TIKI OASIS IV - How was the Event? How was the Resort? How was The REEF?

Oh yea, my other gripe is that Humu gave away the dress I told her I'd trade for-whatever! (she said she'd keep me in mind on her shopping sprees)

Thanks Shelly for the two beauties! I owe you guys a Raphis. I'll get one from my parents yard, they have many nice potted Raphis that need splitting. I'm so bummed I missed the party but passed out im my room after the show Sat. Cory tried to get me up but I wasn't movin! That won't happen again.

Conga Mike wrote

not trying to be insenstitive to those parents with kids, but we cannot plan our fun/lives etc according to what's appropriate for children

I would have liked to have seen some more Polynesian dancers thrown onto the bill. My concern isn't the so called PG-13 factor "cuz" there was nothing PG-13 about the Seksu Roba video. Just let the adults who have children at the event, in on what they are about to have on stage so the parents can take the proper action according to their own belief system. I overheard one of the burlesque dancers telling someone how odd and awkward it was to be performing on stage while there are all these 7 year olds in the front row watching her every move. But since she was there to do her job, she just put it out of her mind.

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2004-05-12 15:47 ]

On 2004-05-12 12:34, Monkeyman wrote:

We had a great time but I grew tired of people who consistently mooched free alcohol from others with no type of reciprocity.

There were a couple of guys who were having a bachelor party & were staying at the oasis & one kept coming over to Z's room for drinks. I guess i thought that everybody staying at oasis was from TC, kinda bums me out that their was a large number of TC peps on the waiting list to stay at Oasis but this guy got a room. Oh well...

With regard to the PG -fication of this otherwise adult alcohol-based event, the calendar was available ahead of time and those parents who would feel uncomfortable about the burlesque acts could decide for themselves to leave at the appropriate time (or take their kids to the pool during that set) Come on guys !! I'm not trying to be insenstitive to those parents with kids, but we cannot plan our fun/lives etc according to what's appropriate for children!

As a parent of stellar kids, I thought nothing wrong with letting my daughters watch the burlesque gals.

Shielding children from anything but violence serves no purpose; it only sets them up for a rude awakening upon adulthood.

Aloha!

The Oasis was a paradise as usual. Thanks to all who let me barge unanounced into your parties and annoy you with my melodica and my ice-bucket guiro. Next year I'll learn some actual songs and maybe we can have more of a proper Jam--Fisherman, you must stay set up (or re-set up) for some after-party self-indulgence.

The reef looks amazing. The bartenders were ample and great. And DJ Cali's set by the pool Sunday was quite sweet. (I'll save my minor criticisms for the appropriate thread.)

It was a pleasure to meet those of you I met, and perhaps next year I'll meet some more.

Otherwise, maybe I'll see some of you at the Tiki Ti some day.

[ Edited by: lucas vigor 2009-07-27 10:37 ]

I'm a big fan of burlesque and have atteneded every Teaseorama so far. But honestly I would rather see gorgeus girls doing something that was at least island related. Not necessarily tiki but at least something tropical to go with the whole style of the weekend. The first girl that did the dance in a Marttiki glass was tropical I guess but I thought was such a ripp off of Catherine D'Lish's champagne glass bit that I was actually kind of pissed watching it. I mean she even tried to hit a few of Catherine's famous poses inside the glass.

Ginger Goldmine is very hot but I didn't see how her valkyre act really had anything to do with the tiki theme of the night. As Sven has pointed out before our whole tiki thing isn't purley about Hawaiian Tikis so much as it is about the influence of South Seas on American pop culture especially during the late 50's and early 60's, still it seems like there should be something tropical to any act going up. I love burlesque and would have loved to see Ginger Goldmine do a routine revolving around Pele the fire god, or something like that.

As far as the kids situation, that's a tricky one. I don't think the hay day of tiki much worried about kids. Those were more swinger times alla Austin Powers. Maybe the acts that get too blue could get set up for the very end of the night and something get put on the program to let the parents know or something. I don't think Tiki Oasis should be PG 13 at all but if it's going to be labeled as a family event it should probably be appropraite for the whole family. Although I would personally prefer for it not to be labeled as a family event so people were just allowed have a grown up party but then again I don't have kids so my view is kind of partisan toward that side.

I didn't really understand what the future thing was about. I was just happy to be at Tiki Oasis so I just kind of ignored it.

The only thing I found really annoying was the conitouns problems with te sound guy. SOme mics worked some didn't, monitors were way up, seemed like it took all night to get that figured out. It was very noticeable during Lushy's set, which sucks cause teh singer from Lushy has such a great voice.

With all the vendors I don't really imagine that there is anything that could be done about the parking. I parked behind the hotel and stayed there all weekend. The ice machines being empty was a little annoying but understandable. I heard people had stuff stolen and that sucks.

