2023 Guests, Seminars, Panels, & Classes

Henrik Van Ryzin & Denise Van Ryzin make a variety of faux artifacts inspired by Polynesian Pop, adventure, exploration, and South Seas Mystery. Former Hollywood Artists (Henrik worked in Makeup FX, Denise in editing), they founded VanTiki Studio in 2001.  All VanTiki relics are created by hand, by us at the Mt. VanTiki Ranger Station tucked into the Oregon woods.

https://vantiki.com/

https://www.instagram.com/vantiki/

BigToe, aka artist Tom Laura was raised in Souther California on a steady beach-rat diet of Ed Roth, Mad Magazine and Surfer Magazine's Rick Griffin. His artwork, tiki mugs and other merchandise is created with a casual, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and playful eroticism that offers a nostalgic escape in our fast-paced and ever-changing world.
As a student of Polynesian culture, traveling to the South Pacific has been a big influence. Tom has visited most of the Hawaiian Islands, several islands of Tahiti and the Society Islands, Fiji and Western Samoa. 
BigToe’s art is inspired by the confluence of Tiki, Kustom and Surf cultures. The fusion of these seemingly disparate lifestyles has always been an obvious one to the artist: All 3 are "outsider" scenes. The last vestiges of wild west renegade cultures, which were incubated in Southern California.
BigToe’s artwork has been featured in Art Galleries as well as Books and Magazines worldwide, including a survey of his art entitled “Gratisfaction: The Unaspirational Art of BigToe”.

http://www.instagram.com/bigtoeart

Website https://www.bigtoeart.com/

(photo credit : John Gillhoey)

"Craig 'Colonel Tiki' Hermann is a founding alumnus of Portland's own original home-bar-tour weekender event Tiki Kon and has been involved in the Polynesian Pop Revival since the turn of the Millennium. His recipes have been included in Jeff 'Beachbum' Berry's "Remixed," "Mixology" magazine, as well as being featured at Thatch Tiki bar, Forbidden Island, Bootlegger Tiki, Anvil, Teardrop Lounge's "Tiki Tuesday," and on the Tiki Kon Home Bar Tour. Craig is also involved in tiki art, home bar décor and construction, lighting, and effects.

website: https://www.coloneltiki.com

instagram @thecoloneltiki

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheColonelTiki

Portland, OR

John Brueggen is the Director of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.  He helped develop and is the co-coordinator for the Crocodilian Biology and Professional Management course which is designed for zoo professionals working with crocodilians.  John is an Advisor for the Crocodilian Advisory Group and a member of the IUCN’s Crocodile Specialist Group.   In 2018, John was inducted into the Explorers Club.

     John and his wife, Jen, enjoy travel, and in the last ten years have traveled to Brazil, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, the Bahamas, Argentina, Peru, and they were married in Borneo.    They have participated in many scientific endeavors including crocodilian bite-force work, crocodilian color change, tool use of crocodilians, and man-eating crocodile prevention.   John was instrumental in designing and creating many of the Alligator Farm’s exhibits, including the Gomek Pavilion, a display of Papua New Guinea art and animals. 

St. Augustine, FL

As an Icelandic native, I have a deep love of connecting with beauty, nature, and mystery. Watching my grandfather Sveinn Þormóðsson sparked my curiosity for photography. His noted life as an Icelandic photojournalist inspired my own career in 2007. I have been fortunate to travel the world connecting with others from across the globe.

My photography finds its home in fantasy, creativity, and inspiration. My focus is on commercial, portrait, fine art, and retro styles of photography. Portland, Oregon is currently my home.

Having traveled far and wide, I have been fortunate enough to get great photos of amazing places and some passionately decorated home tiki bars across the USA. I have also been published in very well known magazines with among other things portraits shot in well known Tiki bars such as Golden Tiki in Las Vegas, Nevada, Aku Aku in Orlando, Florida and Devils Reef in Tacoma, Washington. Throughout the years my work has been published in over 50 different magazines and even dozens of their issues. 

Portland, OR

www.sveinnphotography.com

@sveinnphotography on instagram

Galleries of work

https://www.sveinnphotography.com/commercial-and-portrait-photographer-portland

https://www.sveinnphotography.com/portrait-photography-portland

Jason T. Smith visited his first Tiki bar at 4 1/2 (The Tahitian Lanai) but didn’t really fall in love with and discover Tiki until he moved to Long Beach, California in 2000, when he was 30. Now 21 years later, because his day job is professional thrifter , he has made up for lost time by building an entire Tiki museum inside of his house from all the Tiki/Polynesian/Hawaiian gems he has found while out hunting, including a corner dedicated to The Tahitian Lanai. 

Jason runs the Polynesian Pop Tiki Collector's group on Facebook. https://tinyurl.com/PolyPopTiki

Las Vegas, NV

Join David "Dr. Skipper" Marley for a fun filled history of Walt Disney's favorite ride.  The Jungle Cruise is the home of the wildest people at the Disney parks, and Dr. Skipper has collected their best stories, and will share some of his own.  

David “Dr. Skipper” Marley is a former Jungle Cruise Skipper and has taught history at California State University, Fullerton. His newest book, The Jungle Cruise: The Wild History of Walt's Favorite Ride was be published by Theme Park Press in July 2021. He is the author of the popular Skipper Stories books. A former stand up comic, Marley is the creator and producer of the popular Jungle Cruise based stand up comedy show The Skipper Show. Marley is also an artist who makes Disney and Tiki inspired creations, available at his ETSY store.

Instagram - @dr.skipper.marley

ETSY Store

Costa Mesa, CA

 Dawn Mahealani Douglas is a Polynesian dancer with traditional training at a halau on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  In this workshop, you will explore the history of Polynesian dances, instruments, and costumes.  Also, try learning a hula or picking up an instrument yourself! 

Visit Our Website:  http://dawnmahealani.com

Like Us On Facebook:  http://facebook.com/dawndouglastalent

Follow Us On Instagram:  http://instagram.com/dawndouglas1

We will have an entire track of classes and crafts, check out the tab at the top of the site.

Tie one on!  Learn to tie your lavalava, pareo, or sarong with Margo Scott of Rocket Betty Designs.   Join us as we take a take trip through the South Pacific islands to learn about the history of these traditional garments worn by men and women throughout Polynesia and beyond. We’ll learn how they are worn, by whom, multiple different ways to tie them, and what differentiates a sarong from a lavalava or a pareo. With Margo leading the class, you can bet that there will be hilarious demonstrations as well as time to try your hand at tying and wearing one.  Note: If you have a lavalava, pareo, or sarong please bring it and get ready to tie one on!

What was your first tiki mug?  Favorite drink?  First time you ended up with a lampshade on your head?

Come meet your fellow tikiphiles and learn about the DON'T MISS activities during the weekend.  If nothing else, come say hi to Jonathan. Newbies and old hands welcome.

Either way, you won't want to miss this because we will have small group Q&As, games, and a free prize inside!

Come and go as you like. This is brought to you and conducted by Jonathan of Horror In Clay.

Panel: Friday 3:00pm - 4:00pm in The Sandbar

This one is a nod to our beloved volunteers (this was requested by multiple) and the deep love for Disney a lot of tikiphiles tend to share. We'll have Disney Karaoke Friday night!