This is one of many, many records I picked up at thrift stores over the years. Back in 2004 I ripped it to the computer, at least the first side. Recently I was making new mixes for the Hideaway and included their “Hasegawa General Store” and every time it comes around, I crank it up. I just love it. Something about the sounds of forks hitting plates in the background just endears it to me.

George passed away in 2000. I am not sure of this when this was released. Some evidence on the web indicates 1992, but I am thinking earlier.

So, enjoy the cheese of the piano bar in Hawaii, done as well as anyone. Live from the Maui Hilton Hotel on the beach at Kaanapali in the Lokelani Room.

Download here on Rapidshare before it goes away!

Hula records Stereo HS-539

You’d think that after searching for 6 years for all things Mai Kai I would have seen every postcard there was. No. This one appeared on Ebay a few weeks ago. More things to try to find!

I got a request for this, so I am putting it out there again. I have not listened to this in maybe 6 years, so, no guess about the sound quality.

Download here

I’ve always loved this mug. Such a nice sentiment to have “Goddess of Love” tattooed across the top of a skull mug. A wonderful image for a drink. The Hawaii Kai is a legendary tiki bar from New York, best known as the location of Joe Pesci’s famous “Do I amuse you” scene in Goodfellas. I was very pleased to add this one to my collection.

Just when you think you know what’s out there, something else comes along. Until about a month ago, I had never seen this menu. It is the “missing link” in a way. Oddly missing from the Mai Kai drink menu that we all have seen that is dated 1957, is the Mystery Drink. That led to wondering if the Mystery Drink was around in 1956 when they opened. This is perhaps the answer. On this menu, dated 1959, is the Mystery Drink. There was a seperate menu for the Molokai and that’s where the drink was ordered. It is dated 1959 and not 1957. We had this dated menu from 1958, so, this menu doesn’t get us closer to 1957 for the Mystery Drink, just firms up the evidence. One interesting thing from the mini menu is the image of the Mystery Drink. It is the kneeling girl bowl that was common among many bars.

That bowl is seen in this image from the Mai Kai which is surely Annie Campbell:

So, perhaps the Mystery Drink started in 1956 when the Mai Kai opened, and the Mai Kai Mystery Bowl appeared a little later…

There’s always something new out there. This looks like a card that I already have, but it is not. I am anxiously awaiting a card I have never seen, and none of you have ever seen from Annie Campbell. Not sure exactly what it is. You’ll see soon.

I previously posted about the Okole Maluna Club at the Mai Kai. At Hukilau, Kern Mattei, GM of the Mai Kai blessed me with this bit of ephemera. The membership card for the Okole Maluna Society. Awesome! I just can’t decide if I should put my name on it and make myself a mixologist! I should have had Kern do it.

More Mai Kai goodness pre-Hukilau

Just got this card to add to the Vintage Server Girls thread on Tiki Central.

This gal is clearly none too happy to see her man getting lei’d…

In the UK they broke the rules and had blonde servers!

And the freaks have tikis with boobs!

The one great thing I credit myself with in the whole Hukilau event, is being able to promote and in some ways really help make the Mai Kai more well known and popular. We all love the place, but I love the people that run it. They are the best. The staff as well. Mai Kai.

I noticed there was not a good set of images of this magazine article on the web, so I thought I’d scan it and put it out there for everyone.

Considering all the images of this Barrel of Rum mug, you’d think they would be around, but I have seen this mug on Ebay once in maybe 5 years.
 

Is that me in that aloha shirt? Maybe at Hukilau?

Bob and Jack Thornton

Bob pours the Coffee Grog.

I have been lusting after wanting this postcard for a long time. It’s finally mine. Why do I want it?

Could be this guy, waiting and watching on the diving board.

Could be these mafia guys, planning something harsh.

Could be this gal, smiling, cocktail in hand with the awesome hairdo.

Could be this red hot mama. But…

Really it’s just the whole damn card!

