Vancouver tiki?

Calling out to all BC TCers, is anything happening in Vancouver this summer? I'll be there for about 10 days between the 12th and 22nd or so of July. I'm definitely going to check out Funhauser, but what about the Waldorf? Are the lounges there still closed to the public? Does anyone know of any events there in July? Finally, any other recommendations while I'm in town? It's not my first trip to Van, but I haven't been since I caught the tiki bug. We'll also be heading through the Okanagan, if there's anything noteworthy between Kamloops and Osoyoos. Any comments would be much appreciated! And, yes, I've used the search function :wink:

The Waldorf is only open for special events. See the Waldorf Hotel Polynesian Room posting.
You may be lucky with your timing as there is usually a Hot Rod show in July at the Waldorf and the Polynesian Room is open, but nothing is booked yet so keep checking back.

As for other Tiki in Vancouver....there isn't any! That being said, there are lot's of antique shops, vintage stores and thrift shops for you to hunt in.
There were a few different Tiki establishments here but they are all gone now but you may be lucky enough to track a relic down.

Get your Tiki butt over to Funhauser as that's all we got. Make sure you check out the Taboo Tiki stuff!!!
Someone might say go to Raglands in North Vancouver but I would skip that one!! Not really worth seeing. A Tiki/Hawaiian/Tropical establishment should not have a large "rastaman" over the bar.

Go to the Tropika Restaurant on Cambie St. if you like Malaysian Food and some decent tropical drinks. Skip the one on Robson St.

Otherwise have fun and enjoy the city!! TabooDan

Thanks, TabooDan. I read that post, but I guess I was hoping they had started to open the rooms up on weekends again. We have two Tropikas here, too, but if anyone says the one on Cambie is better than the ones in Edmonton I'll believe 'em and check it out. I'm really looking forward to Funhauser. We have a place on Whyte Ave called Mars and Venus which is probably the best place in town to buy new Tiki stuff and other assorted retro clothing, decor, etc. Funhauser looks better, judging only by their little tease of a website! Anyway, thanks again. I always have fun in Vancouver!

In defence of Raglan's, the food and drinks are pretty good. You can also check out the Lonsdale Quay nearby. To get there, take the seabus from Waterfront Station on W. Cordova St.

Try to see the rooms at the Waldorf even if nothing is going on. And 3 blocks to the east on E. Hastings there's a big Value Village. From there, you're only a few blocks away from Attic Treasures (Commercial at Venables) which is a nifty retro store.

Absolutely check out Funhauser (way better than Venus & Mars). Say hello to Peter and Alan and mention Tiki Central. Be prepared to drop a wad 'o cash.

The Tropika restaurants in Vancouver are the same as the ones here.

Kamloops is an excellent thrifting town. There's a Value Village and a few other thrift stores downtown and another pocket of thrift stores around Tranquille Road. Here's a list.

-Sweet Daddy T.
Because crap doesn't buy itself.

Read my blog

[ Edited by: Sweet Daddy Tiki 2008-04-22 11:41 ]

My buddy went to Vancouver for a hockey tournament last month & spent a good deal of time in Seattle. He said there's an amazing record store in Seattle & he ate at a place called Hula Hula. He brought me back a very kool bucket mug from Hula Hula made by Tiki Farm with a wahine on one side & a tiki shield on the other. He said Seattle is loaded with untouched mid-century Americana. It's now on my list of must see places. Have fun!

Everything I know about Van is non-Tiki, but the most fun I had there was on a bike.

-Bring (or rent) a bike and ride the seawall at sunset, go clockwise around Stanley Park, starting at the southwest corner of the park, ending at the 9 o'clock Gun (at 9 o'clock of course for the big bang). I recommend bringing liquid refreshments, rum or otherwise, to enhance the ride.

Here's a map of Stanley Park:

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/parks/stanley/pdf/stanleypark_overviewmap.pdf

-Vancouver's North Shore and Whistler are the best places in the world to ride a mountain bike, if you're into that kind of thing.

See if you can get in touch with Dr. Tiki and the gang, they live there.

