A Hukilau is a traditional Hawaiian festival held in the fishing villages of old. A large net is cast into the sea to herd fish then the villagers slowly pull the net to the shore. The feast that follows is meant to emphasize the spirit of family and community, or 'ohana. Our mainland Hukilau is a metaphorical net thrown out to the entire world, bringing lovers of "Polynesian Pop" or "Tiki" culture together for our own special celebration.
Our Hukilau began when a few people on the Tiki Central message board discussed gathering at Trader Vic’s in Atlanta. Tiki Kiliki (Co-founder and Producer) and Swanky (Co-Founder & former Organizer -- click here to read his bio) began planning what is now "The Hukilau" -- an annual event celebrating Hawaiian and Polynesian Pop culture while honoring a historic Tiki bar and location. The reaction and excitement was phenomenal! The first event held in 2002, honoring Trader Vic’s in Atlanta, GA (est. 1976), was three days packed full of entertainment and events. The crowds poured in and all venues sold out. We were also shocked and amazed that Sven Kirsten, King Kukulele and others from California were willing to make the trip and attend the weekend, making it so special with their performances and participation. The experience sparked a fire to do more, thus an annual Tiki gala was born!
Hukilau saw a change of location in 2003 when we were encouraged by friends to honor the amazing Mai-Kai in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (est. 1956). The response was overwhelming with attendees from all over the world and once again the event was extremely successful. The Hukilau also invited the Italian band I Belli Di Waikiki for their first U.S. performance – the event has never been the same!
In 2004, despite Hurricane Jeanne, the event hosted more than 800 guests. With yet another successful year under its belt, along with support from the Mai-Kai family, Hukilau had found a permanent home. The appearance of Billy Mure was a stand out from 2004 – at age 86 he entertained everyone with his amazing guitar strings.
Hukilau made history in 2005 as we assembled a 16-piece orchestra to play one of the greatest compositions of Exotica music ever recorded by the incomparable Robert Drasnin. The live performance of his LP, Voodoo, marked the first time the material had been played in its entirety since 1959. Attendees have described the experience as if they were transported back in time to the 1950s and were watching a live performance in one of the many Tiki palaces that used to grace almost every major city in America. 2005 also produced our largest attendance ever of more than 900 guests.
Hukilau 2006 not only brought us the event’s fifth anniversary but also celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Mai Kai. The amazing celebration not only attracted exceptional entertainment but for the first time at any Tiki event
incredible seminars were offered to emphasize the importance of the evergrowing Tiki culture and history behind it. Jeff "Beachbum" Berry educated attendees about the art of the Polynesian cocktail, Sven Kirsten presented a slideshow on his book Tiki Modern, Florida Tiki Historian Geoff Sundstrom presented a slideshow of colorful images from Tiki palaces past and present in the Sunshine State and Jeff Chenault took everyone on a visual & musical tour of the greats in Exotica music. Charles Phoenix also charmed attendees with a historic and humorous journey through his vintage slideshow images - one of the highlights of the weekend!! Hundreds of historic photos and memorabilia from the Mai Kai’s archives were also on display throughout the entire weekend of the event at the Yankee Clipper hotel. The Hukilau saw the largest attendance yet with more than 1300 Tikiphiles as everyone came to celebrate event’s fifth anniversary and the Mai Kai's “50th” together! Because of the notorious Florida hurricane season, Hukilau 2007 saw a change of season as the event moved to June. We invited Robert Drasnin back to our stage as he performed live Voodoo II - again, the first time the album was played in its entirety. The Hukilau audience was memorized with each piece of music. This was also another year of exotic seminars with the return of Jeff "Beachbum" Berry and the debut of his book Sippin' Safari, James Teitelbaum took us on a visual tour with sites from his debut book Tiki Road Trip 2nd Edition, Jeff Chenault was again on hand to educate attendees about the history and sounds past & present of musicians keeping the island magic alive. Disney historian and artist Kevin Kidney presented his seminar on the history of Tiki through Disney's eyes and gave us a look into the Florida Orange Bird's history. 2007 also saw the very first "Sarong-O-Rama!" - a fashion show and revue of Tiki fashion evolution from the 1940's through today - a huge hit!!
