The Hukilau 2013 Official Thread and Announcement

This may be your last opportunity to pick up an authentic Mai-Kai chair ... for just $10 each.

The Mai-Kai wants The Hukilau attendees to have the last chance to buy before they're sold off locally. These are the used chairs from the bar and dining rooms that were replaced in 2009 and have been in storage since.

Buyers will need to take the chairs with them. No shipping is available. If you're interested, contact Pia Dahlquist at pia@maikai.com or ask for her during the event.

Here's a previous thread on the original chair sale in 2010:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=37372&forum=5

I got two of those, they were one of the best birthday presents ever. :) Maybe I'll have to buy a few more and ship them back...

I wish an unnamed local tiki bar would buy these and get rid of the torture chambers they
call chairs.
Good price Too!

Here is a few new ones fer ya.
First one is Fish in a float with glass.
The second and third one is a Fish in a float with no glass.

-==--==--==--==-Google "Tiki bar lights" To find TIKISKIP-==--==--==--==-

¦:-·:''"":·.-:¦:-**-:¦:-·:''"":·.-:¦

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2013-06-03 06:32 ]

We just played our last show before The Hukilau, at the Huntington Beach Pier on Sunday. I gotta say, we're all warmed up and ready to go!
Just four days till we play The Hukilau! Can't wait!!

(Photo by John-O)

Spike
http://www.facebook.com/thehulagirls
http://www.thehulagirlsmusic.com

[ Edited by: Luckydesigns 2013-06-03 09:17 ]

wooohooo, Dawn and I leave tomorrow night! Can't wait to see old friends and meet new ones
and go put my toes in some warm sand and beach water while drinking a cocktail made with
Deadhead rum! heehee....
Also, I guess there is decent snorkeling about 75 feet off the beach
out front of the hotel, has anyone ever done this there?
I'm bringing my snorkel gear. hope I can make it out that far!
Looking forward to all the art, bands, rum, great outfits.... YAY!!!!

I recently handed off Mr Tiki (of the Mr Tiki's Wild Ride thread http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=35612&forum=1&hilite=wild%20ride ) and he is on his way to the Hukilau!
If anyone is interested in picking up Mr Tiki and showing him your home town (and then sending him along to another deserving locale let me know!)

From The Atomic Grog: Here's a guide for locals, or anyone else showing up at the last minute looking to make the most of The Hukilau ...

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2013/06/05/a-locals-guide-to-the-hukilau-how-to-get-in-on-the-tiki-mania/

South Florida DJs James Brown's Sweat, Action Pat and Sensitive Side will get The Mai-Kai moving on Thursday night.

Tickets will be available at The Hukilau registration desk in the Yankee Clipper lobby on Thursday (noon to 10 p.m.) and Friday (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.). It's $27 for Thursday, $40 for Friday, $75 for a three-day pass and $95 for a four-day pass. For the first time ever, the Tiki Treasures Bazaar will be free and open to the public Saturday afternoon. This includes the Bunny Yeager signing and Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid's final swim.

A multi-day pass also gets you free admission to all Mai-Kai events. Otherwise, it's $10 for the Thursday night Official After Party, $10 for the Saturday Main Event and $5 for Sunday's screening of "Plastic Paradise."

The Mai-Kai has also announced a free post-party on Sunday afternoon with happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m., live music and three "lost cocktails" from the 1956 menu that haven't been served in decades.

I'm here!!! (Well, not at the clipper at th moment, as I am driving up to Orlando to see myself in Ripley's!!!)

about one more hour until Pea picks me up to go to the airport. We'll be there first thing in the morning.

heading down now...

Aloha villagers! Welcome to The Hukilau. Registration and ticket sales run from noon to 10 p.m. in the Yankee Clipper Lobby.

Today's schedule includes the Tiki Treasures Bazaar and art show at the Yankee Clipper, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Kickoff Party featuring Gold Dust Lounge, 7 p.m.-9 p.m. on the Yankee Clipper's Main Deck (poolside).

Deadhead Rum's Official After Pary at The Mai-Kai featuring The Intoxicators plus DJs James Brown's Sweat, Sensitive Side, and Action Pat; 9 p.m.-midnight. And Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid performing in the Yankee Clipper pool, 1 a.m.

Full schedule here: http://thehukilau.com/2013/schedule-of-events/

Hope the weather holds out for you! Stay away Andrea!

It's 3pm now, looks like one more band of rain will be coming in to our area 4 or 5 hours from now, and then it could be nice weather for the rest of the weekend. As long as nothing new develops behind what's already out there we should be good. Fingers crossed!

Where to find best cocktails at The Hukilau:

Here's a comprehensive rundown of what to expect at the various venues and The Atomic Grog's picks for best bets if you're looking for an authentic tropical drink while enjoying all the festivities.

