Category Archives: Events

Tonga Hut Parking Lot Sale

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Events and tagged with

Tonga Hut in North Hollywood

I’m altering the space/time continuum (or something) here on my blog to skip ahead to the Tonga Hut Parking Lot Sale the weekend before last. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make this event, but I live so close by that I thought I’d make a quick stop…

Crazy Al tiki mugs

My buddy Bri accompanied me and I believe she was bowled over by the amount of cool stuff and artistic talent on display. I had enlisted her to be my voice of reason while browsing, but she kept insisting “Buy it! Buy it!” on most things. (Although after she left I didn’t really need much encouraging to continue that trend…)

Crazy Al tiki lightswitch plates

I’m currently decking out our guest room tiki-style, so I convinced myself that getting one of these rad light switch plates from Crazy Al (whose masterful mugs are seen above) was also a practical move.

Tiki Bob by Eric October

And I knew a cuddly Tiki Bob from Eric October would be just the thing to prop up on the guest bed. He was also distributing some bamboo pieces (from The Islander restaurant in Stockton) that were discovered in a warehouse after 25 years.

Tiki pendants from Tropical Designs by Mieko

I’d kind of been on the lookout out for a tiki pendant, but I’d never really found any that grabbed me until I saw these brightly colored ones from Tropical Designs by Mieko. This girly girl had a trying time deciding between pink and purple.

Atomikitty's coconut monkey art

Atomikitty had some very neat vintage dresses at her booth (including a little blue and green number that sadly was a size or so too small for me) plus some art from her coconut monkey project.

Driftwood Toucan by Tiki Tony

My last purchase of the day was this friendly toucan made from driftwood by Tiki tOny. It already has a perch of honor at our place. I would have to award Tony with the best vending space—it was all decorated with beachcomber and nautical ephemera.

Tonga Hut Parking Lot Sale

And second prize would have gone to Kirby‘s yellow dune buggy. All in all it was a lovely and productive afternoon!

Trader Vic’s Warehouse Sale

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Events and tagged with ,

Once in a great while, the folks at the Trader Vic’s warehouse in Richmond, California, graciously open their doors to the riff-raff like us.

And one of these sales serendipitously fell on the particular weekend in late September that Mr. Baseball and I were heading up to San Francisco for a weekend of tiki and baseball. (It actually was a real coincidence, as we had picked the date months before since the Cubs would be in town.)

It was amazing to see this treasure trove of tikis. They were lined up along almost all the available wall space.

The “Trader Vic’s Warehouse Girls” (Kier and Michelie, I believe) were overseeing the stock for the sale and they were extremely patient with my constant questions.

I believe I was told that this Barney West tiki (unsurprisingly not for sale) came from the Trader Vic’s in Berlin, but I could be wrong. The unfortunate shuttering of that restaurant was the reason they were hosting a warehouse sale that weekend.

Trader Vic’s saved the decor from ending up in a dumpster (which used to be a common fate for tiki bars) and shipped it back in a container to their warehouse. In addition to the tikis, they also had masks, immense glass fishing floats, woven fishing traps, tee shirts and even a random phonograph.

Most items were out of my price range, but we did pick up some Trader Vic’s branded glasses, a white shell bowl and Menehune swizzle sticks. As an early Christmas present, Mr. Baseball bought me one of the carved Maori candle holders you can see on the middle of that table. (If you look carefully, you can also spot them in my photos of the dining room from Trader Vic’s Chicago.)

I was intrigued by all the nautical things, like the wheel helm in the previous photo and this thing. I’m not even quite sure what it is (a cowl vent?), I just think it looks neat.

I also bought a handful of these vintage advertisement coasters, and as a parting gift the ladies gave us poster prints of the Trader Vic’s menu.

Trader Vic’s Warehouse
623 South 32nd St.
Richmond, CA 94804

Tiki Treasures & Polynesian Pinups II

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Events and tagged with , ,

Tiki Treasures & Polynesian Pinups

Just a few months late on this one, but I wanted to post a few pics from this summer’s Tiki Treasures & Polynesian Pinups II event at Bahooka… I wish I knew how to do my hair rockabilly-style like these ladies.

Kimo on steel guitar

Sadly, we couldn’t stay too long to hear all the musicians lined up, but we did catch a set from Kimo on steel guitar.

Tiki torch mugs from Go Tiki

Several vendors and artists set up tables for their wares, Go Tiki among them. I love the cleverness of their tiki torch mugs, so realistic!

Nelson's Tiki Hut
Nelson’s Tiki Hut also had some great stuff—I scored an awesome handmade tiki frame decorated with netting and tiny glass fish floats.

Nelson's Tiki Hut frames

Mine’s the one in the middle (photo from Nelson’s Tiki Hut). In keeping with our tiki/baseball mashup, I put in it a photo of Mr. Baseball and I on the field at Dodger Stadium a summer or so ago.

Bahooka's Gold Cup

I was sipping on a Gold Cup ($6.50), which is billed as “rum, sugar and a touch of almond flavor,” but I mostly recall it tasting like pineapple juice. I would get it again, but there are so many other drinks to try!

Lanterns at Bahooka