A few more of the commercial slides. You can see a big difference in color in some of these as they had become very red with age. Photoshop corrected them a lot, but they are not quite right.

Okay, a few more. These are from a batch of commercial slides for the tourists.

I have been corresponding with former Mai Kai Mystery Lady Anne Campbell lately. Once again I cannot stress enough the importance of getting everything we can on the Internet so the generation who remembers can find it and share with us. It was thanks to my Mai Kai calendar posts that she found me.

Unfortunately, a lot of her photos and memorabilia from that time was destroyed by a varmit infestation while they were in storage. One piece she sent me really stood out to me. I had read and was told that Bob Thornton inspected the Mai Kai gals on a regular basis and even the future Mrs. Thornton was kicked off the squad for being a bit pudgy. Well, here is a bit of proof. A letter from 1965 from Bob congratulating her for being top gal, and reminding her to keep her weigh under 125…

 More to come!

Sven and Sabu give us a nerdrific lesson in the history of two tikis at the Caliente Tropics.

Moon Islander Menu, South Titusville, FL

Tuai is Miss December 1973 in the 1974 calendar. A bonus!

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Something very modern looking about Kelli, Miss December 1974.


Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Pamela is Miss November 1974. I think this is what is now the gift shop.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Karen is Miss October 1974.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Liva is shakin it for September 1974.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Patti is Miss August 1974. This is the lovely lady’s room at the Mai Kai. Mmmm. That hair just gets me. That’s not your typical 1974 style.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Susan is Miss July 1974,

“When the gong sounds, the ritual begins. There’s a hush throughout the room. What follows is something very special. Between you, your soul and the Mystery Girl.”

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Diane is Miss June 1974.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Um, Miss May 1974 is Linda, and there appears to be flames coming out of her… Hot!

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Kainoa is Miss April 1974. We had the pleasure of Kainoa dancing in the opening ceremony for Hukilau 2004. An incredible lady. She dances with my good friend Talani’s Polynesian Proud Productions in South Florida.

Another drawing of the garden dining area.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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I had come across this cover many years ago, and this week, I finally found the magazine. As best as I can tell, it is from 1966. Maybe a bit racier than Playboy at the time and just full of pictures of girls. The tiki and the bar are apparantly owned by the same photographer who did this spread for Nylon Jungle magazine. The rest of the images in the magazine are NSFW, so, you click on the below links as you wish.

Buff Treasure - on Pleasure Island - Rare, indeed, is the day that a ship calls at the island of Secluda, so this lovely native celebrates the event.

The Phallocrypt

Page 3 - She’s asking the fire god who rules over the island to provide them with rainless weather so that the passengers and crew on board the ship can come ashore to sample the island’s hospitality. The native food is delicious, the dances are delights to behold and the people are friendly children. “Pleasure Island,” it’s been called, and with good reason. With luck, perhaps some day your ship will call at this pearl of the Pacific!

Page 4

Center Fold

It’s probably a good idea that the outrigger isn’t there now. I can definitely see Crazy Al rowing out to the waterfall at Hukilau…
Linda is Miss March 1974.



A drawing of the dining area in the gardens.


Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Candi is Miss February. Now that’s sexy, I don’t care who you are.

A nice drawing of the show at the Mai Kai.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Mireille is Miss January 1974 on stage at the Mai Kai.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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When your 1974 Mai Kai calendar arrived, this was the image that greeted you on the envelope. Nice.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Gail brings up the rear as the last image for 1967.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Liva is Miss December 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Sandra is Miss November 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Ellen is Miss October 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Joan is Miss September 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Betty is Miss August 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Deanna is Miss July 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Mireille is Miss June 1967
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Leila is Miss May 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Carol is Miss April 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Andree is Miss March 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Gigi is Miss February 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Patti is Miss January 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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This starts the 1967 Mai Kai calendar. This is a front image:

Lorie is our front girl for 1967

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Charmaine is Miss December 1963.

For the end of this calendar year of 1963, we have this Extra. Were the first letters of that poem meant to mean anything?

