggler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ickM4ci8Gi0

The Reluctant Aquanauts - The Saints Wake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwPkecRf4Io

The Reluctant Aquanauts - Fall Of The Phoenix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhfxUDmZ0Go