Hukilau 2008 garnered even more success as the event took place once again in June, its now permanent month of year. The Hukilau stage saw many new performers such as the Tikiyaki Orchestra from Los Angeles, The Martini Kings from Los Angeles and The Fisherman from NYC. Jeff "Beachbum" Berry returned for another amazing seminar featuring cocktail recipes of the Caribbean, historic Tiki carver and artist Bosko gave a seminar on the early days of Tiki in California and his journey through Polynesian Pop history and beyond. Bre-elle Ishtar returned with an encore year of Sarong-O-Rama -- a fashion show of vintage and current Hawaiiana and Kevin Kidney presented lots of eye candy with his "Tiki TV" seminar, highlighting some of the greatest vintage Tiki moments on the small screen. The addition of a Tiki Art Show curated by Harold Golen Gallery of Miami was a main destination for shoppers and art enthusisats – many featured artists had never shown on the East Coast before. One of the most anticipated moments was the event finale of Mike Skinner’s presentation on Tiki Architecture, full of several “eye-toxicating” images. Attendees had a hands-on lesson at the Mai-Kai looking at architectural drawings, renderings and plans for Tiki palaces now part of history. The Mai-Kai also shared some of their scrapbooks and Hukilau reproduced one of the Mai-Kai’s
classic newsletters "Happy Talk" for everyone who attended the event finale. Closing out yet another wonderful year was the vintage Florida slide show from Charles Phoenix -- another incredibly successful and wonderful Hukilau! Hukilau 2009 was a non-stop good time with a first ever performance by Los Straitjackets. We also revisited a big hit from 2004 and sold tickets to sail the intracoastal waterways of Ft. Lauderdale aboard the Tikki Beach Boat. Jeff Berry was with us to tell us all about the history of the Mai Tai, Harold Golen Gallery hosted yet another Tiki Art Show, the Intoxicators!/Marina the Mermaid/Haole Kats/The Bikini Beachcombers gave amazing performances along with newcomers The Stolen Idols who stole the show with their incredible performance at the Mai-Kai. Duda Leite debuted his film “Tikimentary” to The Hukilau audiences with great enthusiasm – the first installment of his amazing documentary focused on and profiling Hukilau 2007 and other highlights from the Tiki community. The swingin’ hips of Candy Del Rio and Sable Syn Cyr captivated audiences as they never stopped go-going until after the event! DJ’s Lounge Laura Taylor and Laura of Miami played to crowds and for the very first time in The Hukilau history several rooms played host for The Room Crawl – a party and cocktails were literally taking place in rooms all over the host hotel – it was, by far, the highlight of the weekend. Despite the recession our numbers stayed strong and many agreed – this was the best Hukilau ever!!
We have been so honored to have worked with such amazing entertainers and presenters over the years, some listed above and others mentioned here: Robert Drasnin, Waitiki, Denny Moynahan, Billy Mure, Haole Kats, King Kukulele, The Intoxicators, The Crazed Mugs, Laramie Dean, Marina the Mermaid, Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey, Polynesian Proud, Italy's I Belli Di Waikiki, Yma Sumac, The Fisherman, Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, Bosko, The Martini Kings, Tikiyaki Orchestra, Mike Skinner, Kevin Kidney, Sven Kirsten, James Teitelbaum, Charles Phoenix, filmmaker Duda Leite, The Bikini Beachcombers, Stolen Idols, Candy Del Rio, Billy Mure, Jeff Berry, Mike Skinner, The Disasternauts, Big Pineapple, UberEasy, Johnny Knox and Hi-Test, Slip and the Spinouts, the Penetrators, Torchy Taboo, the He'e Amakuas, the Delusionaires, Tongo-hiti and Dames A’Flame and the Vodkanauts.
Hukilau continues to grow and spread the Aloha spirit. There are so many people that assist in making it happen that it’s impossible to name all of them. We would very much like to thank our extended family at the Mai-Kai for welcoming us with open arms year after year: owners Dave Levy and Mrs. Kulani Thornton-Gelardi, and the beautiful and amazing choreographer Mireille Thornton who stated while looking at Hukilau guests enjoying themselves at the Mai-Kai during the event, "This is the way it used to be" – the single most proud moment of my life. Also, a special thanks to incredible support of Pia Dahlquist, Kern Mattei and each and every employee of the Mai Kai, without whom the magic wouldn’t be the same. Special mention to my friend and amazing talent King Kukulele aka Denny Moynahan. He has been The Hukilau’s MC each and every year since the beginning. Thank you for your Aloha spirit and for keeping us in stitches!!
