Post #603573 by tiki mick on Tue, Aug 23, 2011 10:39 AM

I would never bring a kid to a tiki event. Not because of the burlesque or anything like that, but simply because of the amount of drinking and even smoking of various herbs......this is no environment for children at all. it's adult bachanalia, with all the trimmings!

Granted, if they made all these tiki events kid-free events, it would lower attendance.....but maybe that is something that should be considered? Tiki is fun and colorful, but really...it's not quite disneyland, you know? I understand kids like all the colorful stuff, but the tiki as it is in the year 2011 is a far cry from the tiki of yesteryear, when families went out to a fake-polynesian restaurant with the whole family...that was 1965. This is a different time period, and most of us into Tiki are ex-punkers and ex-rockers....so we bring all that party attitude with us into tiki.

I spoke with a burlesque dancer at a recent event, who confessed she also felt a little odd basically stripping in front of an 8 year old boy whose parents somehow allowed him into the event, and right in front of her.

Maybe those with small children might want to reconsider even going to events such as this, or at least, make it a day event and leave in the afternoon before the trouble starts. in case you have not noticed, there is HEAVY drinking going on!

I also brought my family with me, but they stayed at another hotel nearby while I walked back and forth to get to the gigs. At the room party we played saturday night, we had chicks dancing and getting quite frisky with each other, right in front of us. They made our own Hula Dancer go-go girls Judy and Dinah seem very tame in comparison. Several times, I smelled someone burning something. There was gambling going on, cigarettes being smoked...MASSIVE amounts of liquor being consumed by everyone...(including me).....really...this was NO place for kids to be!

So maybe consider that before bringing your children to an event like this and expecting things to be kid-friendly. I hear next year will be a voodoo theme, and a real human sacrifice is planned for the main stage saturday night. You really want your kids there for that? :)