NW Tiki Crawl 2003

Okay, this is it. We're calling it the NW Tiki Crawl even though it's just a tiny little spark of a crawl this time around and we're going to a polka fest as part of it, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

So the plan is this: Saturday May 3 we meet at 5:00 Mr. Tiki Bars fabulous basement tiki bar in Portland (directions forthcoming from Mr. Bar) for drinks.

At 7ish we head to the Norse Hall to partake of the madness that is Polka de Mayo, featuring the bay area's own Polkacide. After a couple of hours of polka and big hair we'll probably all need a mai tai, so at 9 we'll move on to Jasmine Tree for drinks and snacks. A little JT goes a long way, so at 10-10:30 we'll make our way to The Alibi, where we'll finish the evening's festivities - sorry, but I just won't be ready to open Castaway Cove before the June 7 Season Opener, so you'll just have to wait.

We'll have maps to all the various locations for all of you out of towners, but you'll be on your own for transportation.

Please let us know if you're coming, where you're staying and at what point you think you'll be joining us so we can be prepared. Mr. Tiki Bar, anything to add to this?

This is going to be a BLAST!

I'll be there! This is the first real stop on my road trip. I'm not sure yet where I'll be staying, probably someplace close to the Alibi.

We will be set for Saturday (Whoops) evening. Tikitronic and Kim believe they are in, tikiwahine is in, and Seamus, a Tiki News reader hopes to make it in from Waldport.
Several of mrtikibar's polka chums will round things off. So what to wear?
Any word from Woofmutt? How about you other NW tikiheads?
My address is on Baxdog's Tiki News post about the crawl. If you are coming in on I-5 from the north, take the OMSI / City Center exit. Stay left and get on SE Belmont St. Take Belmont to 20th ave. Turn south (right)and travel to Hawhorne Blvd. Turn left and go 2 blocks to 22nd ave. Turn right and in about 3 blocks you are our place at 2204 SE Harrison St. It is 5-10 minutes from the freeway exit depending on traffic.
Before I forget, thanks to Mig and the other experts for their organization tips.

See you guys soon. So Maxton, should we just play it by ear for transportation? At this late date that might be best. I will put some maps together.

[ Edited by: mrtikibar on 2003-04-30 18:27 ]

humuhumu,
The Palms Motor Hotel is across the street and up a block from the Alibi. All I know about it is it has a great sign and it probably was pretty busy before the freeway went in.
3801 N Interstate Ave; 503-287-5788.

Although I can hardly wait for the crawl to start, we will, in fact, have to wait until SATURDAY (not Friday). John, give me a call tonight (or I'll call you) and we'll touch base.

Thanks for the hotel tip, that sounds perfect! Now, where can I find a barkcloth dirndl at this late hour?

'stinct possibility I could make this...But I'll skip the polka for more Alibi time.

Ms H: I've picked up $30 rooms at the dwntn Sheraton (nice, not lux, and easy access to all points Portland) on pricline...Of course with priceline there's no guarantee where you end up. The Palms has a swell sign but looks a little dive-esque. On the other hand it's a short stumble from the Alibi.

On 2003-04-30 16:50, woofmutt wrote:
'stinct possibility I could make this...But I'll skip the polka for more Alibi time.

Woof, I'm glad there's a possibility you can make it - you've been a stranger to Stumptown for far too long. No surprise to me that you'll pass on Polka - had a feeling it wasn't your cuppa...

For those of you who are prepared to wrestle the beast that is Polka de Mayo, I just saw a brief teaser on the local news - looks like it's gonna be a HOOT! Kind of a cross between the Polish Festival, Tony & Tina's Wedding and the Dada Ball. Ten points if you understand all three references... This could be the first Tiki Crawl to warrant a mid-evening costume change! Check out the link for details: http://www.pdxpolka.com/events_home.htm

See everybody Saturday. Polka-tiki, polka-tiki...yeah...

I am bummed that I am finding out about this too late. My sister lives on the Oregon Coast so I drive through Portland (from the Seattle area) every now and then. I'd love to attend a tiki function this year and meet some of you. I hope you upload some pics so I can see what I missed...

Exoticat, that is a bummer. As is finding the perfect site for purchasing tiki-polka wear a little late.
http://www.bowlingshirt.com/hawaii/hawaiianshirts.html

Mr. Tikibar, I just went and briefly perused through the member photos to see what you look like. You have a picture of you from 1960, so one can only imagine what you look like now as you jump through the time machine into 2003. Any recent pics anywhere? If I end up in your basement someday, I'll need your pic or an FBI background check first. snerk.

