Category: Events

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Hukilau update: Commemorative mug, classic cocktails, and a new rum sponsor

Previous: Heeeeeeere’s the rich history and lost stories of The Mai-Kai
Artist profile: The Martian Denny Orchestra | Sven Kirsten added to 2012 lineup
Hukilau launches new website with full event details | Full Hukilau coverage
Official sites: TheHukilau.com | Facebook page | Facebook group

With the U.S. East Coast’s largest celebration of Polynesian Pop culture quickly approaching, more details have been released about the April 19-22 event in Fort Lauderdale. Centered at the legendary Mai-Kai restaurant and two beachside hotels, the 11th annual Hukilau is shaping up to be a tikiphile’s paradise.

The latest news from Hukilau headquarters:

Hukilau 2012 commemorative mug by Tiki Diablo.
Hukilau 2012 commemorative mug by Tiki Diablo.

2012 COMMEMORATIVE MUG

Designed by Danny Gallardo, aka Tiki Diablo, this limited-edition drinking vessel was inspired by Milan Guanko, Hukilau organizer Tiki Kiliki’s favorite historic carver. When Gallardo sent her a photo of a Tiki from carver Richard Ellis that was made for the Tradewinds Restaurant in Oxnard, Calif., she immediately knew it was what she wanted: “This Tiki had everything we wanted and more. Danny has done an amazing job – we love it!”

To purchase one of the 250 mugs, click here.

MIXOLOGISTS SHOW THEIR SKILLS

While room parties will surely be ongoing throughout the weekend, the officially sanctioned cocktails will be centered around the pool and sun deck at the Best Western Oceanside Inn.

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Surfing rides new wave of interest thanks to FAU exhibit

Surfing Florida: A Photographic History – Traveling exhibition and book project at Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt Center Gallery runs from March 17 through May 12. Opening reception Friday, March 16.
* Official FAU galleries site | Exhibit Facebook page | March 16 Facebook event

When one thinks of the history of surfing, Florida – with its lack of monster waves and international acclaim that made Southern California and Hawaii famous – often takes a back seat. But the Sunshine State has its own rich surf history and culture, which will be getting its due respect this spring at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

Surfing Florida
Artwork by Liam Milano (courtesy of PureHoney)

Surfing Florida: A Photographic History presents the history of Florida surfing through contributions from more than 50 photographers and 100 surfers. The comprehensive exhibit kicks off Friday with an opening reception featuring live music by Guy Harvey and Cutback. Housed at the university’s Schmidt Center Gallery, it will run through May 12 and include other special events, such as film screenings and lectures by “surf scholars.”

Starting March 22 and continuing for 10 weeks, there will be a screening of a surf film every Thursday in the lecture hall next to the gallery. The first film will be Evolution, the classic 1969 movie by New Zealand director Paul Witzig. On March 29, the 1972 film Morning of the Earth will be shown. Featuring stunning surfing sequences from Bali, Angourie, Kirra, Oahu, Maui and elsewhere, it’s considered by some the greatest surfing film ever made.

With Dick Dale coming to town in April, it’s shaping up to be a surf-happy spring. Tickets to Dale’s West Palm Beach and Miami concerts April 21-22 will be given away at the film screenings.

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Miami gets even more surreal with a dose of Dalí

Related: New Dalí Museum stretches the limits of the imagination
Official site: DaliMiami.com | Facebook page

As if Miami isn’t surreal enough, here comes a first-of-its-kind exhibit featuring the largest privately owned collections of the work by the father of surrealism, Salvador Dalí.

Dalí Miami

“Dalí Miami,” featuring more than 200 pieces including original paintings and sculptures, opens tonight with a VIP party and runs through Sunday at the Moore Building, 4040 N.E. Second Ave. It promises to be a museum quality collection of works that span Dalí’s long, storied career.

The collection is said to include some of the most significant works under private ownership, outside of the museums in Dalí’s native Spain. According to DaliMiami.com, the exhibit “will provide viewers with an unparalleled exposure to this master on a scale unavailable outside of the major museums of the world.”

