Tiki Kon 2015

A few weekends ago Dave and I attended the 13th Annual Tiki Kon gathering which takes place at the Red Lion at the Quay hotel located in Vancouver, Washington which is just across the Columbia river from Portland, Oregon.

We have been looking forward to attending this event as it is the first Tiki gathering we have been to that takes place outside of California.

We arrived at the hotel on Friday night around 6pm after a five hour drive from Medford, OR.  We got quickly settled into our room and changed as quickly as we could to join in the fun.  This year's theme was "Tiki Kon Air" or a throw back to flying in style in the 1960s.  Instead of a wrist band we got a passport to wear around our necks that we could get stamped with each event we attended, vendor we purchased from, and symposium we attended.  

We wore our latest matching honeymooners set which were both purchased from the southern Oregon area.  I found the dress at a local thrift shop and then found Dave the matching shirt on eBay from a seller who happened to be located one town over from us.  I'm convinced these were originally a set that were temporarily separated and we brought them back together.

We walked in just in time to catch the tail end of the Rat City Brass performance. They are an excellent Tijuana Brass tribute band.

It was the perfect background music for when I got to meet and pose for a photo with the original "Whipped Cream" girl herself Dolores Erickson. 

I was kicking myself for forgetting to bring my copy of the album to have her sign.

The event takes place outside and has an excellent view of the Columbia River.

Next up was DJ Cabana's Vintage Fashion Show.

Marina MeduSirena the Fire Eating Mermaid was among the models wearing some fantastic vintage.

I'm so happy I had a chance to say hello to Marina!

Here is a view of our balcony.  We shared a room with our friend Daren and he had brought two of his recently purchased Tiki Diablo tikis as well as excellent lighting to use as Lanai Swag. Not pictured from the evening performances are The Satin Chaps.  I was dancing my tushy off hence no photos.  I ended up purchasing their CD and have had it in the car now for almost two weeks.

The next morning we got up early, had breakfast and headed to the Tiki Kon Island Marketplace.

There were so many great vendors with so many excellent items for sale.

Daren and Dave.

I absolutely love Sophista-Tiki's work (aka Dawn Fraiser).

Dave and I did pretty good and held ourselves back on purchases.  I did buy a skull mug and an excellent luggage tag that looks like the world as seen in the Witco artwork.  Daren purchased many excellent finds including this August Holland "Pearl of Wisdom" framed art.

We had some fun with the TKA photo spot the organizers had set up.

The plane is going down!!!

Love at 30,000 feet!

Here is a better photo of my day outfit for Saturday.  I was lucky enough to have found this vintage palazzo jumpsuit during Halloween time at a thrift shop in San Diego.  I've finally lost enough weight to be able to wear it!

I topped off the ensemble by wearing my favorite beetle bangles. I was also sporting matching beetle earrings and a necklace which I purchased on my most recent trip to Los Angeles at the Topanga Vintage Market which takes place every 4th Sunday of each month in Woodland Hills.

With Darren and Daren on our lanai.  It was so awesome meeting and connecting with fellow tikiphiles.  Darren and I have been friends on Instagram for over a year and finally had a chance to meet each other in person.

Hamming it up with my monkey pod snack platter.

Sadly the weather did not cooperate for the pool party.  We didn't end up getting to wear our swim gear or even have a dip in the pool.  Dave and Daren did however join in the fun for the "Bananas for Cabanas" poolside meet up.

Not pictured is when we had dinner with Daren and his wonderful parents Susan and Bob.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel to watch the evening's performances. I wore one of my DeWeese Design dresses and Dave wore his incredible tiki themed blazer which I spotted for him at a vintage shop when we were in Portland last year. The tiki tie was a birthday gift from me.

Dave and Daren.

First up was the Iron Tikitender Showdown which featured three local bartenders competing for the title and a cash prize. 

The event was hosted by Blair Reynolds, owner of B.G. Reynolds syrups as well as the Hale Pele bar located in Portland.

We were rooting for Sierra of Hale Pele and she ended up coming out in First Place!

Next up was swinging sounds from the band Johnny Astro. I love a band that can play a mean Bond song.

The highlight performance of the weekend's events was the Roy and Marina Anderson of Ronin Taiko performance. This was Marina and her husband Rob's first time performing their Japanese wadaiko and fire show to a tiki crowd. It was an amazing performance!

Marina looked beautiful as she always does!

It was pretty intense at times....but a good intense of course!

We had such a great time and look forward to attending Tiki Kon in the future.  The event is like a mini version of Tiki Oasis and is much more intimate of a gathering. We are so happy there is a tiki event near to us here in the Pacific Northwest! The countdown for next year begins!

Till' Next Time,

Suz