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Ellen is Miss November 1963.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Many years ago at the World’s Longest Yardsale, an empty bottle of Leilani Hawaiian Rum turned up. Sven Kirsten said he has a display that held the bottle and was looking for a one to put in it. That put me on a search.

At the Tiki Ti you may have seen this. It’s an “adapted” display. A few years ago I happened upon the display in mint condition. Now I was in the spot Sven was. Until last week…

Behold the Leilani Hawaiian Rum display, with a vintage, unopened bottle of Leilani Hawaiian Rum!

Yes, that state tax seal is intact. Beach Bum Berry ranks it as one of his favorite white rums. I have tasted it via a few airline sized bottles over the years. I think I will keep this seal unbroken for a long time. I love having this perfect display in the bar!

Jean is Miss October 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Sallye is Miss September 1963. Look at that awesome material her costume is made of!

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Diane is Miss August 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Hmmm, there’s just something about Jean, Miss July 1963 that I really love. Not sure what…

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Lita, the Oriental Mystery Girl is Miss June 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Nice Rarotangan tiki there Andre! Miss May 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mimi is Miss April 1963.

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Miss March is Mireille, better known these days as Mrs. Thornton, owner of the Mai Kai. I love this image. Very fun, and I love to see the cannibal tiki trio over her shoulder!

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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Ah the Mystery Girl, Dondi. Dig that bowl! Miss February 1963

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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I meant to share these in chronological order, but somehow I messed up. So, now we start the 1963 Mai Kai calendar.

Donna is Miss January 1963. That Old Black Magic has had me in its spell many times…

Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL

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A nice illustration of the Mai Kai in 1964

The legendary Mireille Thornton on the back cover.

This ends the 1964 calendar. These early 60s ones are very rare.
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Barbara is Miss December 1964
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Dee is Miss November 1964
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Sizou is Miss October 1964
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Joann is Miss September 1964

An illustration of the bar in 1964 with the portrait of Bob Thornton drawn in there.

Fixed the images on yesterday’s vintage hula cheesecake post.
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I am proud that I was able to contribute images for the “Sexy Tiki” portion of Sven’s newest book, “Tiki Modern“. I just got a bit of new naughty hula stuff to share.

From the January 1963 we have a surprisingly long pictorial of a Hawaiian festival. We see the fantasy unfold. The images are NSFW: not safe for work.

      
We see the natives get restless, then our blonde “private secretary” cuts loose!

Note the tan line on her that is 6 inches above her belly button.

Idola is Miss August 1964
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Sandi is Miss July 1964
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 I picked up this record on my trip to Tiki Eyeball. I have been dying to hear it since May. The cover is just classic. I am not sure where this Sheraton is in Fort Lauderdale. I thought it was where the Hukilau is hosted, but, that’s definitely a different building. But she does mention the Yankee Clipper on the record. Is this the building across from the ocean?

I have uploaded a nice big image of the back for your reading pleasure. I especially like that it is signed and Chise adds “I’m made in Japan.”

This week, after moving in to the new house a few months ago, I finally got the stereo hooked up and connected to the computer. This record was the first to be ripped.

The record doesn’t blow me away, but I sure wish I could have seen these guys. It really makes me wish for such a show. Arnie plays a mean guitar and Chise squeals with delite all through the show.

I uploaded the file HERE. One side at a time, just as it should be.

p.s. I just noticed a strange hiccup in my rip. Whether its my sound card or a conflict in the computer or what, I have no idea. Gotta get a new computer some day…

Kawana is Miss june 1964. This is one of the large tikis that used to be in front of the restaurant.

Here it is in a postcard. This tiki was stolen in the night long ago…

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Sallye is Miss May 1964 - Shout out to Pablus and the Crazed Mugs who played the Molokai Lounge last night. I wish I could have been there. Can’t wait to see him in the round at the Aku Tiki Room in Kewaunee Illinois at next year’s Tiki Eyeball.