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Heeeeeeere’s the rich history and lost stories of The Mai-Kai

Updated August 2018
Latest news, related features
* The Mai-Kai updates bar menu, adds classic ‘lost’ cocktail
* Rums of The Mai-Kai include potent, funky flavors from Guyana and Jamaica
* The Mai-Kai: 10 reasons why we love the historic South Florida restaurant
* The Mai-Kai turns 60 with history presentations, celebration
* New giant carved Tiki added to The Mai-Kai’s outdoor garden
* ‘King Kai’ leads procession of new Tikis into The Mai-Kai

Mai-Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant

Mai-Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant
The definitive book on the historic Fort Lauderdale Tiki temple by Tim “Swanky” Glazner was released in September 2016. Get your copy now!
* Official website | Facebook page
More photos, stories

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The Mai-Kai: History, Mystery & Adventure
By Hurricane Hayward and Tim “Swanky” Glazner, February 2012

The Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, now in its 56th year, is widely acclaimed as perhaps the last perfectly preserved mid-century Polynesian restaurant with its incredible vintage decor, acclaimed cocktails, authentic South Seas stage show, vast Asian-inspired menu and an ambience that makes you feel like you’ve been transported back in time.

One of the oldest Mai-Kai postcards, a rendering by architect Charles McKirahan. (From SwankPad.org)
One of the oldest Mai-Kai postcards, a rendering by architect Charles McKirahan. (From SwankPad.org)

But not many are aware of The Mai-Kai’s direct links to Tiki’s forefather, from the concept to the cocktails to the decor.

In 1933, a small tropical and nautical themed bar in Hollywood, Calif., called Don the Beachcomber was one of many thousands that opened the day after Prohibition ended. Who would have imagined that former rum-runner Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt, who later changed his name to Donn Beach, had invented a new genre of mixology and a bar/restaurant concept that would be copied across the globe for decades to come.

Of course, we’re talking about the classic Tiki bar and its exotic tropical drinks. At the dawn of the cocktail era, Donn Beach was the undisputed king of tropical mixology. In an era of drinks with two or three ingredients, his secret recipes included up to a dozen, including two or three rums, resulting in drinks the world had never seen before.

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Hukilau artist profile: The Martian Denny Orchestra

Previous: Tiki godfather Sven Kirsten added to Hukilau 2012 lineup
Hukilau launches new website with full event details | Full Hukilau coverage
Official sites: TheHukilau.com | Facebook page | Facebook group

The Hukilau is the largest Polynesian Pop festival on the U.S. East Coast. It will be held April 19-22 in Fort Lauderdale at several beachside hotels plus the legendary Mai-Kai restaurant.

The Martian Denny Orchestra

Guitar slinger Eddie Angel will be making his third appearance at The Hukilau in the past four years, but for the third time he’ll have a different band in tow. Having earlier performed with Los Straitjackets and The Neanderthals, the Nashville-based Angel returns with a new, out-of-this-world crew.

The Martian Denny Orchestra blends surf, spy and space sounds is quickly becoming an underground sensation in Music City. As expected from a Nashville group, the band’s members are some of the best in the business. Joining Angel are: guitarist Bob Irwin, owner of record label Sundazed Music and member of New York’s Pluto Walkers; bassist Dave Roe, who has played with everyone from Johnny Cash to John Mellencamp; multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke (steel guitar, saxophone, flute, etc.), who has showed off his versatility with NRBQ, Toby Keith and others; and drummer Jimmy Lester, formerly of Los Straitjackets and currently with roots rocker Webb Wilder.

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Tiki godfather Sven Kirsten added to Hukilau 2012 lineup

Previous: Hukilau launches new website with full event details | Full Hukilau coverage
Official sites: TheHukilau.com | Facebook page | Facebook group

More music and a very special guest speaker have been added to the lineup for the 11th annual Hukilau, the massive Polynesian Pop party scheduled for April 19-22 in Fort Lauderdale. Organizers just confirmed the addition of exotica band Exotik-a-GoGo and influential author Sven Kirsten.

Exotik-a-GoGo
Exotik-a-GoGo

Exotik-a-GoGo, hailing from the not-so-tropical locale of Minneapolis, is scheduled to perform on Friday and Saturday nights. Combining jazz instrumentation with jungle rhythms and tropical birdcalls mixed with vibraphone, the group promises the pseudo experience of being transported to an exotic island destination.

The band cites influences such as mid-century exotica pioneers Les Baxter, Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman and Yma Sumac. You can catch them live every Friday and Saturday at Midwest Tiki hotspot Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge in Minneapolis.

Making a rare appearance at Hukilau will be one of the pioneers credited with kick-starting the Tiki revival, California-based and German-born Sven Kirsten, author of the Book of Tiki (2003) and Tiki Modern (2007). Kirsten will host a special presentation, “The Golden Age of Tiki Archeology: Unpublished Images from the Sven Kirsten Archive.” It’s sure to include a multimedia showing of great photos and discoveries that have never been seen before.

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Festival features Florida’s funky art and culture

Floridiana – A term referring to artifacts relating to Florida history, geography, folklore, and cultural heritage.

