Tiki History and Culture

Please join Doug Raponi on a tour of the origins of California's tiki heritage and how it embedded itself in American culture. If you are a fan of tiki drinks, Disney parks or Las Vegas theme hotels that make you feel like you are somewhere else, enjoy Chinese-American restaurants, or simply shop at Trader Joe's, plan on being enthralled by a presentation showing the origins of tiki culture and the current ways this faux Polynesian tradition became engrained in American culture.

About the presenter:

Doug Raponi has been a tiki enthusiast since 2014 when he stumbled upon The Hukilau, an internationally attended celebration of tiki culture held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Since that introduction, he and his wife Ruth have travelled to festivals across America where historians and urban archaeologists presented the anecdotes and artifacts that define tiki. Doug has visited more than 14 tiki bars in 4 countries.