King Kukulele mingles with guests at Fort Lauderdale’s Hukilau. (File photo by Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)
Break out your leis, ladies, and guys, grab your Hawaiian shirts.
It’s Tiki time in Fort Lauderdale today through Sunday, as Hukilau — which bills itself as “the East Coast’s largest and longest-running Tiki weekender” — hulas back into town.
Working from a dual home base of the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 hotel and the Mai-Kai Restaurant, Hukilau organizers expect to attract more than 1,000 Tiki geeks (I use that term lovingly, because I am one of them) to engage in a packed schedule of events that will include:
- Dawns Wells (you know her as Mary Ann from “Gilligan’s Island”) serving as hostess of a three-hour cruise;
- A rum-off by Tiki bartenders at Pier 66’s Pier Top Lounge;
- Six symposiums on Tiki culture featuring Disney artists and pop culture experts;
- Performances by exotica, jazz, surf and rockabilly bands, as well as a fire-eating mermaid and burlesque dancer;
- And a bazaar bursting at the seams with mid-century merchandise. Word of warning: the market room will contain a Wicked Dolphin Rum tasting station. Sip and shop at your own risk.
For a the limbo lowdown on all the events, including pricing (you can enter the bazaar for $10), visit the extensive Hukilau website.
