Khan Tiki Mon in front of the stage where the Space Cossacks just finished the last gig in their reunion tour. It was an awesome show.
The Space Cossacks.
Tiki torches. Last one to leave please put out the torches.
The Festiki stage.
Space Cossacks with the Tiki guitar up front. The Tiki guitar wouldn't stay in tune in the humidity and had to sit silent for the show.
Soul Fyre Productions - Fire dancing and some fire eating.
Playing with fire.
Vegas 66.
The sand sculpture is complete.
The Madeira.
Crazy Joe and the Mad River Outlaws.
Work continues on the Tiki sand sculpture.
Tattoos.
The food and drink at Festiki were good. There was Landshark on tap and there were tropical cocktails to be had. I had a cheese burger that was quite tasty. The funnel cake was excellent and the prices were reasonable.
Karen doesn't like a lot of my Tiki stuff but she loves the Tikiyaki bag. Too bad the Tikiyaki Orchestra couldn't have performed at Festiki.
When the rains came the sand sculpture went under wraps.
Some Tiki lovin'.
Tyrd Fyrgysyn and the Masterexploders.
The vintage car show included some motorcycles including this Indian.
There was a hot rod and vintage car show on the grounds.
Tiki sand sculpture.
I got to meet master Tiki carver extraordinaire Lake Tiki in person. I scored a Lake Tiki original hand carved pendant.
The Space Cossacks.
The headline act was the reunion concert by the Space Cossacks. The Space Cossacks were one of the premiere surf bands playing during the resurgence of surf music in the 90s. They stopped playing in 2000 and this tour was a reunion. The Festiki gig was the last show on the reunion tour and it was just absolutely awesome.
Welcoming Tiki.
Welcome to Festiki.
2010/08/14 09:00 I woke up in Dayton Ohio this morning all ready for Festiki. We left Syracuse later than anticipated. We didn't hit the road until about a quarter past five. Before we left I emptied the van of all the crap I usually carry around and vaccumed the entire inside. I asked Karen if she wanted me to remove the car seat since the grandson wasn't coming with us. She said no, and I am sure she said no just because it is such a pain to fasten the car seat back in after it has been removed. It worked out good because I was able to put the car seat to good use. We stopped at a liquor store before we left and I buckled the booze in for a safe ride.
Booze riding safely.
We managed to travel on Friday the 13th with no ill effects. The ride took longer than I thought; about nine hours. We didn't get to the motel until almost three in the morning. I had booked the motel on Expedia and the room was already paid for so when we pulled up they just handed us the keys. Very nice. Karen said I spent too much on the motel and that she could have done better if she had booked the trip. I felt a little vindicated this morning when we got a very nice complimentary breakfast in the lobby which included cheese omelets, breakfast meats, biscuits with sausage gravy, and assorted pastries. It is off to my first Festiki.
2010/08/15 09:00 So, yesterday morning, after our complimentary and free breakfast that we didn't have to pay for, I kind of rushed Karen out the door of the motel to get to Festiki. I hadn't been to Festiki before, and it started at ten in the morning, and I didn't want to miss anything. We were some of the first celebrants to arrive and the vendors were just setting up. We strolled the grounds and it became apparent that we could have slept in a little longer. We went back to the motel and Karen took a power nap. I let Karen sleep for a couple of hours before I woke her up and we ventured back to Festiki. When we left the motel it was bright and sunny and there was no evidence of rain. We drove the nine miles to Old River Park where Festiki was and we could see that it had rained fairly heavily in our absence. We got something to eat and Tyrd Fyrgysyn and the Masterexploders took center stage. Tyrd Fyrgysin is the mysterious Latvian surf guitarist who performs wearing a cheerleading uniform. He performs in disguise because he is in the country illegally and he doesn't want to be deported again. Tyrd and the Masterexploders put on a great show.
Tyrd Fyrgysyn and the Masterexploders.
Stormy weather approaches.
While Tyrd Fyrgysyn was playing the rains came. I mean epic rains. Biblical rains as in build an ark rains. Some of the vendors started to rechristen the event as "WetTiki".
People found shelter where they could. Some huddled around the trunks of trees and others under any overhang they could find. There were electrical problems and one of the bands scheduled wasn't able to play. The storm passed, things heated up, and it got a little steamy. Crazy Joe and the Mad River Outlaws played, followed by The Madeira. The rockabilly band Vegas 66 was next up on the stage. After Vegas 66 the crowd was treated to some fire dancing and fire eating by the troupe Soul Fyre Productions. Then it was time for the headline act.
Khan Tiki Mon and his Purple Wahine are traveling to Ohio for Festiki this year.
festiki 2010
When Karen and I were leaving there was a couple by the exit that were throwing up. Karen made this observation; she said they must be Rockabilly people because they throw up more often than Tiki people. Anyways, that's what she said.