I think that to a point maybe we are just having growing pains. There were twice as many vendors this year, and just lots more people at the show. On Saturday I kind of found myself asking, who are these people, I've never seen them before, where did they come from? Next year I'm sure there will be more people in attendace and more vendors. I just hope we don't keep straying further from the Tiki theme. And we will have to continue to decide wether we want an event that we can have a sinfully good time at, or an event that will be good for the whole family. As the event gets bigger it is no longer our thing and we'll have to deal with outsiders coming in who might steal things or try to push dance patry mix CDs on us. When it was a close knit family if anyone was acting up you could just yell out, "HEY TIKI BONG, STOP BEING A JACK ASS" and that usually settled things (just jivin ya Bong). By Saturday night I only knew maybe half the people at the Oasis. Next year I'll probably know even less than half as things keep growing. Some growth is good though, hell we got The Fisherman in all the way from NY this year, how great was that? I'm sure the vendors sold more this year than any other previous year, and that's gotta be good. Like I said, we're just having growing pains, figureing out what parts of the teh tiki scene growing we like and what parts annoy us. Allot of us used to love moshing, stage diving, and floating. Now we're the ones at shows going, "Hey someone could get hurt".

Whatever nitpicking we are doing now I gotta say this was the most fun I have had all year and will be booking my room for next year as soon as they are available. Thanks to Otto and Casey for doing this show and I can't wait for the next one.

The only contructive thing that I can say is, I WILL be there next year.

I would place one thing above all others--mellow exotic music by the pool.

I think that all of the other craziness going on has distracted from that one key element. Saturday there was no music until what, 3:00? And no speakers by the pool. Worst of all, from the pool one heard two things at once--The truly Smokin' Menehuhes from inside, and the DJ playing some things that were probably on Keri "Bone Girl" French's CD. Not that I mind danceable 60s French pop, but exotica would be a little more relaxing by the pool, and I would have liked the DJs to go lighter on the jokes and heavier on the mood. I know Otto had a lot to deal with, but I would have been happy to set up the tables myself early Saturday and Sunday and fill the earlier part of the day with soft, pure exotica and polynesian.

Another point, at all costs the slide show and the real film projector should be restored. Preferably manned by Sven and Kevin, but with or without them.

To weigh in on others' points: Parking passes would be good. More ice: good. I love the idea of polynesian acts (fire probably wouldn't be possible), and I didn't like Seksu Roba's sound (apparently I missed something by not watching the stage show), but I wouldn't get too bitterly purist about it. I like the burlesque, but would gladly sacrifice one or two acts for some Hawaiian dancers or another great band.

The uke jam was very nice--mellow and enjoyable. How about hula lessons??? Personally I would prefer these more authentic events over hula hoops, origami shirts, and costume contests. But over all, I just hope that Otto doesn't feel pressured to put on a bunch of distracting events. To me, the whole thing is about soft music by the pool in a beautiful environment, with like-minded people.

All that said, Otto, I can't thank you enough for what you do for us. The Tiki Oasis is always a supreme pleasure, and there were many notable improvements this year.

Taken from Tiki News Webpage.

Seksu Roba (LA)
Inter-galactic Space Love Electronic Exotica music featuring virtuoso Theremin player Sukho Lee, and Lun*na Menoh - vocalist, costume designer, and performance artist. Theremin solos, Nunchuck disco dancing, future sex video projections, and 7 foot tall robot are all parts of the Seksu Roba experience.

There it was, in black and white and I missed it! I did dig the nunchuck disco dancing though! My concern was stricktly with the video I keep mentioning, with which I am done.

I had a black dress of gauze like fabric. There were 3 or 4 big off-white blotches with purple tikis on them on each side. I left it on a pool chair to hold my place and it got stolen. Unbelieveable.

Also, if someone remembers leaving a men's shirt with short sleeves and a collar in Room 135 on Saturday night, we brought it to the front desk of the Caliente for safekeeping.

Parking passes and a visit from an ice truck would be good!

Pop, I agree with your seedy-element observations. On Friday night in 135, I felt really uncomfortable with the vibe. I felt like they were just using the place because it was the party room (maaaaaan)and the host's only purpose was to feed them drinks or something. I sensed at times what I felt was an "alien" element, and it wasn't just in the Monster's Lair.

The only time I have encountered burlesque is at Tiki Oasis and Fisherman, both associated with the San Francisco scene; I don't think that most TCers associate tiki with burlesque.

I left when the Japanese group was playing. This did appear to be an adventurous choice! It bums me out that the Friki Tikis didn't play at the Oasis and this band did, though.

THE FRIKI TIKIS SHOULD PLAY AT TIKI OASIS V. :)

This Oasis was a lot of fun this year. Thanks to The Von Stroheims, CASEY, Hukilau Brown and Dave and Rebecca. It was a memorable time!

