CHICAGO - April 28th WED - mini Tiki gathering at FIZZ

Announcing - Wed. April 28th at 7pm - a mini Chicago TIKI gathering.

Fizz Bar and Grill
3220 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL

Fizz is not a true Tiki Bar, however they do have the right spirit, and they have TIKI drink specials every Wed night.

MingleParty.com has invited Chicago's own TIKI BAR REVIEW PAGES' James Teitelbaum, the author of TIKI ROAD TRIP (TikiRoadTrip.com) to attend an party event at FIZZ on WED April 28th.

It was no coincidence that the organizer made it a WED night. That's TIKI night at Fizz. Most times it has very few Tiki people there. So this will be a good test of the Chicago TIKI crowd. We did great last year, at the EXOTICA 2003.

The TIKI drinks will be flowing downstairs at FIZZ, and there is also a drink served in a PINNEAPPLE ! Way cool.

Upstairs will be the "MingleParty" with special guests, including James Teitelbaum with his books to buy and sign, and several other featured guests of the Mingle Party (who are not TIKI at all.) There will be a Wine Tasting, and Hors d'oeurves, for $40 cash at the door, or only $20 in advance for TIKI enthusiasts....by purchasing tickets in advance on the website, MingleParty.com with the promotional code "TIKI44" (which is only given to those people on this posting.)

So bring your Hawaiian Shirts and let's get Chicago started on meeting one another to set up more fun nights of Mai Tai's and partying like a Luau.

Mahalo

warwick greville
Chicago Party Organizer.

OH BOY! OH Boy! HURRY Hurry....Step Right Up!!

Glad to see another tiki gathering in Chicago. Missed the last book signing at Trader Vic's a few weeks ago. I'll be there this time.

On 2004-04-09 15:04, tiki junkman wrote:
Glad to see another tiki gathering in Chicago. Missed the last book signing at Trader Vic's a few weeks ago. I'll be there this time.

Dude,
Just so you know this is LAME-O. Go to his website and check out the cast of characters. I would rather spend an evening sticking red hot needles in my eyes or shoving bamboo shoots up my fingernails. Do yourself a favor and find something else to do that night, or go and torture yourself! This is not a sanctioned Chicagoland Tiki Event!

The Chicago Tiki Mafia
"Protection of Historical Tiki Urban Artifacts from possible extinction"

[ Edited by: La Tiki Nostra on 2004-04-09 15:34 ]

"Sanctioned??" By who, you? What, tikiphiles in Chicago are supposed to wait in their cozy little home bars until you deem an event to be unlame enough for them to come out and gather? Until Exotica 2012?

Chicago has got a ton of tikiphiles, and they don't seem to ever get together -- it's bizarre, and a terrible shame. Yes, it's entirely possible that this event will be lame, but at least someone's making an attempt.

This event will only be as lame as the people who are there, and all it would take is a couple of TCers to show up, find each other, and hang out for it to be a good time for them. If a bunch of local TCers show up, they won't even notice that the folks around them aren't tikiphiles. That's how these things get started -- ask the folks in Arizona, Florida, Portland... all of these areas were devoid of tiki events until someone had the balls to start meeting. If you don't want to spend time with other local TCers, that's fine, but don't make other TCers feel like dorks for wanting to meet.

I always loved Humu's style.
Good luck on the gathering.

I am with you Humu. Not only is it a chance to meet and greet with some fellow TC'ers but also a chance to keep up with the support of James and his great book. So maybe the bar isn't a full on "tiki" bar but talking tiki with some fellow TC'ers including ole' James makes this event something to come out for. Any other Chicago TC'ers coming??? Let's blow the "unsanctioned untiki" lid of the place that night! I'll see ya ther JT!

i just wish these things could fall on a weekend, so i could make the trek up for a change!!!

On 2004-04-09 15:48, Humuhumu wrote:
"Sanctioned??" By who, you? What, tikiphiles in Chicago are supposed to wait in their cozy little home bars until you deem an event to be unlame enough for them to come out and gather? Until Exotica 2012?

Chicago has got a ton of tikiphiles, and they don't seem to ever get together -- it's bizarre, and a terrible shame. Yes, it's entirely possible that this event will be lame, but at least someone's making an attempt.

This event will only be as lame as the people who are there, and all it would take is a couple of TCers to show up, find each other, and hang out for it to be a good time for them. If a bunch of local TCers show up, they won't even notice that the folks around them aren't tikiphiles. That's how these things get started -- ask the folks in Arizona, Florida, Portland... all of these areas were devoid of tiki events until someone had the balls to start meeting. If you don't want to spend time with other local TCers, that's fine, but don't make other TCers feel like dorks for wanting to meet.

Very well put Humuhumu.

I couldn't have put it better, and you wrote (almost verbatim) what I would have written, had I seen this thread first myself.

