Bridgeworthy: Tiki Oasis Returns To San Diego

13th TIKI OASIS RETURNS

A Celebration of All Things “Tiki”August 15-18

A celebration of all things “Tiki” returns to San Diego Aug. 15 with the 13th Annual TikiOasis. How does one begin to describe this phenomenon? Think South Seas and Hawaiianmusic; Jack Kerouac and Jack London; burlesque and sweet rum drinks through the nightto the resonance of native drums.

Now surround all of that with large wooden Tiki sentinels, flaming torches; a wooden

President Obama Tiki to your right; and a bikini-clad woman chainsawing a ten-foot Tiki toyour left. Think art, music, fashion, and antique cars. Think, “What world could thispossibly exist in?” Welcome to Tiki Oasis.

This year the Tiki Oasis’ main event takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (formerly the

Hanalei Hotel), 2270 Hotel Circle North. Main events begin Friday at 11 a.m.; Saturday andSunday at 9 a.m. A musical kick-off takes place Thursday from 6-11 p.m. at the Bali HaiRestaurant in Shelter Island.

This year’s Tiki Oasis celebrates “Hulabilly,” and explores the Hawaiian influence on

American music. Part Americana, part Hawaiiana, Hulabilly is an American music stylederived from the blending of Rockabilly and Haole Hawaiian music.

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Just as Tiki style is a blend of Polynesian influences as interpreted through ourromanticized view of the South Seas, Hawaiian music has been sentimentalized andinterpreted by American musicians for decades.

Tiki Oasis is the crossroads of the Tiki world. Craftsmen, artists, tinkerers, and tradershaul their wares to the Oasis creating an Exotica emporium unmatched throughout theworld. Many vendors create limited edition items specifically for TO13 weekend shopper.

The Tiki Oasis Indoor & Outdoor Marketplace features more than 100 unique, Tiki-themedvendors, includes clothing, a Pinup’s closet, original art, ceramics, carvings, musicalinstruments, clothing, jewelry, vinyl records and CDs, posters, limited edition Tiki Oasis 13Merchandise and more. It’s located in the courtyard of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The TikiCar Show is outside in the parking log.

This year, on Sunday only, Tiki Oasis will feature local mobile food trucks selling deliciouscuisine including Casanova Fish Tacos and “Devilicious food, so good it's bad!” Also at thecar show are the Rockeresque Beauty Bungalow and Tiki Oasis Cigar Lounge.

Tiki culture began in the United States in 1934 with the opening of Don the Beachcomber, a

Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant in Hollywood. Its popularity was unbelievable.Within three years Trader Vic became a worldwide chain. In the ‘50s the music of MartinDenny and Arthur Lyman was the rage. Exotica, as it was called, featured a blend of ethnicstyles – South Pacific, the Orient and Latin rhythms – filled with background noises ofcroaking frogs and shrieking birds, all worked into a musical frenzy with vibes, xylophonesand congas.

For more information visit:

http://www.Tikioasis.com/2013/

(All photos by Joe Ditler and Part-Time PR)