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2013/06/06/its-all-about-the-rum-where-to-find-best-cocktails-at-the-hukilau/

The rain arrived much faster than I expected, in only 2 hours, at 5pm. It looks like the band of rain has thinned out considerable, could still make for a wet kickoff party at the Yankee Clipper, at least at first... Get there early for "dry" seating, if any available. It is a pool deck, so there's not much cover except possibly on the balconies around the pool. Am still optimistic that weather will improve after this evening.

Are you ready for Day 2? Here are the highlights:

Tiki Treasures Bazaar and art show at the Yankee Clipper, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Special guest mermaid Tiki Bree performs at noon. "The Urban Primitive" tattoo symposium, 1 p.m. Cocktail Mix Up with Angostura Rum and Bitters, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Tiki carving on Fort Lauderdale Beach, 3 p.m. "Tales of the Yankee Clipper" symposium, 4 p.m. Main Event hosted by King Kukulele and featuring Ìxtahuele, The Ding Dong Devils, The Hula Girls, DJs and more, 7 p.m.-11 p.m. on the Yankee Clipper's Main Deck (poolside). Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid performs, 11:30 p.m.

Also, in case anyone didn't know: The Hukilau has a check-in on Facebook. When you check in at the clipper, "The Hukilau Polynesian Weekender" will come up. We're also encouraging Instagram users to tag their photos #hukilau #hukilau2013

And don't forget good old Tiki Central. Post your photos here too!

10:51 AM Update.... The party at the Mai Kai was great last night. I got there a little early to get a pupu platter before the crowds. A rum barrel and Jet Pilot got the night off to a great start. The weather was a little scary with the Tropical Storm, but it cleared up and the weather is great.

The party must have been successful because the bazaar isn't open yet..apparently some of the vendors had a really good time last night.

[ Edited by: Tonga Tiki 2013-06-07 07:54 ]

Yes, I think the party was very successful last night. So much so that I took advantage of everyone and, between the Mai Kai party and the 1am mermaid swim, I went on a search for the hidden Deadhead bottles. I found the bottle with the key and will bring it to the Deadhead team later. At one point security approached me and asked if I "needed help finding something." I simply replied, "No thanks, I'm fine," and then walked off leaving them scratching their heads while I continued to search for the hidden Deadhead booty. It was a VERY fun night!

My full interview with Beachbum Berry, which was featured in The Hukilau event program with some answers shortened for space, is now posted:

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2013/06/07/take-5-jeff-beachbum-berry-tiki-cocktail-author-and-historian-extraordinaire/

A few photos of the opening night performers ....

King Kukulele!

Gold Dust Lounge gets the Yankee Clipper party rocking.

And The Intoxicators destroy The Molokai lounge at The Mai-Kai.

On 2013-06-07 10:48, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
My full interview with Beachbum Berry, which was featured in The Hukilau event program with some answers shortened for space, is now posted:

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2013/06/07/take-5-jeff-beachbum-berry-tiki-cocktail-author-and-historian-extraordinaire/

Nice interview. His new book sounds great!

Nice interview, you asked very good questions, thank you.

Aloha and good morning! Today is a big day at The Hukilau.

The Tiki Treasures Bazaar and art show at the Yankee Clipper are free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. "The Culture of Vintage Hawaiian Shirts" symposium is at 11:30 a.m. Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid performs at 12:30 p.m.

At The Mai-Kai, "Beachbum Berry Presents the Wild West Indies" symposium is at 2:30 p.m. The Main Event at The Mai-Kai runs from 4:30 p.m. until late. Dinner shows are at 7:30 and 10:30. See performances by Ìxtahuele, The Ding Dong Devils, The Hula Girls, The Intoxicators, and The NovaRays.

Check the full schedule for times: http://thehukilau.com/2013/schedule-of-events/

Sounds like an amazing time. Please post lots of pictures for those of us that couldn't come.

• Dale

[ Edited by: littlegiles 2013-06-08 07:25 ]

Some photos from Friday ...

Evoking memories of the Yankee Clipper's long-lost Polynesian Room, Nani Maka makes a special appearance with Larry Hines, son of bandleader George Hines.

The NovaRays surf in from from Orlando.

Late-night shenanigans by The Disasternauts!

Here are some photo highlights from Saturday ...

Beachbum Berry presents "The Wild West Indies," an insightful symposium to kick off the day's events at The Mai-Kai.

The Hula Girls rock The Molokai bar.

It was a tremendous treat to see Ìxtahuele play in the Tahiti Room.