I guess I missed all the fun....
I gotta get a new job.
...or work Monday through Thursdays.

SAD MTKahuna

On 2004-05-12 15:15, Conga Mike wrote:

Come on guys !! I'm not trying to be insenstitive to those parents with kids, but we cannot plan our fun/lives etc according to what's appropriate for children!

My argument had nothing to do with the PG-fication of the event. On the contrary -- yes, I watched the burlesque show with my son on my lap and I have no problem with that. Believe it or not at his young age, he didn't see anything there that he hasn't seen before.

What's not being understood is simply this:

BURLESQUE IS NOT TIKI.

I don't have anything against Burlesque but it is what it is and yes there are people who have an interest in both but it has its own scene.

This is a TIKI event sponsored by the TIKI News called TIKI Oasis.

In my opinion, the money spent on 6 minutes worth of burlesque would have been better spent on 1 hour of Tahitian Drummers, Polynesian Dancers, Hula Girls or the FRIKI TIKIS in keeping with the TIKI theme.

---

**Poly-Pop ***

He who dies with the most broken mugs WINS!

[ Edited by: PolynesianPop on 2004-05-12 17:24 ]

On 2004-05-12 12:37, Conga Mike wrote:
My one single criticism : There was an "older" gentelman at the Reef (at around 4pm Friday) who was pouring the worst tasting Mai Tais I've had. This is a very discerning Mai Tai crowd and you cannot pass off "rum with a dash of who knows what"

I too got a mai tai that suuuucked ! Who was that guy anyhow? I switched to beer right after and would probably have not ordered another mixed drink from the reef, but a friend of mine bought me a far better mai tai later (obviously mixed by someone else) so I gave them another chance

On 2004-05-12 13:36, fishhead wrote:
I did'nt partake in any of the parties[little shy came by myself]but pretty comfy by the time I was packing my art up on Sunday.Oh well next year..

Hey Fishhead, I did not get a chance to stop by and say hi. I dig your art. My booth was in the shuffle board area. Sorry we missed you. swamp fire lounge

I think the parents in the audience that I heard complaining about the senso robot sex, were justified, and most of them said, 'the burlesque was on the schedule, the fetish porn wasn't' the other thing, burlesque is REALLY different than fetish porn. Otto and Baby Doe were alerted (by me) of this negative feedback, I'm sure they'll address it. TO is a family event, but it's up to parents to watch their kids and plan ahead. Most of us are adults, and there is drinking, some misbehavior is expected :) The ice, Humu2 is right, the machines can only make ice so fast. The parking, passes would be great. Entertainment, well it's Otto's event, he can book who he thinks will give a cool show, who he can get at the price he can pay. and who is available. It's A LOT of work, and he wants to make the event a great experience for everyone, but it isn't always easy to get the performers you want. Who knows? I'm sure when he comes up for air he'll peruse this post, all these suggestions are valid!
I wonder if was the bachelor party boys who were harshing my mellow in dr. z's room saturday night? I went to 135 and was greeted with tiki love and a yummy mai tai!
all in all, I had a great time :)

I am with you Bong on child censorship. I had no problem with the burly Q dancers from a parental point of view but struggled to see the relevance to a tiki based event.

I know that this is not new to the Oasis and it was not a surprise but as I sat and watched the Burlesque and Japanese techno music I questioned the applicability to this type of event. The last thing we need is to make this event more "hip" and attract simple party people who have no interest in the ohana style gathering that we have become used to.

blah blah blah

Hello from the Northwest.
In reply to "Polynesian Pop". I do agree, on the most part. But at the sametime, I have nothing to base off of, since this was my first Tiki Oasis Fest.

I agree on the wrist bands, and big time on the parking, I purchased my ticket when this first was published on the net. And it was a pain in the butt parking a couple blocks away, and have to carry things back to our room. I was asked twice (Friday & Saturday) if I could move my rental, so things could be set up.
And like Polynesian Pop, I'm not bad mouthing the festival.
And since I'm in radio here in Seattle, I've worked my share of festivals, parties, concerts, etc. and they all have had some kind of problem. So I'm adding my 2 cents, and hope this helps for next year.

All the best.

Gary
Paradise NW Studio

[i]On 2004-05-12 17:17, PolynesianPop wrote

In my opinion, the money spent on 6 minutes worth of burlesque would have been better spent on 1 hour of Tahitian Drummers, Polynesian Dancers, Hula Girls or the FRIKI TIKIS

Or 5 days worth of the Smokin' Menehunes (hey, we're cheap).

Saturday there was no music until what, 3:00? And no speakers by the pool. Worst of all, from the pool one heard two things at once--The truly Smokin' Menehuhes from inside, and the DJ playing some things that were probably on Keri "Bone Girl" French's CD.

