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 7 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, 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 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 Birmingham, AL.

Orchid Wahine
Co-Organizer

Amy Eggers (aka Orchid Wahine) is delighted to return to Hukilau '09 and help continue the revelry and tradition of this mainstay event. Traveling from the outskirts of Washington, DC, where she produces and performs in a monthly burlesque show, she's honored to re-join the national ohana and celebrate all-things Hukilau.

Basement Kahuna
Vendor Coordinator

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 Crum 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
Entertainment Coordinator

While he's relatively new to the Hukilau team, Jim is no stranger to the South Florida music scene. He's been one of the area's top independent promoters since the early 1990s and has produced hundreds of concerts by a wide range of top local and national punk, metal and alternative rock bands (Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, Fugazi, Iron Maiden, Korn, My Chemical Romance, NOFX, Slayer and Sum 41, to name a few). His company, Slammie Productions, also specializes in cool niche artists (Agent Orange, Dick Dale, Nekromantix, Exene Cervenka, The HorrorPops, The Phenomenauts) and has been a trailblazer in the local music scene, nurturing most of the area's breakout artists such as Marilyn Manson, Dashboard Confessional, New Found Glory and Nonpoint.

Jim is a child of mid-century pop culture and grew up in the Northeast and Midwest in the 1960s and '70s amid his father's custom car show business. He has fond first-hand memories of the many George Barris-designed classics such as the Batmobile and Munsters cars plus the original monster shirt painters and artwork of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Around this time he also got his first taste of tiki culture at some of the era's vintage restaurants before moving with his family to Florida in the mid '70s.

A University of Florida grad and professional journalist for 25 years, Jim has worked at South Florida's top newspapers, covered the rock 'n' roll scene and for the past 15 years has specialized in Web production and editing. The tropical weather site he has managed through the past 10 hurricane seasons has earned him his nickname, "Hurricane." He has always been a student of modern pop culture and has recently dived enthusiastically into the tiki scene with his sights set on several major projects. We're delighted to have him on board.

Slammie.com | JimHayward.com

Shelley Knepper
Volunteer Coordinator

Shelley Knepper enjoys each and every aspect of the tiki lifestyle. She has attended every Tiki Oasis since its debut in 2001 in Palm Springs. Shelley has frequented Hukilau in years past and she served as the Volunteer Coordinator for Hukilau in 2008. Shelley is a special education teacher and she resides in Oceanside, CA.

Bargoyle
Room Crawl Coordinator

New England native Bargoyle is on hand to help organize the room crawl for this year’s Hukilau.  A printer by trade, he loves nothing more than a mai tai and some exotica to unwind.  His love for Polynesian pop-culture is evident in the tiki events he runs in the northeast, and we’re happy to have him aboard.  If you have any questions about the crawl, feel free to ask him.