Paradise Found @ the Waldorf Hotel ~ Vancouver BC ~ July 2007

Paradise Found, The TIKI Event at the “fabulous” Waldorf on Hastings St in Vancouver. It was great! The Waldorf looks like a dive from the outside (and is in a bad neighbourhood), but you have GOT to go and see the Waldorf’s lounge(s). Fabulous original tiki velvet paintings from the 50’s, palm trees, twinkling lights in the night sky . . . :-) The only true original tiki lounge left in Vancouver!

Downstairs is a huge original mural filling an entire wall. By the original artist in the 50’s and it’s in perfect condition. Polynesian men & women . . . just gorgeous. And a huge half-circle wall of glass (and Asian metal details) to make it feel more like a quonset hut (they are half-circle metal buildings).

We were given leis (and i wore my beautiful brand new muumuu i got from VV) and we drank a great variety of fancy rum drinks; Mai tai & Zombie being my favourites, while we watched a tiki dance/burlesque show by a couple of dancers and listened to music by the group Kon Tiki.

There were also a few tiki artists there. Bob Scott (i’ve bought his art before - it’s bright and colourful and very lowbrow, and made from corks), Dawn Frasier (i bought a little original from her this time), and my absolute favourite, Heather Watts! (i've included 3 samples of her art at the end of this post). I already have about 5 or six of her prints. And a tiki carver and the store that put this event together, Funhauser!

(www.funhauserdecor.com) A great store in Chinatown, full of mid-century modern kitsch. I LOVE it. Thank the gawds for Funhauser, because we would not have any tiki culture here in Vancouver without them! We stayed overnight at the Waldorf so that we could stay late (the last ferry is at 9:30, and things were just starting at that point).

Lots of fun was had by all. And i will be spending the $50 per ticket for this fundraiser event again next year. It was for the Historical Society. Hopefully to get the old Waldorf Hotel marked as an historical landmark. Really. It’s gorgeous. You should see it. :-)

Jan/11 Note: OH, it sucks. Funhauser has been gone for a while now!

Anyway... on to Heather Watts!