I do want to say that I thought it interesting that you posted that pic from your childhood as I think the tiki obsession has its roots in something that happened to each of us then. Well, maybe not ALL of us, but those of us who grew up in the 60's or 70's probably had some experience that we can blame this on. I'm still trying to pinpoint what happened to me and wonder if someday I'll stumble across and old picture of me with a tiki. Did they have tikis at Pixieland? (this is a test) I should have a raging obsession with Pixies based on that, but don't. ha

Anyways, have fun tonight...wish I could be there! Sorry the weather changed today...maybe it's nicer in Portland. We have a bit of drizzle with the sun trying to push through the overcast clouds. It shouldn't rain if you have to crawl around on the ground. :wink:

Ok, here I am with valid ID in hopes of being allowed into your basment someday. You care about this because I have a basement that YOU might want into one day.

[ Edited by: exoticat on 2003-05-05 16:26 ]

There actually is a current pic of Kitty and I on page 5 of the member photos thread.
Fun was had last night. Kitty lost her glasses but I obtained a bowling ball. I say it's a wash.

That was a spectacular evening, even if we did get a little scattered about the city by the end. :)

Thank you especially to Mr Tiki Bar - your basement is a beautiful environment - I am envious and inspired to do more with our apartment.

I have pictures, but I'm not entirely clear on how to add them to the image gallery as an album instead of 30 individual pictures. I'll post again when I figure that out, (but if anyone knows, feel free to tell me).

Mrtikibar ~ Thanks so much for directing me to the photo of you and Kitty! I'm glad you had fun and hope that Kitty still somehow finds her glasses. You acquired a bowling ball? ha ha I'm sure there's a story in that!

I love your basement Tiki Bar, and all previous joking aside, I really am working on my own. August 9th is my deadline. Unfortunately basements are known as a great place for things that you don't know what to do with, so the eliminating clutter plays a role in completing this dream that's been in the work for some time.

I wish I could have gone to the NW Tiki Crawl for info, advice, and feedback from you all. Glad it was fun! Any pictures? I love seeing photos!

Tikitronic (and Kim)
Thanks for showing up with a camera that actually worked. I'm really kicking myself for having a camera with a dead battery that night. I'm leaving a link for how to post photos.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=2067&forum=1
Thanks for all who attended and especially to Tikimaxton and Maggie who made it happen.
I was shot after three major parties. I tried to rally at Dublin Pub and rejoin the TC group but it wasn't even close. Getting old. So did Tikiwahine and Woofmutt show? How did things go?

Tikitronic,
This is probably the link you want for posting an album.
https://tikicentral.com/tikicentral/archives/oasis2003
Exoticat,
Good luck with your basement. You can do what I did. Throw up some walls and toss all the un-tiki clutter on the other side. Out of sight, out of mind.

It really was a fun night. I'll post an in depth review (or at least as much as I remember) soon, but I want to make sure to thank our spectacular and gracious hosts, Mr. Tiki Bar and Kitty for throwing a kickoff so cool that nobody wanted to move on to the next event! Also big Mahalos to the lovely and charming Humumu and to Seamus as well for travelling great distances to join us.

More later, hopefully to be illustrated by Tikitronic and Kim's photos - great to see you guys again after SO long :wink:

After winning the bowling ball. (There is a tiki on the back of the shirt.)

She hasn't lost the eyeglasses yet but we now understand why it happened.

More...
http://www.ethnoid.com/polka03/

Thanks for posting the pics, John! You must have got your camera working not long before we left (after Polkacide's brutal rendition of Pennsylvania Polka but before Pass The Cabbage, apparently).

I promised a review and here it is - Tikitronic and Kim, it will help my narrative if you could upload those pics you took at Mr. Tikibar's. Keep in mind that the group divided and re-assembled in many different configurations throughout the evening, so this is strictly from my point of view - anyone who had a different experience will have to post their own review:

Maggie and I arrived fasionably late at Mr. Tiki Bar's swank basement hideaway to find it already nearly packed. Many of Mr. TB's friends, as well as Humuhumu, Tikitronic, Kim and Seamus were in attendance (please forgive me if I forget anyone - my memory of that night seems to be a bit cloudy). Mr. T was pouring Mai Tais and Straw Hats like a mad man, and I learned that a straight man should not order a straw hat at Mr. T's - he'll quickly tell you, "Well, it's kinda gay...". I took his word for it and stuck to the excellent mai tais. Wish I'd passed on the third one, though, as the night was still quite young...