Can't tell if I'm included in those targeted by this comment, since I deejayed on Sat from 1-3:30. The music actually started at noon, but a couple people did mention that they couldn't hear it much by the pool. We probably couldn't turn the mains up much more since they overheated at least once anyway at the volume they were at. Even with the DJ awning (thanks!!!) the equipment was still getting pretty hot - you could fry an egg on the main console. I think it was pretty audible in the vendor area though, even loud by the stage. Maybe more speakers would've helped distribute the sound to the pool, but I don't know how complicated that would've been, and I can't exactly volunteer what amounts to work and cost for someone else.

I did hear the first couple songs by the guy who started at 3:30, and it sounded like exotica to me. Can't speak for the rest of his music, since we went to see the Menehunes. But sorry to hear you were unhappy with the audio experience, FattMatt.

Regarding the other sundry forms of entertainment, I'm glad that not everything was my bag, because I would've never gotten to eat. But personally I think it's a little tough to use "is it tiki?" as a yardstick for what should be on the bill. I'm sure glad Project Pimento played again this year, but I can't say if they're tiki or not. Don't even know if King Kuk would say he's "tiki", but as a charter member of the King Kuk fan club, I'd love to see him get more time as a performer in addition to MC.

Anyway, we had fun!

-Randy

I've already posted an apology in another forum page here, but ironically, the only aspect of the whole weekend that left me feeling disappointed was my own - the dive-in movie. I've heard one actual reference to it, and that was in a private email, so apparently the overall reaction was apathy!

In any case, the decision to use video came because I don't have a print of "From Hell It Came" - the only "tiki" monster movie in history, I believe, and even then, that's my own interpretation of it - in 16mm. I much prefer film over video
as a rule (I book and host films at a "real" movie theater, the Parkway, here in Oakland), and only resort to other formats when there's no choice, depending on the context (I showed a crappy DVD of "She Gods of Shark Reef" at a tiki show here last year, but at least it was on the big screen, and wasn't the only entertainment of the evening, we also had the Devil-ettes, short films from Otto, etc.) Finding South Sea island flicks can be a tall order, kids.

I love the whole concept of the dive-in and was honored to host it this year - Monica and I had a lot of fun giving out prizes on stage, and I'm grateful to Mig (Gorilla X) for his cameo) - but the murkiness of the video on a small waving sheet couldn't even hold my attention, much less anyone else's. Too bad, because indoors these kinda flicks are a lot of fun to watch as a crowd, especially a drunken one.

Next year, if Otto asks me to bring Thrillville back to the Oasis, I'll have to arrange something in 16mm, (I have a guy I use for local road shows, but's not into tiki and has no tiki stuff on 16, really), get a bigger screen and move it to a more strategic location.

In fairness, under the circumstances, it was the best we could do. But now we know better, so next time, the presentation will be better.Can't promise the movie will be, though....

As for everything else, I personally loved the retro-futuristic theme (which fit my B movie schtick perfectly, and vise versa), and of course I can't get too much booty-shakin'. But then I'm not a Polynesian Pop purist, I like combining my retro interests (tiki noir, sci fi tiki, robot tikis, burlesque exotica, it's all works for me, like a mixed cocktail). As for the sophistication of the content and its suitability for families, maybe next year there should be a "cut off" time for more adult themed aspects of the program so parents will know in advance what's coming. No reason to cut out the sexy stuff, though, at least from my perspective. For a lot of us, tiki is a sensual experience, especially after your fourth Mai Tai.

I found parking easily enough, too, and I wasn't even staying at the Tropics. But that' s just me. Other than my own technically challenged gig, I have no complaints with any of the merchants or performers. I met a lot of very friendly, like-minded folks from all over, and for me, that's what it all comes down to. Whether I host the dive-in again or not, I plan to return next year. Kudos, Otto.

This was my first Tiki Oasis and I couldn't hae enjoyed it more. I showed up Saturday to work the bar gate. Otto, Mateo, and crew run a class operation. Not only did I get a ticket for volunteering, but a tiki mug and free drink as a thank you. I didn't tell 'em that I should be thanking them. While at the gate I got to meet a slew of really nice, friendly T.C.ers. and put faces to the monikers.

I was a little surprised that there wasn't tiki music around the pool. Running some speakers out there would be a good idea. Even an underwater set. That's pretty cool if you've ever heard them. With all the diverse talent on this board perhaps someone can come up with a plan. Certainly the Menehunes should have been piped out there.

I thought the burlesque dancers were a nice surprise (not knowing what to expect).
Is there such a thing as polynesian burlesque? Hell, throw a grass skirt on her and I'm sold.

I loved the dive in movie idea. Didn't even mind the small screen (I just swam to the deep end), but as above, perhaps someone can come up with a plan for a bigger screen next year.

I must have missed the undesirable types. Everyone was pretty cool. I'll be checking in for the full weekend next year!

