Tiki Culture is Alive at the Hukailau
Potent potables, music, food, and fashion meet at this annual gathering in Florida
The Hukilau returns to South Florida June 5 to 8 at the Beachcomber Resort in Pompano Beach and the legendary Mai-Kai.
So what’s a Hukailau, and why should you attend?
The Hukailau, named after an ancient Hawaiian way of fishing, is a four-day celebration of tiki culture. For the uninitiated, think of a Comic Con-by-the-sea —only instead of Iron Man and the Hulk, you’ll find people in hula skirts, coconut bras, and tropical shirts. Add some 60s-esque surfer rock and plenty of tiki cocktails, and you’ve got one festive weekend.
This year, the four-day seaside fete returns to the Mai-Kai — South Florida’s legendary Polynesian restaurant and showplace. The restaurant, opened in 1956 by brothers Bob and Jack Thornton, was one of dozens of tiki palaces serving pineapple chicken and Runrunners, but it was one of the grandest. At $350,000, it was on record as the most expensive restaurant built that year.
One of the last remaining restaurants of its kind, the Mai-Kai reopened this fall after a kitchen flood caused it to close for several years. After a $20 million renovation, including some designs from former Disney Imagineers, the Mai-Kai is back in business — this time with a giant volcano and outdoor bar added to the mix.
For Hukilau attendees who travel to South Florida for the weekend, this could be a first-time return to the Mai-Kai after nearly five years.
The Mai-Kai will kick off the weekend with a pre-party on Wednesday, June 4. It will also host a dinner on Friday, June 6, and will host tours of the property on Sunday, June 8.
The Hukailau might best be known for its gathering of the world’s best tiki bars, who gather to present their best cocktails. The list of bars is an impressive “who’s who” of tiki culture and includes Aku Aku in Orlando, Bar Tiki in Clearwater Beach, Barebones Tiki in Boca Raton, Detroit’s Dead Isla, Coco Beach’s Dirty Bird, Prospect Heights, IL’s Kahala Koa, Jacksonville’s Luau Lads, Permanent Vacation in Maitland, FL, Salt Lake City’s Remora, Sugarcane Lounge in Phoenix, Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago, and Tiki TatsuYa in Austin.
Add in live music by a host of bands, including the Disasternauts — who play in chimp costumes and astronaut uniforms as a nod to 60s era space chimps — and you’ve got a rum-fueled, colorful, lively weekend indeed.
With Lilo and Stitch slated to make tens of millions at the box office, there’s a tropical tone to this summer. It’s time to ride this wave straight through to September. So, don your Hawaiian shirts, get out your bottles of rum, and enjoy.