Tiki Kiliki
Co-Creator, Co-Founder, Producer, Organizer | Email Tiki Kiliki
Tiki Kiliki, aka Christie J. White, felt the call of the islands as early as 6 years old, as her time spent after school was in an antique store where the owner had vintage Hawaiian LPs on heavy rotation. She then became mesmerized with Polynesian Pop at the bright age of 13 when she purchased her first Tiki mug at a Salvation Army Thrift Store. Her need to surround herself with idols & relics from the past could only be shared one way — the creation of The Hukilau™, an annual event celebrating the classic era and resurgence of Polynesian Pop.
She has carried her Tiki Torch on the East Coast for 9 years producing Hukilau since 2002 and her sub-event, Tiki Torch Nights, for both Trader Vic’s in Atlanta, GA and Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She has been quoted and/or featured in such magazines/media as Atomic Magazine, B-Metro Magazine, Tiki Magazine, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Fort Lauderdale Home, City Link Magazine, New Times Broward/Palm Beach, Sun-Sentinel, Creative Loafing Atlanta, The New York Times, Miami Herald and Barracuda Magazine, among others. When Trader Vic’s in Atlanta celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2006, Ms. Kiliki was the obvious choice for the hostess with the most-est. Her commitment to The Hukilau™ is undeniable as she strives each year to create an experience that every guest can take with them for a lifetime. Ms. Kiliki currently resides in a mid-century home located in Birmingham, AL where she lives with Coco and Joe, her 2 felines, and spends time mixing cocktails in her home bar, The Sunken Pearl.
Stacie Herndon/Heelgrinder
Co-Organizer, Designer
A part of The Hukilau behind-the-scenes for many years, Stacie is the graphexotica designer/web developer responsible for The Hukilau™ website and printed materials. Hailing from the deep urban jungle of San Antonio, Texas, she has non-stop passions for vintage Hawaiiana clothing from the 1940s-1950s, mid-century modern design, and Polynesian culture. Sounds of Tahitian drumming, hapa haole, exotica, garage, and surf can always be heard during her sets as “Selector Heelgrinder” and resident Exotica Queen at tiki events in her hometown and abroad. She proudly joins The Hukilau™ Crew this year as Co-Organizer and Tiki Kiliki’s right-hand-gal. Stacie is deeply dedicated to the preservation of The Hukilau™ as the world’s most unique and authentic Tiki event.
See more of Stacie’s work at Heelgrinder Pop Imagery.
Basement Kahuna
Vendor Coordinator, Chief Cocktail Maven
Our Vendor coordinator, Dave “Basement Kahuna” Wolfe, is arguably one of the best kept secrets in the Tiki world as we know it. Born and raised in Georgia in relative isolation from the Tiki/Hawaiiana world, he discovered and fell in love with the style quite on his own in the early ’90s and created a visionary Tiki world through sheer interest and obsession in his home before discovering kindred spirits in Tiki Central and in the pages of Sven Kirsten’s Book Of Tiki. Far beyond his extraordinary devotion and passion for everything in the Tiki genre, his legendary acumen for uncovering bits of Tiki’s glorious past in the form of artifacts of every description, his uncanny feel for the aesthetic of Tiki style, and his prowess for mixology, he is a highly accomplished Tiki carver and creator of all things Polynesian Pop. Once referred to by Sven Kirsten as “A one man Oceanic Arts,” his Tikis, Polynesian war club reproductions, shields, masks, and light fixtures can be seen in personal Tiki bars from L.A. to Paris and everywhere in between, and in modern-era Tiki bars as well as legendary Tiki temples such as the beloved Mai Kai. As always, we are thrilled to have him as a part of The Hukilau™ celebration.
Brian Crum
Entertainment Coordinator
Brian loves everything about The Hukilau™ and is proud to be returning to help bring this amazing event to the world. On stage he’s a member of The Intoxicators! and The Disasternauts. Behind the scenes he’s just a regular guy sipping on some rum and getting the job done.
Jim “Hurricane” Hayward
Public Relations, Press, Media Representative
This longtime South Florida journalist returns for his sixth year on The Hukilau™ crew as coordinator of PR, press and promotions. He’s been an editor and Web producer for 30 years, earning his Tiki nickname by leading The Palm Beach Post’s online coverage of tropical weather since the mid-’90s. A child of the ’60s, Jim’s roots in mid-century and retro culture run deep. He covers the South Florida scene in depth on his blog, The Atomic Grog. Jim is also a veteran concert promoter, specializing in indie, punk and surf. He booked multiple dates on Dick Dale’s 2011 and 2012 tours, and he also lends his promotion and PR talents to special events at The Mai-Kai.
The centerpiece of The Atomic Grog is the Okole Maluna Society, a comprehensive guide to every cocktail on The Mai-Kai’s menu, and even some that aren’t. It includes reviews, history, photos and more than 75 recipes. Jim encourages guests of The Hukilau™ to take advantage of this resource to fully explore The Mai-Kai’s amazing tropical drinks.
Email: Press@TheHukilau.com | Website: TheAtomicGrog.com
George Jenkins
Mixology Consultant and Coordinator
For the past two years, George has been helping out with various cocktail activities associated with Hukilau, including as a participant in the mixology competition. He is looking forward to another Hukilau full of great cocktails. George is the creator of the Brevard Tiki Facebook group and he is one of the co-conspirators of the “Brevard Tiki Night” events as well as other cocktail events throughout Brevard county. He and his wife host the annual Pre-Hukilau party at their home bar The Storm Shelter.
Bill Dillard
Hukilau Photographer
Bill has been attending and volunteering at Hukilau since 2004. 2013 will be his 7th year as the Official Hukilau Photography Sponsor. Along with the help of talented volunteers and his crew at go11, he has coordinated the coverage of all of The Hukilau™ events and produced 1000′s of stunning images that have captured the Aloha Spirit of Hukilau and serve as treasured keepsakes for attendees and more than a few Avatars.
“I am honored to be invited back as a sponsor again this year. Each year we try and ad something new to the mix, Portraits in the Mai-Kai Gardens, greenscreening onto the cover of Tiki Magazine, Slideshows, Room Crawl Hosting with partners like the Mai-Kai & SPAM, etc… This year will be no exception and we have some exciting multi-media plans in store for The Hukilau™.”
Bill is a partner in go11, a multimedia group that in addition to Photography and Videography offers Web, Graphic Design, and Mobile App Development. go11 has created several Tiki-centric websites including the Mai-Kai.