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Yvonne is Miss April 1964

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Ann is Miss March 1964

An illustration of the bar in 1964
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Jean is Miss February 1964, keeping the torches burning.
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This is a filler image used throughout this 1964 calendar. I believe the man in the drawn portrait is Bob Thornton. The Okole Maluna sign is not just an exhortation to “drink up”, but was a “club” that guests could join and work their way through the menu to get special stuff.

Pat is Miss Jauary.

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As a proper build up to the new Tiki Daze calendar I am producing, I am going to be sharing my Mai Kai calendar collection over the next few months. The Mai Kai means a lot to me. It’s the greatest place on Earth as far as I am concerned. They are the anchor of Hukilau and it was the fantastic presence of the Mai Kai and the incredibly welcoming spirit of the owners and staff that keep Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale. I owe a lot to this place. It helped light and continually rekindles my tiki fire. The people who work there are great sources of information and are just the best.

Also, I spent a few hours at the Mai Kai, photographing the place for the calendar. It’s is far more dense with imagery than you realize.

So, it only seems fitting to share images of my Mai Kai calendars to celebrate the new Tiki Daze calendar. Over the coming months, you will see an mage a day. If you think the images should be bigger, let me know. When I can, I will add side information.

Enjoy!

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I picked up this new card of the Sharp’s Motel at the Clinton Antiques Fair today. For the complete story on this Motel, click here. A big postcard dealer. She will be at the postcard show with her complete collection. It was great to see a stack of just Knoxville cards. Other than my own stack, I’d never seen that before. I’ve had this circled on my calendar for months. I can’t wait to flip through all the cards and see what gems I can find!

OCTOBER 19-20, 2007- East Tennessee Postcard Show, Days Inn Convention Center, Central Ave. Pike at Merchants Dr. Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Milt Hinshilwood, 865-247-5767

After a long year of working on this, we are nearly done! The fantastic graphic design artists have taken my thousands of photographs of vintage tiki bar ephemera and turned them into dynamic works of art. These things you have seen in the Book of Tiki, Tiki Quest, The Bum’s books and now the wonderful Tiki Modern. So, to simply photograph some very rare mugs and drop them on a background would be, well, already done and semi-boring. The real tiki geeks would dig it if I had the uber-rare items, but most people would not. So, I challenged my artists to do something fun, and creative with these images, and I think they have. Plus, all calendar images were approved by Ms. Swanky who, though she fully understands the tiki aesthetic, is not enthralled with it like I am. She understands a more broad perception that will make this calendar appeal to us tiki freaks, and the general freaks too.

If you look at the calendars in thte kiosk at the mall, you will find they all fall into a few categories:

1. Images of things, i.e. Dogs, Cats, Babes, Hunks
2. Art, i.e. Ansel Adams photos, Picasso paintings
3. Cartoons, i.e. Dilbert, Farside
4. Still Lifes, i.e. staged kitchen cooking scenes, islands, etc.

What we have done with this calendar is combine several of these styles. We have photographs of things, as in postcards, swizzles, mugs and menus of classic tiki bars. Mixed with images of thatch, tapa, etc., blended with custom artwork, and put together into a new image, which is a sort of “still life” of tiki that is more than a sum of its parts.

Quite simply, it is unlike any calendar I have ever seen, both for its subject matter, and especially for its design.

So, head over to the new website and get the only 2008 calendar that matters!

In a follow up to this popular post on the Hawaiian Village in Myrtle Beach, SC, I add this vintage postcard of the exterior.

Great sign, and what looks like a 15 foot tiki out front.

It is good to see more of this place….

Tiki Daze

With a title like that, it could be anything, but…

And if you have dirty thoughts, this could lead to many places…

I’d love to cruise around Nassau in that car, and with one of these gals in hats and heels…

I’d visit Cypress Gardens, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what is going on in this picture…

Do a bit of shopping in Nassau. Great bag.

