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Festiki: Dayton becomes a Polynesian paradise

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By Amelia Robinson, Staff Writer 6:16 PM Thursday, August 13, 2009

Fire twirlers, steel drummers, hula dancers and the exotic eats and drinks of tiki culture will transform Carillon Historical Park into a Polynesian paradise during Surf Ohio Festiki 2009 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15.

After a few frozen margaritas and rum concoctions, you may even hear waves crashing and forget you’re near the Great Miami River instead of the South Pacific Ocean.

Ron Kaplan, founder of Surf Ohio apparel company and an event organizer, said Dayton is ripe for a tiki party.

“You’d be surprised by the passion for this tropic beach life that is pervasive throughout the Midwest,” said Kaplan, also executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame. “We all yearn for the beach.”

Admission to the festival, co-sponsored by Surf Ohio and the Fraternal Order of Moai, is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 10-17, and free for ages 9 and younger. The entertainment starts at noon.

A portion of the proceeds raised at Festiki will benefit the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization that aims to protect and enhance the world’s waves and beaches.

The event is being marketed as a sort of “staycation” for those who would normally head to beaches in Florida or South Carolina this time of year, but can’t because of economic pressures, Kaplan said.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people who have scaled back their vacations,” he said. “Even though we don’t have the waves lapping up on shore, we will have the surf music.”

Music will rule the day, said Kaplan, who launched his business as an Ohio University student in 1978 and re-established it in 2008 after a 12-year hiatus.

Festiki’s surf rock and exotica music lineup includes the Cocktail Preachers, Go! Tsunami, Harmony Islanders with Leilani and Dayton’s Nick Kizirnis Band.

Other performers include the Pan Harmony steel drum ensemble.

The Soul Fire Tribe fire-dancing troupe will ignite the tiki torches at dusk.

Bill Winger, a member of the Dayton chapter of the Moai, said that tiki culture captures the imagination.

“It’s a little bit of escapism,” he said. “It takes you back to a different time.”

Inspired partly by tiki carvings and the South Pacific, tiki culture began in the 1930s and picked up steam following World War II.

Polynesian-themed bars, restaurants and other establishments, such as Dayton’s long-closed Tropics Restaurant on North Main Street and the former Kon-Tiki Theatre on Salem Avenue with its giant conch shell bathroom sinks and décor, celebrated the culture, said Winger. His shop, Daddy Katz in Moraine, specializes in hot rod and tiki items.

Beside an array of food and drink from Culp’s Cafe, Festiki will feature a kid’s zone with volunteers from the Greater Dayton Parrot Heads, tiki merchandise vendors, tiki carvers, a sand sculptor and a show featuring 125 vintage hot rods, motorcycles and scooters.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2384 or arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com.

How to go

What: Surf Ohio Festiki 2009

Who: Co-sponsored by Surf Ohio and the Fraternal Order of Moai

When: 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15

Where: Carillon Historical Park, 1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton

Cost: $10 for adults; $5 for ages 10-17; and free for ages 9 and younger. Lawn chairs and blankets welcome. No outside food or beverage permitted.

More info: Call (937) 293-2841or visit festiki.surfohio.com

Stage schedule

Noon to 12:45 p.m.: Harmony Islanders

1:05 to 1:50 p.m.: Harmony Islanders with Leilani

2:10 to 2:40 p.m.: Panyard