Our presenters
C.J. Cook
C.J. Cook is an author and historian who has a long interest in the history of the South Pacific. His first book, Tyree, Artist of the South Pacific (2017), was an incredible success winning two Gold Awards for Best Cover and Best Biography from the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) in April 2018. His second book Leeteg, Babes, Bars, Beaches, and Black Velvet Art (2021), also won a Gold Medal for Best Biography from the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) in April 2022.
Cook is a lifelong manuscript collector who has a particular interest in art and the South Pacific. He has written biographical sketches on historical figures. He is a board member of a prominent manuscript association dedicated to preserving manuscripts and historical documents.
He also is a collector of art from the South Pacific, including Ralph Burke Tyree, Edgar Leeteg, Edithe Beutler, Madge Tennent, Cece Rodriguez, Robert Lee Eskridge, and William Bloom. Some of the paintings and photographs in this book Leeteg, Babes, Bars, Beaches, and Black Velvet Art, are from the author’s collection.
He has and continues to explore the South Pacific, including Guam, Pohnpei, Taiwan, Truk, Palau, Bali, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, its Great Barrier Reef, Tahiti and its surrounding islands, and the Hawaiian Islands. The last two island paradises he visits multiple times a year.
Keith Hart
Keith Hart, Elvis Tribute Artist Extraordinaire, has immersed himself into both the worlds of Tiki and Elvis. To date, Keith has visited over 111 commercial Tiki Bars, more than 60 home Tiki Bars, as well as many other tiki events and locations. Keith's affinity for the exotic and tropical is evident in his love for all things Tiki. Keith pulls from his previous experience as a Skipper on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, so we warn our Beachcombers to be aware of those “witty” jokes and adventurous tales. Keith has been an active member within the Tiki Community serving as a Skipper on the Tiki Kon Home Bar Tour, showcasing his incredible home bar during the Final Voyage of Tiki Kon, and presenting and performing at Inuhele, Atlanta’s Tiki Weekender.
Keith is also the proud proprietor of the Enchanted Jungle Lounge in Portland Oregon. This amazing home bar is the perfect blend of Anaheim, Memphis, and the Tiki Lifestyle. Keith has created an incredible experience that appeals to the senses and embodies his creativity and dedication to providing a truly immersive experience. The experience starts as soon as guests begin to descend the staircase, surrounded by tropical sounds and greeted overhead by a talking parrot. At the bottom of the stairs, guests are transported to a lush, tropical oasis adorned with vibrant flora, curious artifacts, exotic sounds, and island melodies, with a touch of the King. The Enchanted Jungle Lounge is a spectacular experience that should not be missed by Tiki enthusiasts and Elvis fans alike; where they can unwind, celebrate, and revel in the magic that Keith has created.
https://www.facebook.com/EnchantedJungleLounge/
https://www.instagram.com/EnchantedJungleLounge/
Rich Bryan
Hailing from the Beaver State, Rich is one of the many folks who found there is a natural overlap between Tiki and Halloween. Rich’s previous home haunt ‘City of the “Dam”med’, was featured regionally and nationally on ABC, NBC and the front page of the Wall Street Journal. The main show was fully automated with custom built animatronics, lights, lasers, fog, pirate canons etc. all synchronized to music and video. The last version of the main show was a 12.5 minute Disney tribute featuring the Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates, Princess and the Frog and of course Haunted Mansion. At the West Coast Haunters Convention a few years ago "Birds Are Scary” was the phrase of the show. The neighboring vendors however still had that song stuck in their head a month later after hearing it every 15 minutes for 3 days straight.
Rich’s website is tekitiki.com
Stephen Curran
Stephen Curran, and his adorable dog Joey, are enthusiastic PNW tikiphiles. Stephen's beautiful home tiki bar, Twa-Wal-Kut's Rocking Jellyfish, is a eclectic blend of South Pacific and Pacific Northwest, or PNG to PNW. Stephen is also an avid explorer having recently visited Papa New Guinea in 2022. Many tiki fans are familiar with (or even own) art inspired by or from Papua New Guinea. But what do you know about PNG? The center-point of Melanesian art and culture, PNG is one of the most unique countries in the world. Stephen will be sharing hisphotos and experiences from PNG his August 2022 visit. He'll explore PNG's people, bilums, masks, festivals (and even a little about headhunting and cannibalism).
