new member introduction

Aloha everyone,

I am so excited to be here!
My fascination with Tiki started when I was 5 yrs. old (1972) and living in Athens, Ohio. My parents took me to the Kahiki in Columbus and that one visit made an incredibly lasting impression on me. A wall of real tropical birds! Another room with a huge aquarium! The fireplace, the gigantic Moai out front, the bamboo telephone booth where you went around and around until you reached the telephone in the center! I now live in Vermont and vowed that one day I would go back and see the Kahiki again to see if it was as magical as I remembered it.

In 1998 I was working in a bookstore when a woman paid with a check from Columbus. I asked her if the Kahiki had survived the years and she assured me it was going strong. When I finally had the time and money to make the trip, I went online and to my horror discovered the Kahiki had been razed in 2000! After a protracted period of mourning, I decided that I needed to do something to ease my pain. So I have been researching all things related to the Kahiki and on June 28 through July 8, I am making a belated pilgrimage to the Columbus area. There, my partner (who just opened Hula Cat, a retro culture/Hawaiian garb store in VT) and I will continue my research and conduct interviews for a book about the Kahiki. If you have any anecdotes, historical perspective, ideas, contacts, etc. I'd love to hear from you!

Mahalo,
Tikicat67

It sounds like your very intrigued by the world of tiki, and I can easily sure I am! Have you ever been to Hawaii or the South Pacific before? I haven't but definitely intend to someday. I was sorry to hear about what happened to this great place in Columbus called Kahiki that you liked so much. I wouldn't mind assisting you however I could in order to maybe re-establish either it or a new place that would transcend the atmosphere and experience of Kahiki! To date the closest experience I've ever had in this range would probably be the time I stayed at the Polynesian resort hotel in Walt Disney World. It was quite a long time ago now but I still remember it with fond inspiration and warm feeling. The Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale is also a wonderful place to go for a South Pacific experience. Anyway what was it like when you returned to Columbus (assuming you have by now)?

Welcome Tikicat67,

One of my favorite historical threads on the Kahiki is this one:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=18136&forum=5&168

But there's a few others that have good info as well.

I discovered the online Tiki community just after the final going-away party for the Kahiki, so I missed out on the place completely. One of the saddest losses of the genre, period.