Another Fisherman/Crazy Al movie:

http://www.tikibot.com/misc/fish_rap.mov

(1.8 meg Quicktime movie)

And some more random pics:

Bamboo Ben puts his advertising assets to good use

Suicide Sam displays Al's garish garnish

Scrimshaw & friend (who is she?)

Zombie tasting!

Vintage Girl is most appealing...with Johnnie Velour, Utopian Dream, Tiki Bird, Trader Pup

mmmm...fur bikini....

Fisherman brings good vibes to APE

Disco Ben

Shely (right) & revellers

Martiki 3-fists it

TV interviewer looks terribly out of place

Utopian Dream got the Johnny Velour bowl I dreamed of getting

Iuka Grog's Ukelele Fantasy Camp in the fabulous new Reef Bar

Takin' in the scene

Tiki-bot

[ Edited by: Tiki-bot on 2004-05-12 19:38 ]

[ Edited by: Tiki-bot on 2004-05-12 23:08 ]

On 2004-05-12 16:19, lucas vigor wrote:
Someone pissed in my beer..was it you, Bong?

Oh great! It’s another, “I wanna piss Bong off, but I don’t want him to know who I am” New Membership ID.

I've never understood the current connection between tiki and burlesque. Neither does my dad who, back in the day, frequented many Polynesian clubs and burlesque clubs (he dated Lilly Christine, the Cat Girl.). He says they were absolutely not the same thing, though there were burlesque dancers who performed in grass skirts. And I'm pretty darn sure most kumu hula would be offended at having their craft compared or connected to burlesque.
Myself, I would rather have seen more Mai Kai Gents and Smokin' Menehunes than burleasque.

This was my 3rd TO and I do have to agree it did have a very different vibe this year. The first time I went (TO 2), it was great. There were few vendors, but all had great stuff to sell. The drinks were out of this world and the music was perfect! There was just enough people to make you feel as if you were at a backyard BBQ.

Last year (TO 3) in my opinion was the best year. The music was on from the early morning thru late in the evening. There were huge speakers set up on tri-pods around the pool so music was everywhere. There were more vendors than the year before which was great, but not too many. A few vendors were offering great deals on mugs, pendants, carvings, etc. I got the best scores from Munktiki, picking up the unreleased mugs skull monkey ($10), U Bastard ($15), El Bastardo ($10 in red too!), two-Tiki Oasis lil' Bastard mugs in white ($14 for both), even a Shecky for $18 (which was the most expensive mug I purchased). I left the Munktiki table with I believe 13 mugs and spent less than $150. I also picked up great mugs from Tiki Diablo, House of Tiki, and Tiki Farm. Total mugs purchased 21...total amount spent $200. Don't even get me started on the Mai Tai's....all I have to say is I was feeling pretty good! And the tiki carvings...outstanding! There was a live tiki carving show, dive-in movie, I even got a personalized letter from Shag were he signed it and drew a little pic of himself.

This year, in my opinion, seems as if there were more vendors than people who were there to just enjoy the atmosphere. The feeling of just relaxing with people that share a same special interest seemed to be lacking. The event did have a little "swap meet" feel to it. About the items getting stolen...that's some bullsh*t! I have always felt that "tiki people" are the most trustworthiest people I have ever known. Our towels were stolen (and they weren't the cool towels from the tropics with the tiki's on them either) from our personal lounge chairs while my hubby and I went to get some drinks, that pissed me off royally! Towels??? Those towels were $15. $15!!!! What kind of person steals cheap used towels??? The music, I'll just say that The King and Crazy Al are always the best in my book. And the deals??? What deals? This year the cheapest mug I bought was $25 (not bad at all, but the only cheap mug), thanks Tiki Diablo! And as for Munktiki, don't get me wrong, I love these guys and I think they do fantastic work, but this year, I walked away from their table with three mugs and $185 less in my wallet (compare to last year) and there were three other mugs that I wanted from them, but if I bought them, I would have been out an additional $400 which is simply out of my price range. I bought five mugs this year and spent $250 and I really shouldn't have spent so much (tapped). It made me kind of sad but not in the normal "sad" type way. I thought it seemed like the prices at most of the vending tables were as high as they were to maybe discourage resale, ebay, etc. I know resale happens, but it sucks for the people (like me) that are collectors and ONLY COLLECTORS that might be getting the shaft because of this.

The parking, I really can't complain because I did find a parking spot. I did think it kind of a bummer that people had to move their cars and park blocks away. The ice...MORE ICE it was freakin' hot!

