Skipper Josh’s South Seas Adventures
Sponsored by
Presented by Skipper Josh Collins
Entertainer, promoter, self-taught artist, musician, Tiki bar owner and all-around wildman Skipper Josh and his Go Go Dancer/Fashion Designer/DJ partner, Babzotica, take you on an exciting journey to the out-of-the-way islands of Tanna (Vanuatu), Atiu (Cook Islands), Huahine (Society Islands), and the Marquesas. Through photos, personal sketches, and anecdotes of crazy adventures, the Skipper will regale you with his discoveries that include local carvers at work and amazing Tiki architecture in unusual places.
Skipper Josh Collins is a madcap creator from Melbourne. He created, with his wife Babz, South London Pacific, The Hula Bula Bar, The Luwow as well as many amazing parties and sleazy B Movies. Prepare to be entertained and misled!
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Presented by Ken Bruce
Based on Ken Bruce's book Before the Birds Sang Words, this seminar will take a peek at the genesis and evolution of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, the revolutionary Tiki-infused Audio-Animatronic musical revue that's been delighting audiences at Disneyland for over 60 years. The seminar will also explore the contributing influences and passions of the man who spearheaded it — in turn becoming one of Walt Disney's most personal projects.
Ken Bruce is a two-time Emmy Award-winning animation director, storyboard artist, and timer. His story work has appeared in three Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners — Toy Story 3, UP, and Shrek. Other credits include The Simpsons, Ren and Stimpy, Fairly Odd Parents, and Family Guy. His first Disneyland visit at age five was a formative event that led to a lifelong appreciation for the masterfully immersive environments dreamt up by Walt Disney and his team of Imagineers. Ken lives in Los Angeles.
Way Out West in Waikiki - The Hawaiian Steel Guitar and other Tiki Twang
Sponsored by
Presented by Jeff Chenault
If ever there was a common denominator between Hawaiian and Country music, the steel guitar is it. Join Tiki veteran and music historian, Jeff Chenault, on a wild west ride into the instantly recognizable sound and fascinating world of the steel guitar. Sol Hoopi, Roy Smeck, Jerry Byrd, Speedy West, Alvino Rey, Herb Remington, Bernie Kaai Lewis, and Pete Drake are some of the creative steel guitar forces whose influences are still heard around the world today!
Jeff Chenault is a Tiki Oasis veteran, author, producer, music historian, and preservationist who has written for various publications including Cool and Strange Music Magazine, Tiki News, Bachelor Pad Magazine, Tiki Magazine, and Exotica Moderne. He wrote Ohio Tiki (2019) and co-authored the Kahiki Supper Club (2014) and Kahiki Scrapbook (2023). As a producer, he has released three albums of rare exotica music for Dionysus Records.
Desert Polynesia - A Book Preview of Palm Springs Tiki
Sponsored by
Presented by Sven Kirsten
A sneak peak into Sven Kirsten’s new tome to be published this fall. Together with Palm Springs modernism expert Pete Moruzzi Sven is currently penning the ultimate treasure trove of anecdotes and images depicting establishments that strived to recreate Polynesia in the desert. See how primitivism and modernism mingled under the desert sun!
Sven Kirsten was born in 1955 in Hamburg, Germany. After a brief stint at the San Francisco Art Institute, he moved to Los Angeles to study cinematography at the American Film Institute. Here he fell in love with the aesthetic extremes of LA. While working as a successful cinematographer, he began to pursue his hobby of urban archeology, photographing and collecting the remnants of the vanishing Tiki cult in America. He is the author of several books, including “The Book of Tiki”, “Tiki Pop”, and “The Art of Tiki”.