Tiki Flea Market Is an Afternoon of Retro Fun

Sat 5/22 @ noon-6PM

So-called “Tiki Culture,” which started in the 30s, became extremely popular in the 40s and 50s, following World War II when soldiers returned home from the South Pacific and explorer Thor Heyerdahl made his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, which became an Oscar-winning documentary in 1950. Polynesian-themed restaurants and bars became a popular ’50s motif, tropical cocktails were in vogue featuring ingredients such as pineapple and coconut, easy listening music added island sounds, and people sported Hawaiian shirts and jewelry featuring “Tiki god” heads.

Tiki looked pretty tacky and dated ’70s, and before the decade was over, most tiki joints were gone. But everything comes back, and within 25 years, tiki looked appealingly retro. As early as the 90s, indie rock bands were reviving the easy listening “exotica” sounds of the ’50s and ’60s. Now it’s become a veritable subculture.

If you’d like to join the club, head out to the 8th annual Tiki Flea Market, taking place at the Tiki Underground, 5893 Akron Cleveland Road in Hudson. You’ll find plenty of vendors with tiki-themed collectibles and art, live surf music by the Kahuna Kings, Eerie Invaders and Seafoam Tsunami, DJ Max Payola playing exotica, bossa nova, boogaloo and more, and fun activities such as tiki carving and keg tapping. Of course there’ll be tropical drinks in sunset colors.

Admission is free, and it’s suitable (and fun) for all ages.

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