2027 Guests, Seminars, Panels, & Classes

Sven Licht is a prolific artist, designer, and lifelong pop-culture enthusiast. He is the creator, mastermind, and self-proclaimed "proprietor" of the Drunken Dragon Hotel—not an actual hotel, but a fan-driven merchandise brand and community deeply rooted in convention culture.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Sven runs the operation from his basement print shop, a workshop as versatile as a Swiss Army knife, where he designs and manufactures everything from convention merchandise to props for the film and television industry. His work blends a love of Dragon Con, tiki culture, retro design, and Hawaiian shirts into unique creations that have earned a devoted following.

His unofficial—and almost certainly stolen—motto: "Unnecessary Necessities"—if you need it, we probably don't sell it.

Originally from Duisburg, Germany, Sven brings decades of creative experience to projects that celebrate fandom, craftsmanship, nostalgia, and the joy of making weird, wonderful things.

As a side note you'll be able to see both Sven and Jonathan Chaffin of @horrorinclay and @inuhele at DragonCon!

https://drunkendragonhotel.com/

https://www.instagram.com/drunkendragonhotel/

Christie solidified her place in the Tiki Revival in the early 2000’s by co-creating and founding The Hukilau, a Tiki Weekender held in Fort Lauderdale, FL honoring the Mai-Kai. She left the event in 2017 but is still a vital part of the Tiki community.

Born and raised in Anniston, AL, Christie will discuss how she found escapism as a way to cope with childhood trauma, her love of Tiki, and how it led her and her husband Bill Langley to spent
D 9 creating their home bar, The Tapa Room, in her now hometown of Birmingham, AL. 

She will share how you can build your own Paradise at home through photos, a list of essential supplies, builders that can come construct it for you and artists of the Tiki community that create essential elements to enhance your own escape. 

A Q&A to follow plus giveaways from the Tapa Room!

Tiki Tom-Tom (aka Tom Jaynes) is a writer, photographer, artist, sewist, singer, educator, wanderer, and full-time Polynesiac. Tiki Tom-Tom is the author of Polynesiacs: Tiki at Home. His first visit to the Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show converted him to a life of Tiki. A former community college administrator turned nomad; you’ll find him mapping out his next road trip at Queequeg’s Coffin, his home Tiki bar in Durham, North Carolina.

• https://www.instagram.com/tiki.tom.tom/
• https://polynesiacs.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/polynesiacs

A cocktail enthusiast and bartender from Savannah, Georgia, MacKay has been working at the Water Witch Tiki Bar for three years, with contributions to the bar's menu featured in several magazines. Their passion in cocktails tends toward the exotic, favoring creative combinations, syrups, infusions, and of course, always a Clarified Milk Punch!

Twin Suns Pete is a writer, drummer, runner, reluctant carpenter, part-time Vader, and lifelong Star Wars obsessive. He is the barkeep and self-appointed proprietor of Tatooiniki, his home tiki bar in the basement of a house in New Jersey—a build begun in 2018, that has never quite been finished and certainly never will be.

The son of a Pan Am pilot and a Pan Am stewardess based out of SFO, Pete didn't have to reach far for tiki inspiration. Tatooiniki has since hosted events, fundraisers, and even stand-up comedy under the twin suns of Tatooine. He helps wrangle @soma_home_bars, a loose collection of neighborhood home bar proprietors whose annual crawl periodically empties his rum shelf, and is a proud member of @jerseytikigroup.

Star Wars has been the good-natured butt of many a podcast exchange about tiki's devolution. Pete ponders its place in the tiki galaxy: did the jump to light speed maroon this scruffy-looking nerfherder forever outside the circle of tiki, or leave him in binary orbit?

As a side note, if the patches arrive in time, you'll be able to find him at Star Wars Celebration in 2027.

https://www.tatooiniki.com
https://www.instagram.com/tatooiniki/
https://www.instagram.com/soma_home_bars/
https://www.instagram.com/jerseytikigroup/

Being adjacent to the foodie world has cultivated an appreciation for warm cozy beverages that feel like a hug. When she isn’t sipping tea, she’s calling on the powers of her ancestors for good fortune as she washes the Mah Jongg tiles.

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.

https://jmchaffin.substack.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@3grognight