I know I'm going on and on, but I just hope that the TO event doesn't turn into something far from the original vision of it. Too much of anything (tiki excluded of course) can be a bad thing. Over the top isn't always better. Tiki is simple, tiki lifestyle is relaxed, kick-back and enjoy yourself and hopefully this will remain throughout all future events....just my opinion. :)

The older guy at the bar tried to stick me with a bad drink too! I guess the several Mai Tais I had previously fortified my courage to comment as I watched him hand me the drink. I pushed it back and asked him where the dark rum went and he replied, "...oh yeah, I forgot." Sure he did. I avoided him for the rest of the night when I fetched further rounds.

I enjoyed all the acts. I think the variety enhanced the entertainment. I enjoy aggressive hula dancing (like the opening credits of Hawaii Five-O)as much as the next guy but just because the entertainment wasn't exactly spot-on doesn't mean it wasn't fun. P.S. I hate it when friends drag their kids to our poolside luaus and then expect us to change our behavior due to their presence. Post the schedule and let informed parents decide if its proper.

Thanks for the great time and friendly welcome.

This year was our first too. We had a great time meeting some new friends and partying with some old ones. Al & Shelly were very generous with the Lapu Lapu's, Shipwreck and Mustang are always fun, Kick the Reverb and the Mrs., Bong, Monkeyman, Modmana, Bongofury & the Mrs. and TikiRider were great to just hang with. Can't wait to get together again.

As for the thieves.....the creeps stole our towel too (and left the cooler full of booze alone, dumb ass).

Otto & BabyDoe, we know how much work planning an event like this is and we appreciate it greatly and are looking forward to next year.
:drink:

[ Edited by: OnaTiki on 2004-05-12 23:08 ]

next year, I may just bring my stuff to give out to counter the bad juju of the few schmucks! did anyone get to take any of the candles that I left in the Reef bar or the pool area? I hope so! I would like to send Al and Shelley a nice candle or sumpin' to show my room 135 appreciation! Even though this was my second Oasis and I feel I know a lot more people better now, I still need to learn the lore of room 135! It seems to be hallowed ground and I want to respect it's importance!

On 2004-05-12 19:36, Tiki-bot wrote:

Scrimshaw & friend (who is she?)

That's ME, Futura Goil!!! (in my mumu that should have shown more cleavage if i had it on right :)

[ Edited by: Futura Girl on 2004-05-13 00:41 ]

I would have liked to had a Tiki Oasis IV t-shirt available for purchase...maybe with Derek Yaniger's artwork thats featured on the program that was handed out. Were shirts made for any of the other past events?

you @#!~*& guys??? the only thing to complain about is the god-damn Mother’s day weekend thing....

this whole discussion comes down to money.... Mother’s day is the slowest weekend of the spring season for the Tropics and was offered up as the only option to June’s 115-degree festivities of the first two years.
But after selling the thing out beyond capacity (even on mother’s day) two years in a row should be enough to demand any weekend the event wants!!!!

As for the rest of the squabbling... one should remember that this is a “Tiki News” event not a “Tiki Central Event”!!! Remember... this guy Otto, who being great friends with this guy Sven, started a fan-zine in 1995 about tikis.... that just might have started the ball rolling on this whole tiki thing....
Hmmm... long before TC could have ever existed there where folks who really got it... could this be true?

Any way... anyone who shows up at hotel for a weekend of partying without a huge ice chest full of ice and booze is a complete armature.

Otto being the original Tiki cheap'o... thrift shopper of them all... has always had the goal of an affordable weekend.
I still can’t believe the price of last years event, and the year before was $10 I think.
But guess what... you get what you pay for. Even at $40, entertainment for two nights is dang good.

If any of you have hired a pro Hula-Tahitian dancer before.... you will know that they aint cheap!! in fact they’s dang expensive... forget about the fire dancers.....
I would rather see the armature burlesque friends of Baby Doe and Otto than a crappy second rate hula group looking for publicity... that’s for sure (totally un’tiki). True, maybe the dancers should concentrate on their acts a bit, and get a bit more in theme. I know the gal from Vegas in the Tiki glass was to do a fire-breathing bit, but that was exempted by a snaphew. The Bone chick was right on, but not right on time... If you want Hawaiiana there are plenty of festivals to go to. This is a ‘Tiki’ event by Tiki News... the original!

I say no Mother’s Day!.... more people... more doe... more doe... better acts ... better management delegation... you can only do so much with volunteers.

If you want private TC parties, reserve your own hotel or throw your own festival.
Oasis is a public event. The last I knew TC’ers were a minority of the populace.

The last I knew there was no romper-room at Trader Vic’s.... deal with it.

this sums it up.....
“This was my first Tiki Oasis and I couldn't have enjoyed it more.” SPYTIKI

[ Edited by: crazy al on 2004-05-13 01:54 ]

TikiBot! you always got the camera rolling at the right moments!!! I got to get a copy of that one with the Fisherman.

Finally stopped falling into naps every hour... Reef, stage set and strike, vending, performing, enjoying, pool water fighting... crap... next time i should just show up with a lawn chair and take it in...

