Welcome to Hukilau.org, an open lanai where you find many tiki treasures.
Welcome to Hukilau.org, an open lanai where you find many tiki treasures.
Benzart's amazing carvings on Hukilau.org
Bamboo Ben's Custom Tropical Decor here on Catalyst IT's server
Polynesian Proud Productions incredible dance revue on Hukilau.org
Swanky is co-creator and original organizer of Hukilau, a Polynesian Pop event. Here are the websites from previous years to see what it was all about.
Hukilau 2002 held in Atlanta and featuring King Kukulele, the Mai Kai Gents and the incredible decor of Mai Tiki. Hukilau put Trader Vic's Atlanta on the cultural map and helped make it a place to go. Creative Loafing magazine named Hukilau as the number one event of the year.
Hukilau 2003 site by Swanky using artwork by Hoffa - Hukilau moved to Fort Lauderdale to celebrate the Mai Kai. With the help of co-organizers Bre-elle and Tristan Ishtar, Hukilau found a new permanent home there. I Belli di Waikiki made their U.S. debut this year and Mai Tiki set the stage again. Shag designed the original mug, created by Tiki Farm.
Hukilau 2004 site graphic design by Seth at Troika Studios using artwork by Derek The year of the hurricane. From the incredible Tikki Beach cruise to the opening ceremonies by Polynesian Proud to the conga line with Billy Mure to a night to remember, riding out Jeanne at the Mai Kai, many say this was the best event. Pualani Avon performed Lovely Hula Hands at the Mai Kai. This was Swanky's last year as organizer of Hukilau.
Hukilau 2005 Website by Seth at Troika Studios
Hukilau 2005 Teaser by Seth at Troika Studios
Hukilau 2006 - Celebrating the Mai Kai's 50th Anniversary
The Headhunter Lounge site template created by Catalyst IT and on their server
Mai Kai Fan Site (In progress)
Sponsored and hosted by Catalyst IT
Need your tiki related site hosted? Need any site hosted? We can offer monthly rates as low as $5 and full blown e-commerce sites as low as $25 a month, with the lowest over bandwidth fees you'll find. We can do custom web design as well! Contact Swanky for more info.
Tiki Headlines from Around the 'net
Film director Steven Spielburg isn’t a newcomer to the world of video games (us old-timers may remember “The Dig” from 1995), but it’s been some time since I’ve seen his name involved in the genre. That’s why I was surprised to come across his new game for the Nintendo Wii, Boom Blox!, in U.S. stores now.
The 400-level game takes place in four different “worlds,” including one that’s tiki themed. The premise of the game is simple: players use the Wii Remote to grab, throw, and blast towers of blocks to topple them over for points. Players can compete or play cooperatively. In addition, players can create levels and share them with the world using the Wii’s Internet connectivity.
It’s targeted towards 8-12 year-olds, but it looks like a blast (pun intended) for adults too, and will probably be my next Wii purchase after the Wii Fit
Boom Box is currently available in the North America and Europe. It will be released in Asia on May 13 and Japan on May 22.
This house, formerly owned by Victor Bergeron, of Trader Vic’s fame, is currently up for sale in Berkeley, California for just over a million dollars.
Although it doesn’t look very tiki, there is supposedly a Chinese oven in the backyard (which is neither in the listing nor in photos, unfortunately).
See details and virtual tour | Thanks, Otto and Will the Thrill!
Sadly, 2008 is going to be the last year for the Hukilau, a yearly gathering of tiki lovers on the east coast of Florida. The event has been going on since 2002. In 2003, it moved to Ft. Lauderdale to be close to the famed Mai Kai restaurant and offered a souvenir mug — and each year has topped the last.
2008’s mug, by Munktiki, is a fitting end to the legacy. Designed in the likeness of one of the Mai Kai’s giant tikis, the edition of 300 will all be individually glazed so no two are alike.
Note: as of today, there are only 28 of the mugs remaining!
This year, the mug is being offered to the general public and will probably sell out well before the event in June.
$66 + shipping and taxes.
Buy or get more info at the Hukilau website.
I’ve been working my way through Jeff Berry’s excellent cocktail recipe books for a number of years and have been hitting a couple of road blocks when it comes to finding ingredients. #1 on my “Most Wanted” list is falernum — a Jamacian sweetener that consists of sugar water, lime juice, rum, cloves, and other spices. It seems to be available in a couple of forms in larger cities on the west coast, but living in Florida, it’s impossible to find in our local liquor stores, who seem more interested in selling Budweiser.
The internet is abuzz with falernum controversy: enterprising cocktailians have developed their own formulas and are fermenting them in mason jars, one company is importing what may (or may not) be a holiday spiced version version of the stuff from the islands again, and all the while no one can quite agree on what is the “authentic” taste as none of the interested parties actually tasted the stuff back in the ’30s and ’40s when it was frequently used in cocktail recipes.
While all of this controversy has been raging, Fee Brothers, maker of cocktail mixers and bitters since 1863, has been steadily producing their non-alcoholic falernum, which Jeff Berry recommends for Don the Beachcomber-style drinks he’s championed. If it’s good enough for the Beachbum, it’s good enough for me, and oddly, the stuff is now being sold on Amazon.com, so it’s available to us unwashed masses that don’t live in the historical shadows of the rum cocktail revolution.
I placed my order last night and can’t wait to compare all three versions of the Zombie in Sippin’ Safari!
Buy Fee Brothers Falernum
Woe is the day when you’re ready to mix a Mai Tai but have neither the energy or the ingredients. Mai Tai mix to the rescue! Trader Vic’s, the originator of the drink, sells a pre-made mix online, but recently I’ve read lots of good things about Dave & Anna’s Signature Blends Mai Tai Mix.
Dave was a bartender for Trader Vic’s and eventually his own restaurant, Honolulu, in Alexandria, VA, and claims to have made over 200,000 Mai Tais in his lifetime. He and his wife ran the establishment for 25 years until the restaurant closed due to a DOT construction project.
Besides the mix, their recipe calls for 1 oz of light rum, 1 oz of golden rum, 1 oz of lemon juice and a squeeze of lime. Not necessarily close to the original formula, but definitely easier for the home bartender to produce.
Find out more at Dave and Anna’s Signature Blends