ideas, please

I'm hoping to pick the collective tiki brain but first, a little background.

I live in Dunedin, Florida, on the west coast, in the Tampa Bay area, on the Gulf of Mexico. Dunedin is, for Florida anyhow, a pretty cool arts-supporting community with its own microbrewery, two nice martini bars plus lots of restaurants and neat-o shops 'n' boutiques. Did I mention we're on the Gulf of Mexico? No surf to speak of but some very nice beaches. I Belli Di Waiki played here as part of their Hukilau-releated mini tour and went over very well.

Several times a year, the powers that be in Dunedin put on themed street festivals where the whole of downtown is blocked to vehicular traffic, vendors set up to hawks their wares/food, there's live music and thousands of people milling about, having a grand old time. The biggest of these events is a Mardi Gras bacchanalia complete with floats and a parade and the aforementioned live music. Yeah, I know - a Mardi Gras celebration in a Florida city with the old Celtic name for Edinburgh is a helluva cultural juxtaposition but cut us some slack, we're Floridians - pretty much everything's from somewhere else (except me, I'm a native.)

For the past couple of years, they've done some lame-ass disco themed BS. Ho, hum, snore. But this year one of the primary organizers has come to me, asking for my ideas and help in coming up with a theme ... and they wanna go tiki! My surf/lounge band The Vodkanauts will perform along with several others.

So I come to y'all, seeking ideas. I'm stuck with the date, early March, but other than that ...

1. Name - gotta have a cool name for it. Puns are a beautiful thing, in my book.

2. Carvers, tiki artisans & vendors - would some of y'all from around Florida or points beyond be interesting in traveling this a-way to display, sell, put on a demo? I can certainly give y'all intros to the various galleries and boutiques in town for post-event selling purposes as well.

3. How many Florida tikiphiles would be interested in coming for such an event?

4. Any other ideas I can pitch to the organizers? They're very cool, hip, artsy types so don't be bashful.

Carpe tiki!

Get the Red Cross to come set up Rum I.V's in case the blood alcohol of any of the carvers gets low.

Since I live in Tampa, I'd love to assist.

Why don't you send me a private e-mail: [email protected]
and we'll see what I can help with.

Tampa is normally a pirate town - everything's drowned in Buffett.

Perhaps we can infuse a little "Tiki Time" into the local lexicon.

Skipper's Smokehouse almost has the vibe, would you agree? I seem to remember your band playing there.
With a few tiki's set about and some torchlight... it could be a true destination for TCers.

Marian and I would join you -- if some major schedule conflict didn't happen. What's the exact date?

I live up the road in NPR. Count me in!

It'd be on Fat Tuesday, which I think is the first Tuesday in March.

Gonna build a float?

Yes, all the local businesses and civic associations/clubs build floats and they're all geared towards whatever the theme that year is ... and the next one'll be tiki if my fiendish plans come to pass, brwahahahaha.

Are you still in Dunedin? Searched for Dunedin in this group just to see who came up, and saw this old post. Funny now we have a great tiki bar here in Dunedin right?