Thanks for all the support at my booth and cheers for the band...I had a Blast again!

next year NO MOM'S DAY!!!

[ Edited by: crazy al on 2004-05-13 02:42 ]

I would like to thank Bad Brad and Angelo(Tiki Guy) and KuKui Nut(Sara) for the wonderful stage decorations, without their help it just would have been a black rectangle. Oh, and I think C'Al did some too.
And some really grumpy guy helped.
Otto, next year can we get the stage on Thurs.?

Casey, The Tropics was so good this time!!
Ulla was so nice, she changed a couple of things for myself and friends,"NO PROBLEM"

Casey it was great to see you more this time, and happy too.

The Purple Orchid crew was flippen fantastic, I really watched a huge difference this time. Dave your ordering skills are right on!!

Still one of my favorite places to visit!!

OH MY GOD did I have some great Las Casitas grinds. The seafood chimmy heaven!

I parked right in front of my room the whole time!!

On the way in I stopped at the store and filled my 155 quart ice chest and never ran out.

It was quite fun meeting new people, and seeing my TC family, I love them!!

Al - One of the aspects of this fundraiser was the timing. It is held at a time when the place ordinarily isn't attracting too many guests. If we had the event during "on" season, we chase away/displace other guests who would otherwise have stayed there and Caliente loses. If they sold out the event, all the better. If the need to fill out the place on an off-weekend will continue to be an important consideration, if you still want to help out Caliente, then it's either Mother's Day or it's 115 degrees.

I like that people can bring their kids.

It's true that no one forces us to watch the entertainment. There are other things to do, for sure. I only made it out there for a couple of acts, myself. I reckon the lanai will be less crowded that way.

I don't think that TC is an insignificant minority of the participants. I'd love to see the numbers, though.

[ Edited by: floratina on 2004-05-13 08:41 ]

On 2004-05-12 20:01, Unga Bunga wrote:

On 2004-05-12 16:19, lucas vigor wrote:
Someone pissed in my beer..was it you, Bong?

Oh great! It’s another, “I wanna piss Bong off, but I don’t want him to know who I am” New Membership ID.

That's 'cause I am his bass player...I Like to screw with him..and besides, I think he DID piss in my beer!!! (but he did it with love!!!)

Tiki Central is NOT a minority at these events. The list of TCers that I was trying to snap photos of at the Oasis was at LEAST 95 people long. That number does not include the spouses, significant others, kids and family that several TC folk brought along. That also does not include the scores of people who use Tiki Central to get information but are not actually registered users.

In total, I would guess that Tiki Central participants(member, spouse, family, freinds, etc) at the Oasis were at LEAST 180-200 people. That is a large enough number where our concerns or questions are valid ones. No one is asking for a private party but rather was sharing observations as to how the event has evolved.

It was an excellent event as always and the amount of work donated by volunteers (like yourself C'Al) is amazing to say the least.

Some of the feedback in this post can make the event even better next year and some of it is just venting or perhaps a little frustration.

Get more volunteers involved in the planning process. I am certain that it would not be difficult to find active participants here at Tiki Central. Raise the price!!!!!!$60 each.

I think the only reason so many kids were there (mine included) was because of it being on Mother's day! Although my wife and daughter split on saturday, I would've caught hell I were here by myself all weekend, tiki-ing it up!

NOW! with that all said and done, let's think about how freakin' awesome the TIki Oasis is! I hope that Otto doesn't getted bummed by this thread...I use C'al's opinion as a springboard for how Otto might be feeling. Personally, I had a fantastic time....I was butt-stinking drunk on saturday night and woke up a few hours later completely fine! no spins! no nausea! nuttin'! you know why? Freakin' Tiki Oasis, that's why! Because, even though there may be some gripes, these are the people I want to be with in the environment in which I want to be! I am hearby propping up my banner with Otto's face on it! Thank God for Otto and Tiki Oasis!

As a reminder, this thread is not about bashing anyone but rather, to provide constructive criticism so as to improve the Tiki Oasis event for future visitors.

Remember, our very complaints about last years (Tiki Oasis III) Reef bar fiasco is what prompted the improvement in the Reef bar in this years Tiki Oasis event.

I love Tiki Oasis and I enjoy attending every year. I also appreciate all the work that goes into planning and organizing an event of this magnitude. And it is for these reasons that I think its a good idea to address issues that could be improved.

**Poly-Pop ***

He who dies with the most broken mugs WINS!

[ Edited by: polynesianpop on 2004-05-13 15:47 ]

Yeah like I said, we're only knitpicking now. Tiki Oasis is the most fun I have each year, it's better than Viva Las Vegas, I enjoy it even a little more than Teaseorama (no disrespect to that event which I also love). WIth all the complaining about stuff being stolen or dance mix CDs I still don't think that there is anyone hwo went to Tiki Oasis that regrets going. Otto put on an awesome show and many thanks to Casey for having us.