Mahalo to all the fabulous villagers for the past four days. We're sad to see everything end today. But you can still squeeze in some fun at The Mai-Kai:

Skinny Jimmy & the Stingrays play at noon, and the documentary film "Plastic Paradise" is shown at 1:30 p.m. Following the film, The Mai-Kai will host an after-party with happy hour from 3 to 7, two more sets from the band plus special "lost cocktails" that haven't been served in decades.

We hope to see everyone again June 12-15, 2014!

Thanks for the photo of Nani and I.
It was very special for me to perform the song my father(George Hines) wrote for Nani.

What a terrific event this year, EVEN with the, um, tropical weather.

I especially want to shout out to the volunteers who helped. Many, MANY of them worked lots more hours than their shifts indicated, pinch-hit in multiple areas and without them nothing would have gone nearly as smoothly as it did. So MAHALO and a half.

Thanks also to the Hukilau Crew (Christie "Tiki Kiliki" White, Stacie "Heelgrinder" Herndon, Jim "Hurricane" Hayward and Brian Crum) for being the best to work with.

Mucho mahalo!

Joe The Exhausted Volunteer Coordinator, a/k/a...jokeiii

[ Edited by: jokeiii 2013-06-11 11:52 ]

A few photos from Sunday's final festivities ...

Skinny Jimmy & the Stingrays kept the diehards dancing in The Molokai all day. We didn't want it to end.

After the screening of "Plastic Paradise," villagers enjoyed three special "lost cocktails" as a mahalo from The Mai-Kai.

We hope everyone made it home safely.

See you June 12-15, 2014!

Hands-down the absolute best Tiki event in America. Top dog, head honcho! And the best dressed by a longshot :)

thanks for having me & making me feel welcome.

this was my first hukilau, and it was both a great time and a learning experience. Next year I'll be back with more stuff...

mahalo...

The Ding Dong Devils had a wild and wonderful time at Hukilau 2013. The following are some scenes from the magical weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, FLA.

Before a tasty Hukilau 2013 adult beverage...

... and after!!























Pssssst, there's a secret party down the hall.

The Mai Kai is amazing and Hukilau is funner than all get out!!!

Edwin Rama Lama Letcher

Hey that's a lot of my favorite peoples!

Rain or not it still looks like a lot of fun.

On 2013-06-11 08:56, bongofury wrote:
Rain or not it still looks like a lot of fun.

A LOT of fun.

On behalf of The Hula Girls, I just wanted to say how much fun we had playing for you all! You couldn't have been a better crowd... and to have the opportunity to play in the Mai Kai?? What an honor and a what a blast!

A giant thanks to Christie for bringing us all of the way over to the Hukilau!! We hope to do it again soon!

THANKS!!

Wow, what a sensational Hukilau! Deepest gratitude to everybody's hard work staging this sensational event.
Tristan filmed my swim Friday & I would love to share it with you. For those of you watching from the Wreck Bar, the video video shows a unique view of the presentation. Ixtahuele's "Gardens of Mu" is perfect as the background music.

http://youtu.be/fs8Fv3qbuog

If you click on it and it doesn’t go through, copy and paste it into Google or whatever search engine you use. Then click on: TikiBree Mermaid Swim Hukilau 2013 – YouTube.

[ Edited by: Tiki Bree 2013-06-12 10:24 ]

I had to miss it to see Bunny Yeagar. I'm so excited that there's video! Thanks for posting, watching it now. :)

Thanks to everyone that has posted photos. I'm assuming there are (many) more on Facebook - does anyone have a link to any that are available publicly for us non-Facebook types?

Mahalo!

kevin

I hear that! I'll up load my pics this weekend Not many but all special...

PS, Chuffie really enjoyed meeting everyone. he was so tired when we got home.

Heylownine, you'll see some familiar So Cal faces here. :)

Sweet, thanks John-O.

kevin

#13 is funny John O. Wendy

Here are a few more choice shots ...

Beachbum Berry concludes his symposium in praise of The Mai-Kai's cocktails and legendary mixologist Mariano Licudine.

Mai-Kai general manager Kern Mattei leads the crowd in sing-along of his new "Hukilau Song" (aka "Rum in Your Mouth") with a little help from King Kukulele and Crazy Al (right) as Hukilau organizers Stacie "Heelgrinder" Herndon (left) and Christie "Tiki Kiliki" White look on.

Check out the full gallery of 40 photos ...

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.515682055164971.1073741824.148004721932708&type=1

Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28078283@N05/sets/72157634137985007/

Great, thanks for the links!

kevin

Aloha Long Lost TC Tribe !

Been awhile since I have posted here... It was great to see some of you at Hukilau and reconnect. go11.com was happy to sponsor photography again this year at the Hukilau and you can find all our images at : http://go11media.smugmug.com/Hukilau/Hukilau-2013

Downloads are FREE !

Some Extremely random samples:

Great stuff, Bohemiann, but this one needs blowing up & framing...