Once we'd wet our collective whistle and socialized for a bit, the group split into two camps: Those tough enough to polka and those not. Those of us who went on to Polka de Mayo had an amazing/weird/uproarious/sweaty/dressy good time, as you can see from the photos. The crowd was livelier and more colorful than almost any you're likely to find in stumptown, and Polkacide RULED! Where else can you see a scary biker-looking dude with spikes in his skull playing clarinet, along with a band of even scarier looking folks, and where can you here The Chicken Dance played so fast that you get blisters on your "chicken fingers"?

Mr T won the bowling shirt handily, thanks to his large entourage and their booze-fuled applause. The lovely used bowling ball and bag were more than a fair trade for Kitty's glasses in my opinion.

And speaking of Kitty, I must say that there is no more gracious hostess to be found in our fair city - she kept us fed and socializing and wouldn't hear of any of her guests lifting a finger for anything. Superb!

At this point the crew split yet again, with Mr. T and pals heading off to see a firends band, while Maggie and I took our followers off to meet the advance party at Jasmine Tree. It should be noted that it was no big surprise that Mr. & Mrs. T did not rejoin us later in the evening as planned...

Well, as I've said before, a little Jasmine Tree goes a long way, so by the time we arrived our party had already moved on to the Alibi. The waiter told us that "The Tiki People" left word for us to meet them at The Alibi. So we headed north.

We got delayed by some sort of activity on the Broadway bridge, so we arrived later than expected at Alibi, but just in time for their free midnight appetizers and a rousing rendition of "Ice Ice Baby" from the karaoke bar. I'm probably not qualified to review the appetizer buffet because I must admit that I have a particular affinity for free food, but even I was a little take aback by the stuffing and gravy. Still, we needed the carbs by then...

Tikitronic, Kim, Humuhumu and Seamus were at Alibi as expected, but Woofmutt was MIA. Did he ever show up? And there was another gentleman I believe from TC, but I'm sorry to say he drowned in my third or fifth mai tai. At any rate, they had a nice seat by the fire and we all had a lovely time yelling over the "singers" on the upper level. Must've been 1:30 or 2:00 when we generally disbanded and Maggie and I took Humuhumu to her motel (how scary WAS it?). Rest assured, Maggie drove as I was far too happy to be bothered with operating heavy machinery.

All in all it was a lovely event, and we learned a lot about how to do the next NW Tiki Crawl, which Mr. T and I have agreed must now become an annual event. Thanks everyone for showing up, and don't hesitate to pass on suggestions for next year!

My excuse is too dull o go into, but there was some bamboo involved. That's as exotic as the weekend got.

hello hello - here is a link to our NW Tiki Crawl Photos - http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b33f3dc88447
sorry for the delay -

Tikitronic,
Thanks for the pics. Hope to see you guys at a future event.

Mr Tiki Bar (are we supposed to type that with or without spaces when addressing you?) - I'm sure we'll meet again -
We plan to be in Portland for awhile:)

By the by - you pour a strong Mai Tai mister!
I've never been that off balance after 2 drinks before...

Great pix. Mr. Tiki Bar, your place looks top notch. Nice work!

I just loved all the shots of a tiki bar populated with people dressed to polka. Bizzare but very cool!

-martin

Martin,
Thanks. It was indeed an unusual night. Good news. Kitty found her glasses. They were on the floorboard of a drivers car so now she has a spare pair. Hope to see some of you at TikiMaxton's upcoming tiki-affair.

Hello Everyone! Much thanks to TikiMaxton and The MrTikiBars for organizing and hosting what I hope to be the first of many NW TikiCrawls. And thanks to Tikitronic for posting all those great photos. It was really great meeting everyone. MrTikiBars basement pad is really topnotch. Perhaps as the event progresses we will discover other secret hideaways? If I were still living in Ptown I would glady put my place on the list, but since I now reside 2 1/2 hrs away in the "exotic" oceanic outpost of Waldport I don't think it would work into the schedule. I am really looking forward to the Castaway Cove opening. Mrs. Seamus and daughter Fiona are excited as well. I'm working on a new sculpture that I'm hoping will be ready to unveil at the event. It's my largest one yet. We just returned from the city where we attended a Big Lebowsky 40th Bday bash. Had alot of fun, ended up closing down Grand Central Bowl, and are kinda lucky we didn't end up in jail. The Dude had wayyy too many caucasians (white russians would be the preferred nomenclature). It was a hilarious night, but we suffered the morning after.
Look forward to seing you all in a couple weeks.
cheers!