Alright! Now I have lots to do. Except that I'll be with my wife and we have our friends' wedding and I'm only going to have time to do... aw, I'll have lots of time! I don't know if I'll be able to get to North Van, but I may check it out by Sweet Daddy T's recommendation. Definitely won't have time to go to Seattle. That's a trip for another summer. But I love Kamloops. We'll be staying there on the way down and we always stay at that heritage hotel right behind the V & V downtown, so I'll be bringing that list and dragging my wife to as many thrift stores as I can get away with! Thanks, everyone!

Definitely stop by the shop, let me know when, I'll make sure I'm there!

Hey Pepe!

We'll be in Vancover Saturday night!

Where should we go? We got 10 people...

Mahalo!

Hey Tikigap!
Definitely drop by the shop! I'll be there on Sunday and Atomic Al will be there Saturday. I think TabooDan has been giving you info on what's up around town too. We seriously lack in the Tiki venue department but I believe the Waldorf has a Salsa night in the upstairs lounge. I like to go to Subeez Cafe, they always have good food and can handle larger groups. It's not Tiki but it's a cool space!

link:
http://www.subeez.com/

Not exclusively tiki - but Alexander Lamb Antiques at 3271 Main St (604-876-8713) houses the Exotic World Museum, a small room containing the collections - including Oceanic carvings and photos - that a now-deceased Vancouver couple acquired during their exotic world travels.

On 2008-04-22 11:37, Sweet Daddy Tiki wrote:

Kamloops is an excellent thrifting town. There's a Value Village and a few other thrift stores downtown and another pocket of thrift stores around Tranquille Road. Here's a list.

I second that. I spent last weekend in Kamloops and scored a Harvey's bucket mug for fiddy cents.

We're staying overnight in Kamloops July 11, then heading on to Van in the morning. The thrift stores had better not be all picked over by the time I get there... :wink:

This may be a little late, but while in Van, try and check out Commercial Drive. A new restaraunt has opened up called Me & Julio, and - while I haven't eaten there (like I can afford to eat out?!), the theme is all bamboo and grass, at least from the outside & the patio. The Drive also has probably the widest array of world-cuisine establishments in such a short stretch - Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian, Greek, Vietnamese, etc. along with the usual pubs and small corner-markets. And of course there's cheap pizza everywhere.
(Take advantage, though; with the skyrocketing leases around here they may have all been replaced by trendy clothing stores and franchised food by next time (four small stores have closed in the past month or so :()!)
There's even a large Value Village a couple blocks up Hastings at the northern end of the drive.

Yeah, I saw that place. Looked interesting from the outside, but we didn't go in. I did hit Funhauser and spent a little money on a few goodies! The few thrift shops I've been to so far have been fruitless, however. We've still got a couple more days here, then we're off to the Okanagan for some wine tours. I plan on hitting every small-town antique store that I find along the way. I love those places! You find the craziest stuff and they never seem to know what anything is really worth!

I thought I might as well post some of my purchases from this road trip. I bought these Accoutrements moai swizzles from a place called Golden Buddha in Kamloops:

The thrift stores there were dry after Tikiwahine came and cleaned them out. I bought the following at Funhauser (I think Pepe le Tiki was there, but I didn't introduce myself - maybe you remember some guy wandering around for 45 minutes, looking indecisive...?):

I needed a mug fix so I bought a couple of Dynasty mugs, plus TV Navy Grog mix and TikiQuest which are impossible to get in Edmonton. I could have bought so much more, but there's always next time. I found yet another Suehiro mug in Pentiction but other than that this is my only thrift store find of the whole trip:

The guy at the counter was holding firm. I tried to bargain him down but he wouldn't budge, so I bit the bullet and coughed up the 25 cents he wanted. It's a good thing I knew its "real value" or I might have just walked away... :wink: So in the end, I didn't find a lot, but what I did find was pretty sweet!

Holycraponastick!

I've been looking for one of those for over 5 years! Searching the glasses section at thrift sotres, I scan for the tell tale golden stem.

Though I don't think I need to say it, great find!! I'm glad to see they're still find-able in the wild.

It was pretty freakin' lucky! I wouldn never have expected to find one of those glasses, let alone in some small, no-name thrift store on East Hastings. Maybe it was from the old Vancouver Trader Vics before it was hauled away on that barge? I definitely felt compensated for not finding anything else worthwhile during the rest of the trip.