Tiki at the Ol' County Fair

Went to the San Diego County Del Mar Fair this past weekend, and not only noticed tiki for sale at a mask/sculpture vendor (mixed with African and Southeast Asian knickknacks), but also this stand-alone vendor called "Tiki Breeze":

This is the first time I've seen a tiki-only vendor at the county fair. Does this speak to the fact that tiki is getting e'er closer to ye olde mainstream?

Prices were pretty stiff. Quality -- to my now-TC-trained eyes -- kinda on the low side. There was a sorta-nice Tiki Pavilion with raised platform, table, built-in chairs and thatched roof, but at a "Fair Special" price of $3,199 I think I'd be happier writing a check for one of those giant jacuzzis with all the trimmings.

And just because it's that County Fair time of year, here's a few of my favorite off-topic pix:

I thought there was a huge amount of tikiesque things to be found at the Fair (San Diego's July 4th County One) - the landscaping exhibits were almost all South Seas, including a deserted native village, and lots of tikis gamboling through the flowers. There was also the High Seas booth in the Bing Crosby building, with lots of decently priced retro tapa-cloth shirts. Or the tropical plant booths, plumeria all over the place. Once your eye becomes trained to the stuff, it's everywhere.

And you could have quite a day just trying to photog all the hawaiian shirts being worn...

San Bernardino's fair in May had it's fair share of tiki too. Nothing says tiki like a tamale...

On 2006-07-03 13:37, Cammo wrote:
Once your eye becomes trained to the stuff, it's everywhere.

Yes but once your eyes are trained to seek out the smallest tiki, when you hit an area of high tiki concentration you can suffer "Tiki Blindness" and your mind practically explodes. I would not recommend going in Trader Vics with your "Tiki Eyes" open.

the landscaping exhibits were almost all South Seas, including a deserted native village, and lots of tikis gamboling through the flowers.

How I now do regret feigning exhaustion and even a bit of a limp (that could only be fixed by a visit to the beer garden) in order to prevent Mrs. Satan's Sin from dragging me into the landscaping exhibition! Grrrr!

[ Edited by: Satan's Sin 2006-07-03 15:14 ]