Tiki Kon

09/02/2025

Flashback to Tiki Kon: Mysteries of the Deep (2014)...the year VanTiki made their debut as our official artist and mug sculptor. Though we retired the big annual event two years ago, the dynamic VanTiki duo remain dear friends and our favorite tiki artists. Their boundless originality, professionalism, and deep reverence for the subject matter elevated Tiki Kon to new heights. And their creativity still stands tall a decade later, continuing to inspire others. Mahalo, VanTiki! ❤️

08/17/2025

We love and support our industry partners and miss being able to bring bus loads of full fare guests to these tropical shores. It was always a win-win.

08/11/2025

Congratulations to Tiki Oasis on their 25th anniversary as the world's foremost tiki event! We know firsthand what a feat that is. And based on the photos we've seen, it's been another stellar outing, and as usual, a fabulous grand finale to the tiki season. Here's a few flashback photos from our first visit in 2008 when it was a cute little event at the Crowne Plaza (formerly the Hanalei). It's been years since we've been able to attend, but maybe we'll see you next year, Oasis, and all the friends we've made along the way. Cheers!

08/03/2025

We're at the Surf Guitar 101 fest with The Wanna Be-52's...so much fun!!!

07/21/2025

This album popped up in our memories today and brought us a big smile. Huge thanks again to Sveinn Photography for capturing so many amazing moments during the final years of Tiki Kon, and to Kamala Kingsley - Photographer and and David Bales for documenting the early years with heart and style.

This collection is a perfect snapshot of what made Tiki Kon so special—the people. In any subculture, it's inevitable that competitors, gatekeepers, and the occasional peacock will strut in. But at its heart, Tiki Kon was always about friendship, shared discovery, and a deep love for a quirky genre that once teetered on the edge of extinction. For us it's an escape, an alternate lens through which to view our lives, and a palate cleanser for when the world gets too heavy. It was never just tiki for tiki's sake or "who has the most tiki wins."

There's room for everyone—vintage purists, DIY dreamers, backyard bartenders, mid-century fanatics, artists, eccentrics, and all things adjacent. It was never about who had the rarest mug or the most elaborate outfit, or whose bar ticks all the boxes or fits a certain mold. To us, it was always about showing up with heart, imagination, and true aloha spirit with no ulterior motives.

We’re endlessly grateful for the community that grew around the event—especially those who brought their authentic selves and celebrated the spirit of tiki in all its weird and wonderful forms. Here's to the creativity, sincerity, and joy that sparked it all. 🌺🍹🗿

07/20/2025

We’ve been enjoying the break from producing our beloved annual event, but it’s hard not to feel a little nostalgic during Tiki Kon season with all the memories resurfacing. Here’s a flashback to 2014—Justin and Greg’s second year at the helm—when the event was still relatively small and held at the now-extinct Red Lion at the Quay in Vancouver. We sure miss that cute little hotel! Performers that year included Tiki Kon favorites The Apollo Four, Lushy, The Spyrographs, The Wanna-Be 52s, WaveSauce, and Satan's Pilgrims.

Even as Tiki Kon grew from a shoestring budget and a few hundred attendees, to over 1,000 at its peak, it remained a hard fought labor of love. What made it work wasn’t just planning and logistics—it was the heart and soul we poured into it, and the relationships we built—with staff, volunteers, sponsors, vendors, attendees, and the organizers who came before us. We hope we made it look easy, but the truth is, we worked year-round—on top of our day jobs—to make the experience as magical as we could with the resources we had. We never felt right asking others to give of themselves unless we were giving even more ourselves. We believe that artist, volunteer and sponsor partnerships must be be mutually rewarding, built on trust, respect, and value.

As new events step in to fill the void Tiki Kon left, we wish them all the best in finding their own authentic voice and originality, and hope they’re inspired by the spirit in which our Kon was built: collaboration, community, gratitude, creativity, and aloha above all. Whether it was filling seats at local tiki bars with paying guests, integrating sponsors meaningfully into the festivities, or spotlighting independent artists and vendors, we aimed to lift up everyone involved. That kind of respect and reciprocity is what helped Tiki Kon thrive, and we hope it remains a guiding principle for whatever comes next for the community we helped build over the past 2 decades.

Though Tiki Kon is on hiatus at the moment, we do hope to be a part of that future.

Cheers and aloha! ❤🌺🌴🍹🧉

We were too busy to take many of our own photos, but here's what we got. More photos are coming from our official photographer soon.

04/20/2025

Lovely celebration of life today for our dear friend and former Tiki Kon art show coordinator . Words can't express how much you're loved and missed. Gone but always with us 😔❤️🌺