Florida is a curious state. To outsiders, it may seem kitschy, exotic and just plain weird. To some of us residents, it’s an odd cultural and artistic melting pot that way too often is bulldozed for the sake of progress.

Floridiana Festival & Highwaymen Artist Show

But many natives and longtime Floridians appreciate our quirky history and think it’s something worth preserving. From time to time, shows and exhibits pop up that deserve attention and attendance. Once such event honoring vintage Floridiana, including the legendary Florida Highwaymen artists, will be held Sunday, Jan. 29, in downtown St. Petersburg.

The Floridiana Festival & Highwaymen Artist Show is held at least once a year in the Tampa Bay area, organized by the fine folks from Hula Hula Productions. Billed as the Sunshine State’s longest-running show and sale of vintage Floridiana, the event also gives attendees the unique opportunity to meet and mingle with many of the original Florida Highwaymen artists.

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A rum explosion: Miami festival set for same weekend as Hukilau in April

2012 Miami Rum Renaissance Festival: Monday, April 16, through Sunday, April 22, at the Deauville Beach Resort, Miami Beach. For more information, go to RumRenaissance.com.

It’s funny to see the reaction when people find out that The Hukilau, the 11th annual Tiki and rum-soaked weekender in Fort Lauderdale, has been moved to the same week as the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival. “Whatever will we do?” Why, drink more rum, of course.

Miami Rum Renaissance Festival

Last year, there was a good six-week buffer zone, so our livers had time to recover. This year, however, it’s a full-on rum onslaught. On April 19-21 (Thursday through Saturday), rum will flow liberally at The Hukilau’s beachside host hotels, and during nightly parties at The Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale. Rum cocktail authority Jeff “Beachbum” Berry will highlight The Hukilau’s tropical-themed symposiums with his latest history lesson on the Zombie.

Meanwhile, less than 30 miles away on South Beach, the largest gathering of rum experts in the world will take over the ritzy Deauville (where the Beatles once played for Ed Sullivan) with VIP parties, competitions and “grand tasting” events. Rum Renaissance Festival organizers promise a bigger and better event this year with almost twice the square footage in the main exhibit hall, and many more rum brands from around the world.

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The Mai-Kai thanks its customers for 55 years with party on Wednesday, Dec. 28

Behind the magic: A backstage tour of The Mai-Kai’s mysterious bars and kitchen NEW
Related sites: Facebook event | MaiKai.com | Flickr group
Recent posts: Take 5: Mai-Kai General Manager Kern Mattei | Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide

The venerable Mai-Kai Polynesian restaurant in Fort Lauderdale will give back to its local clientele next Wednesday with a special party featuring extended happy hour prices and complimentary buffet.

Mai-Kai anniversary party

In addition, DJ Mike “The Jetsetter” Jones will be playing some of eclectic “retro-active” tunes plus old Mai-Kai favorites. The bash starts at 5 p.m. in The Molokai bar and half-price food and drink prices last until 9, maybe later.

Drop by to see old friends, make new ones, and marvel at the perfectly preserved mid-century Tiki temple. Management will also bring out the old scrapbooks for those who enjoy Mai-Kai memorabilia and want to take a trip back in time.

According to Critiki.com: “The Mai-Kai is perhaps the last of the grand Polynesian palaces still operating from when Tiki was at its peak in the late ’50s and early ’60s. That The Mai-Kai not only still exists today, but is vibrant and thriving, is something we should all be very grateful for – but not take for granted.”

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The Monterey Club closing at end of 2011 but may rise again

Broward New Times: Monterey Club is closing after New Year’s Eve
Official sites: TheMontereyClub.net | Facebook venue page | Facebook fan page
Related: Past coverage of The Monterey Club

The South Florida music scene will lose another outlet for live performances in 2012 when The Monterey Club closes its doors on South Federal Highway near Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

The Monterey Club

The club’s plans to expand into the adjacent space vacated by the the Orange County Choppers motorcycle shop fell through when the owners were unable to secure financing to acquire a full liquor license. The existing club is a warm and cozy space, but no where near large enough to present the caliber of bands and live events that the owners aspire to.

Over the two years The Monterey was open, it featured such national touring bands as Wayne Hancock, the Nekromantix and Guttermouth but was held back by the club’s small size and isolated location. And its limitation on serving only beer and wine did not provide the necessary operating revenue to make any major enhancements.

A full slate of shows are scheduled for the next two weeks, culminating with a farewell bash on New Year’s Eve featuring Darling Sweets, Los Bastardos Magnificos, The Wholetones and Everymen. Check the official Web site and Facebook pages for the updated calendar of events. Bands interested in performing one last show at The Monterey can e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].

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