FYI for those interested (whoever you are): Just talked to Otto and he said he can arrange a bigger screen next year for the dive-in movie, even if the only person the small screen really bothered was me. I'll try to arrange 16mm again (as with "Hawaiian Eye", which now costs about 300.00 to screen, which is a shakedown since I rent 35mm films from them all the time for only 250.00!), but we'll probably wind up with DVD, which, on a large screen at a 1:33 ratio, will look great and practically indistinguishable from film. At least if you're bleary eyed from chlorine and rum.

Thank you to Crazy Al and Bax and Kukui Nut and Tiki Guy for the stage and it's fabulous adornments :)

On 2004-05-12 15:51, Tiki Bird wrote:

On 2004-05-12 12:34, Monkeyman wrote:

We had a great time but I grew tired of people who consistently mooched free alcohol from others with no type of reciprocity.

There were a couple of guys who were having a bachelor party & were staying at the oasis & one kept coming over to Z's room for drinks. I guess i thought that everybody staying at oasis was from TC, kinda bums me out that their was a large number of TC peps on the waiting list to stay at Oasis but this guy got a room. Oh well...

The Oasis was advertised other ways in addition to Tiki Central--Otto's tiki email list is one way I know of. Did the Tiki Central folks get advance notice of the event--or did others like those on Otto's list, etc find out at the same time? Wouldn't it be great to fill up the place with ONLY Tiki Central folk?? When I was at the Oasis two years ago-there were alot of folk who were NOT there for the Oasis, so at least this year because of the pre-selling of rooms almost a year in advance, I would say all of the people had to be there for the Oasis-no accidental drop-ins.
Of course, I am generalizing about TC--every now and then some @@shole joins Tiki Central (we usually take care of them quick!!) but I am always pleased at how incredibly friendly the average TC member is!! Congrats to all of us!
Now, I can't wait to meet more of the Portland crowd Friday night at the Alibi!

On 2004-05-12 16:02, Tiki_Bong wrote:

With regard to the PG -fication of this otherwise adult alcohol-based event, the calendar was available ahead of time and those parents who would feel uncomfortable about the burlesque acts could decide for themselves to leave at the appropriate time (or take their kids to the pool during that set) Come on guys !! I'm not trying to be insenstitive to those parents with kids, but we cannot plan our fun/lives etc according to what's appropriate for children!

As a parent of stellar kids, I thought nothing wrong with letting my daughters watch the burlesque gals.

Shielding children from anything but violence serves no purpose; it only sets them up for a rude awakening upon adulthood.

My friend told me that there were hard-core sex scenes on the video that was projected during the "sexy robot" show--I think that is what most of the parents wished they could have shielded their kids from.

[i]On 2004-05-12 16:23, suicide_sam wroteI think that to a point maybe we are just having growing pains. There were twice as many vendors this year, and just lots more people at the show. On Saturday I kind of found myself asking, who are these people, I've never seen them before, where did they come from? Next year I'm sure there will be more people in attendace and more vendors. I just hope we don't keep straying further from the Tiki theme. And we will have to continue to decide wether we want an event that we can have a sinfully good time at, or an event that will be good for the whole family. As the event gets bigger it is no longer our thing and we'll have to deal with outsiders coming in who might steal things or try to push dance patry mix CDs on us. When it was a close knit family if anyone was acting up you could just yell out, "HEY TIKI BONG, STOP BEING A JACK ASS" and that usually settled things (just jivin ya Bong). By Saturday night I only knew maybe half the people at the Oasis. Next year I'll probably know even less than half as things keep growing. Some growth is good though Like I said, we're just having growing pains, figureing out what parts of the teh tiki scene growing we like and what parts annoy us. Allot of us used to love moshing, stage diving, and floating. Now we're the ones at shows going, "Hey someone could get hurt".

Bigger is not always better-there does have to be some limit. One way to help the growth problem would be to(here he goes again...) alternate the event between Mothers Day and maybe mid-june the next year--from my understanding the weather this year was warmer than usual and was pretty close to what it would be in June-so those of you that didn't want summer weather-you got it anyways. You just don't know how Mother nature is going to react! Changing it to mid-June when it is a little hotter will cut down (a little-only a little) the amount of people who want to go. The die-hards will show up no matter what!! The odd hangers-on may not :)

On 2004-05-13 13:38, mrsmiley wrote:

My friend told me that there were hard-core sex scenes on the video that was projected during the "sexy robot" show--I think that is what most of the parents wished they could have shielded their kids from.

So that's why my mom wouldn't let me go.

Thats some great advertising you had at Oasis RBB!

[ Edited by: Tiki Bird on 2004-05-13 13:57 ]