I am pleased that someone else (especially someone who doesn't even live here in Chicago) cares enough to point these things out.

I'd like to add that the guy organizing this event simply Emailed me out of the blue and asked me to show up, so I said 'sure'. I am always up for poking my head into any sort of new type of event and making a go of it.

I must admit that the bar it is at, Fizz, is sort of a yuppie bar, but the Wednesday night bartender there has been stalwartly keeping his Tiki night going for like 5 years now. He even dragged the owner of Fizz out to Exotica2003 so that the owner would potentially see the strength of the Tiki, and hopefully bolster support for their Wednesday night Tiki night. He was impressed. A good showing at this event will do nothing but help insure that Fizz maintains or expands its weekly Tiki fest.

I don't really have any idea what this event is going to be like, so I am not going to personally vouch for the event's commitment to 'keeping real' all that we hold dear in Tiki-land. I do know that the guy throwing the party made the trip out to MondoTiki in Las Vegas, and showed up at Exotica2003 and at the book signing that Duke Carter, Sven Kirsten and I did at Trader Vics last week. So his heart is in the right place.

But that said - Humuhumus point is extremely valid: we can either get a dozen TCers to show up and MAKE it fun, or we can let grouchy naysayers (one of whom continues to post under several screen names to make their front of negativity seem more valid) continue to cause division and bad vibes among the Chicago Tiki community.

I vote for the former plan.
Let's have some fun.

If the event sucks, we can all go over to Aku Hall for mai tais on me!

I accidentally erased a post by La Tiki Nostra here - I mean to quote it, not erase it - it was erased by accident, not for content. However, the content was edging rather close to nastiness...

in any case if Mr. Nostra has a problem with my accidental erasing we can talk offline. But it truly was an accident!

Doh!!!

I agree with Humu and TikiBars. Who cares that some of the people there will have no true Tikiness. Tiki events in this area are way too far and few between to be critial on all the details. We do need to get together more often. Even if it is just to meet fellow TC'ers and sip on some drinks. I am very excited to see that events (any Tiki events) are finally happening in Chicago. Having said that, I am very sad to say that I cannot attend. :( I am starting a new job this saturday (a restaurant, woohoo!) that pays me 3x as much. Yea no more Target! :wink: Plus I am moving, so all my cash is tied up right now. I missed Trader Vic's and will miss this event but come hell or high Mai Tai's I will be at the next and every other event! I just hope I can get a 2-3 week notice before they happen so I can schedule my work around it.

Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks - Lin Yutang

[ Edited by: Dimethios on 2004-04-14 21:16 ]

Just got some more info on this event from the guy planning it.

Fizz has a 2nd floor party room above the main room, and that is where the event is going to be.

There is a charge to get in there.

All of the Tiki action is in the downstairs bar (NO cover to get in).

So the plan of action is clear: Chicago Tikiphiles need to start representing!

Let's invade that downstairs bar, give our (Tiki-friendly) bartender a workout making those drinks he makes in the pineapple shells, and usher in the long overdue midwestern spring.

With Rock A Tiki closed, city-dwellers have almost no options for Tiki at the moment, and we need to create some momentum.

Trader Vics in Chicago has a new General Manager who wants to do a ('sanctioned'?) regular Tiki event. He is MUCH more friendly to us than all previous Chicago TV GMs have been (YES! FINALLY!). This event is not going to fly, and not going to last, unless we start showing up in force like they do in LA... and San Francisco... and um... everywhere but Chicago. So let's start Wednesday.

I am not saying that Fizz is an amazing stronghold of Tikiness or anything, but aside from Vic's it is about our only in-the-city option at this point (Chef Shangri-La and Hala Kahiki are sooooo faraway... no problem getting out there, but getting home... errr, careful, rummy!).

If we start actually showing up on these Wednesdays, then the management will be bound to improve the night, perhaps be adding an Exotica Dj or hiring in Barefoot Hawaiians to dance.

Enough pep talk. I expect to see all of you aloha shirted kanes and sarong-clad wahines at Fizz on Wednesday!

I'm not part of the Chicago group, but I am willing to come down for events as there are no other tiki folk or bars up here in Brew City... but... can't make this Wednesday. T.V. events sound fun... will they be on weeknights or weekends in the future?

I'm just the opposite of you city dwellers... the West Suburbs are easier for me to get to and park at than the downtown/Loop area... though I have the ins and outs of the CTA Trains mastered now!

The Fizz TIKI portion of this mingleparty.com event is exaclty what JT said, FREE ! Just hang downstairs and enjoy the drinks in the real pineapples !
There is parking for 60 cars right behind the bar, take melrose street to get there.
FIZZ is at 3220 N. Lincoln Avenue. Let's get a group who can start planning some cool events over summer.
warwick
[email protected]