Maybe watch a local show with hot, sweaty, shirtless black men…

Nearly lose my wig when my husband spears a big fish and points it at me…

Listen as Jerome sings another tune. Shake me another Bacardi Cocktail!

Dancing of course…

Flamingos viewed under parasol…

Get a hat that looks like a palapa umbrella…

Or just enjoy the Palm beaches.

Warning, NSFW. 

The 1966 issue of Nylon Jungle.

I have been looking for this for years. Nice tiki, nice, um, gal.

This carving must be in the photographer’s home. This is all we get to see. A random prop. If this was a recent picture, I’d be inclided to say those are too perfect. They must be fake. I know they had boob jobs in the 60s. Regardless, that’s a pleasing set.

The magazine is full of that odd fetish for shockings, feet and rather oddly, girls in dirty white sneakers and stockings.

Previously on Swank Blather:

Tiki Lingerie Lunch Hour

Route 66 Tiki Lingerie Show

I got this little menu on Ebay a while ago. I thought it was maybe just a mini ordering menu, perhaps for a luau or small event. This weekend at Hukilau, I found out what it was.

The “Big Bamboo” is of interest to this story.

Having the “Cobra’s Kiss” and “Deep Sea Diver” marked out I thought meant it was just not available at the time the menu was passed out. Not so.

The real answer came during Beachbum Berry’s talk. He had introduced Mai Kai original mixologist, Mariano Licudine’s son to the crowd and had him come up to answer questions. He had been around the Mai Kai since it was being built when he was a lad of twelve. His Dad had supervised every minute detail of the building of the bar.

He told about one of the recipes on the menu today which was a weakened version of the “Big Bamboo” recipe. The “Big Bamboo” was a drink you only got after you had worked your way through the “Okole Maluna Club”. This little menu was for that club. You got a drink marked off as you tried it and when you had tried all the drinks, you got a big bamboo mug of your own and got the “Big Bamboo” drink as a member of that club. That is why there is a “Cobra’s Kiss” marked off on this menu! That is what it is for and the drink is right there on the back! The only way to get the “Big Bamboo” was to try all these drinks.

So many great things come from Hukilau. I want to know more and more! He also said the origianl doors to the Mai Kai looked like this and the original drink menu with the tikis on one door and “Mai Kai ” on the other, carved in Mohogany. Where are those doors now Kern?

As I gear up for the annual trek to Fort Liquordale and Hukilau, I start thinking about old friends I will see. One of them is Cybertiki. Dave and his wife are great folks and incredibly generous. His wife makes the lucious costumes the bar gals wear in the Molokai Lounge. She’ll make one for you too if you want. Look for them in the vendor area. He has a great collection of Mai Kai ephemera. He had started sharing some things a long time ago and I know most people who have not been around as lone as I have don’t know about it. So, I searched his site out and wanted to shine a spotlight on it. Especailly this 1966 Mai Kai calendar. Here is an image from it:

They had the remaining fabric that was used to make the aloha shirt Elvis wore in Blue Hawaii. Some lucky soul is wearing the last dress made of that fabric…

This post is very cool and I envy the guy. A great set of coincidences that just make your vintage heart melt.

Read the story. Keep vintage hope alive! Way cool!

To rev up to Hukilau coming in less than two weeks, I am sharing some Mai Kai schwag…

Mrs. Thornton, the choreographer for the Mai Kai dinner show and owner of the Mai Kai. She is the spirit of the place and an incredible lady.

Day-am! LOVE THE HAIR! and the other stuff is nice. Like a little dish laid out on the leaves. Is this her on this postcard?

What a drum! And the hair is rockin too!
Can’t wait to see the sites in the Molokai again…

Just your typical scene of Hawai in 1964. Men in suits and skinny ties and ladies in dresses. Waiting for dinner outside the Hilton Hawaiian Village Luau. But…
(more…)

I bought mine a long time ago, before the prices went crazy. The one that just sold on Ebay has much better paint than mine. They were lazy and left off her lei and flower and the black outline on the fish. But mine is made better in terms of the seam.