Once upon a time, in the 50's that is, it's clear, Islamorada had a real Tiki vibe going. The Sunset Inn (alongside the very 50's but probably never Tiki, La Jolla), The Islander Resort, The Kon-Tiki resort, the Kona-Kai and even the Holiday Isle Tiki bar- where the rumrunner was created, all were part of an island community hinting at the Pacific not the Atlantic. What remains now seems shards without coherence. You will however, still find http://www.tikicompany.com/ carving and selling their Tikis along route 1 and plenty of cinderblock 50's leftovers waiting to be discovered.

The HRHH2 was the second big annual event thrown by the Fraternal Order of Maoi (http://www.fraternalorderofmoai.org/), and the Drifters. It was a weekend long extravaganza that kicked off with the Feast of the Gods at the Tropical Bistro (new home to many former employees of the famed Kahiki), then went north on Saturday up to Largo's Tavern. With a parking lot filled with vintage rides, and a bar filled with exotic libations, ono grinds, venders, Barnyard Burlesque, custom mugs and a full slate of excellent bands, the HRHH2 was a high energy labor of love!

Formerly the Jade East/Shanghai Lounge. According to James Teitelbaum's fantastic book, "Tiki Road Trip", the Jade East at one time featured rattan, a fountain, and at least two large Hawai'ian style carved Tikis that were 10 feet tall each and possibly carved by Saint Clare Homma. Fortunately, with the passing of the Jade East, the Tikis appear to have found their way to a collector. What remains is very little Tiki, but plenty of fine atmosphere. The transition to Japanese works well. To this day, the fountain still burbles along happily and there are a few exotic standards on the cocktail menu. UPDATE- for pix of the Tikis and the Jade East look no further than- http://tulsatvmemories.com/tulstiki.html#tikigods

Shecky is TikiCentral's mascot mug. We are proud owners of #60, and from time to time he travels with us. These are some of his postcards back to the Tiki Centralites just to let them know what he's been up to.

As we were having such a great time, we didn't break out the camera much. BUT we did manage to capture two Mai Kai fire rituals- the Flaming Coffee Grog, and the Bananas Flambe.

July 30th, 2005- The first ever Tiki 'event' in Vancouver (other than art shows, bands etc). Roughly 30 of us made an evening of it and got a chance to explore the inner depths of the hidden temples of the Waldorf Hotel- a rare opportunity!

Maryland's own little slice of Polynesia. Update, while Vera's lives on, it's in a new incarnation. It no longer looks like these pictures. Pieces of the original Veras are still intact, but many Tikis and the large Moai have been moved, the A-frame dismantled, and what remains now lives on in blue, not pink.