Kim Cook
Kim Cook has had a love of all things tiki or tropical for as long as she can remember. She credits her early years growing up in southern California, with influences such as Disney, seeing tiki’s decorating apartment complexes, and various tiki type restaurants, as planting those seeds of fascination with tiki lore.
Along with her husband Mark, they have continued to enjoy those influences. On their first anniversary they even stayed at the Polynesian Hotel, here in Ocean Shores. Kim and Mark have had a home tiki bar for over 20 years; however, they did not always know of the great
community of tikiphiles. Once discovered, getting together with like-minded tiki aficionados has been the best part. Their home bar, The Headhunters Hideaway has just gone through a major change with a recent move. The bar is much larger and has allowed for more collecting of their beloved PNG artifacts.
In addition to their home bar, they even have the Teeny Tini Tiki Bar at their recreational property in Ocean Shores!
Kim is always looking for ways to add some additional layers to the bar, and sometimes that can mean getting a bit crafty. She is going to present a small class on how to carve a tiki in a fun noodle of all things! She says talent is not required and would love to show those interested in how to create a fun addition to their tiki space.
Colonel Tiki
Craig 'Colonel Tiki' Hermann was born into Tiki: Growing up in the 70's
in Southern California, he spent his toddler days playing in his
backyard jungle of ponds, waterfalls, overgrown vegetation, bamboo
fences, colored lights, and tikis. In the late 90's, Craig moved to San
Francisco and investigated local bars while taking part in the swing
dance revival with his wife. A chance trip to the Tonga Room and joining
up with other geeks on a Yahoo! discussion group (which would later
become Tiki Central) re-kindled that which was lost in the faded dreams
of the 70’s.
"The Colonel," nick-named for his (at the time peculiar) choice of
facial hair and bombastic playful buffoonery, has been involved in both
the Craft Cocktail and Polynesian Pop communities for a quarter century. He has given seminars and led talks at various cocktail and Tiki events, he was a founding member of the Cocktails & Spirits Online Writers Group (CSOWG), and his cocktails have appeared in cocktail books, magazines, and have been featured at multiple Tiki bars and events.
Craig & his wife Heather 'Tikimama' Gregg, created, & organized the
Portland, Oregon event “Tiki Kon.” With a group of creative friends,
they developed a weekend event from the 2nd annual "NorthWest Tiki Crawl & Original Home bar tour." Over the next ten years, Tiki Kon would grow and change in fashion with the PNW 'Ohana involved. In 2013, As the last original founder, Craig handed the reins over to the next generation. In the final decade of the event, Craig continued to support and contribute to Tiki Kon and was able to concentrate on his particular focus: Cocktails, decor, and overarching theming.
Craig continues to consult and teach as "Colonel Tiki" when and wherever he can. Craig seeks to evangelize whole ingredients, deliberate
technique, ethnobotanical appreciation, and the academic geekery
associated with flavor theory, mixology, technology, and showmanship.
Craig is leading four fun and fulfilling seminars this year at
Beachcomber Bash in a curiously comprehensive jaunt through the jungle of Tiki Drinks. You can find The Colonel at www.coloneltiki.com and his culinary club "The Society of Syrups" at www.societyofsyrups.com
Jeanie Duval-Hemmen
Jeanie, co-host with her husband Tom for their home bar, the Bamboozled Bungalow, is best known for, among other things, as the perpetrator of over-the-top summertime Tiki parties.
Her staging of these and other splendid events is greatly helped by her background inopera, theater, and historic costuming which she gained while earning her degree at the Boston Conservatory. Introduced to Tiki at an early age via Disney (The Enchanted Tiki Room), she and Tom
began avidly collecting Tiki mugs and paraphernalia in the early-mid 1990’s, and began hosting Tiki parties in the late 1990’s.
The Bamboozled Bungalow was officially born in 2015 after a roofing catastrophe caused a a bit of Tom and Jeanie’s home to require major repair and renovation. With the torn-apart basement as a blank slate, an antique rattan-and-teak Tiki bar already sitting in one corner, conversion of the room proved one of the most fortuitous outcomes
of the roofing incident.
Thanks largely to an invitation from Robyn Alexander to the Devil’s Reef soft opening and meeting Ray there (Tiki with Ray), she and Tom were introduced to a large and very active PNW Tiki community that they previously didn’t know existed. Since then Jeanie has been a frequent contributor to episodes of Tiki with Ray, covering topics including the restoration of monkeypod servingware, Tiki appetizers on sticks, and absinthe tastings.
At Beachcomber Bash this weekend she has come to you to do something crafty –
creating ribbon leis!