The Image Photo Booth: Tiki Oasis 9
By Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times staff writer
The celebration of Polynesian pop culture known as Tiki Oasis is billed as the largest and longest running Tiki Event on planet Earth. It grew even larger in its ninth year, according to organizers, when it filled the grounds of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Diego with nearly 2,000 Tiki aficionados over four days in mid-August.
Mixed in with the symposiums on rum and chocolate, screenings of Tikimentary, book signings and a car show was what many would consider the visual highlight of the weekend:, a tiki fashion show produced by Melissa Gruenhagen, owner of the Retro Diva website, including vintage looks from her stockpile of Hawaiian fashions.
The result was a cadre of colorful kahunas and winsome wahines cavorting on a bamboo framed stage. Luckily, more than a few from the fashion show and the costume contest that followed ended up making their way to our nearby Photo Booth. By the end of the night the mai tais made it hard to tell the difference between the fashionistas and the costume contestants, but in the end, it didnt seem to matter. It was all in the aloha spirit.
Tana Miller, above, is a hula vision Aug. 14 at Tiki Oasis 9.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Jeff “Biff” Butler of Huntington Beach channels his inner Austin Powers while rocking a “totally tikified” Hawaiian shirt.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Samuel “the little Kahuna” Novicki,10, of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Kathy Ballesteros is exactly what you need to see as you approach the tiki bar.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
Jen and Brad Beckman of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
You know it’s a party when you spot someone like Aja Kop of Palolo, Hawaii, representing.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Local celebrity Charles Phoenix had his suit custom-made from fabric he found — can’t you tell?
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
It was the first Tiki Oasis for Finn Behle,10 months, with his mom, Tina Behle of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
Eddie Medrano, 39, of Hollywood — who’s a balloon-hat master — rocks a balloon necklace.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Kim and Mike Melsha of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Kathleen O’Malley of Jersey City, N.J., confesses she is obsessed with culture from the mid 20th century.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
King Kukulele, who goes by the name Denny Moynahan when he’s not wearing his paper crown and grass skirt, stepped into the Photo Booth between hosting and MC duties at Tiki Oasis 9.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
Trya and Tony Simoni traveled from
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Thayer Lund of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Tiki Oasis 9 producer Otto von Stroheim with his sons Dashiell, left, and Brander, right.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Vernon Ballesteros.
Need we say more?
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
Miranda Lemeaux of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Tony Marisco, left, and Frank Marisco are brothers and members of the Martini Kings, retro jazz musicians who rocked the fun-loving crowd at Tiki Oasis 9.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Sean Kelly of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Meghan Mayhem, 30, of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
Russell Bruner, 27, of
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
Hey, Mr. Bruner, we said Image Photo Booth, not Image Photo Booty.
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
The Devil-Ettes, a
MORE PHOTO BOOTHS:
Serendipity
Lucha Vavoom
The Veuve Clicquot Robert Skene Trophy Finals Polo Match
1984 Olympians today
Comic-Con 2009
More party and event pictures (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)