Tiki Dreams was an important and amazing, one-of-a-kind exhibit at the Napa Valley Museum Yountville that recently came to a close. Curated by the First Couple of Tiki, Otto and Baby Doe von Stroheim, the show was a look at the history of tiki culture with examples based on those bygone tiki palaces that once dotted the Bay Area of Northern California. Each month during the exhibition’s six-month run at the museum there was some sort of party. Its final month in December 2023 was no exception.
With Christmas just around the corner, the final fiesta was a seasonal shindig, the Christmas Island Holiday Party. Families were welcome (which meant that, sadly, cocktails were not served). There was a large tiki marketplace for those needing to find the perfect thing for their tiki loved ones for Christmas. Entertainment was supplied by vibraphonist Brian “Fisherman” Lease. Otto worked his DJ magic as well.
My friends Erich, Gillian (decked out in a caftan and one of her amazing—and huge—fascinators) and I were lucky enough to get to go that drizzly December day. It may have been chilly and wet outside, but it was simulated summer inside the warm and well-lit museum.
The marketplace vendors were a huge draw. There was everything available, from shirts to music, carvings to jewelry.
Among those peddling their wares was Bay Area tiki design star, Woody Miller who designed the exhibit’s signature tiki mug and tiki bar (which was unfortunately not in use that day).
The museum’s gift shop (filled with cool tiki and Tiki Dreams-related merch) was hopping. One lucky attendee will have won a cool, signed SHAG test print in a raffle held by the museum. (It wasn’t me…)
By and large though, the place was packed with people, taking their opportunity to gaze upon the fascinating remnants of tiki past before the exhibit’s ultimate closing. They were able to tiki time travel back to tiki’s earliest origins, onto the Bay Area’s first tiki bar (Hinky Dinks, which later became the iconic Trader Vic’s), on up through today’s modern tiki super event, Tiki Oasis.
Nothing lasts forever. With new tiki and tiki-adjacent bars and restaurants opening all across the country, the dream of tiki is far from over. Unfortunately, like all of the bygone tikidom it celebrated, Tiki Dreams the exhibit is now part of the tiki past.
Mahalo and aloha.
Monster A GoGo - The Tiki Tourist 
Bummer I missed this exhibit when I was back in the Bay last July…looks like it was super cool!
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It looks like the exhibit was a lot of fun. Maybe next time it takes place, I can make a trip to the Bay Area and take a look. Thank you for sharing all those wonderful pictures.
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Hello, Sally! Thank you for visiting the page and leaving a note. It was a unique exhibit. (My earlier post about when it first opened shows it without people around, if you’d like to see more: https://mrmonsteragogo.com/2023/06/24/tiki-dreams-a-visit-to-the-museum-exhibit-celebrating-classic-long-gone-bay-area-tikidom/ ) Sadly, it was a one-time gig, I believe.
Anyway, I appreciate your leaving a note. Cheers!
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Mr. Ostrowski, I thought you had gone. No? But had you gone, it would have made you wish you had gone to the long-demolished tiki palaces the exhibit covered. Maybe it’s just as well… Thanks for visiting the page though. Cheers!
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