The new Tiki Mags are here – the new Tiki Mags are here!

If you own a tiki mug, carved totem, aloha shirt, Ventures album, or have ever sipped on something called a Black Magic while wearing nothing but a grass skirt and coconut bra, Tiki Magazine is your oasis of knowledge, inspiration and enlightenment. After far too long a hiatus to deal with some pesky real life issues, we are all thrilled that Tiki Mag publisher/editor Nick Camara is back and badder than ever with the Summer 2010 issue.

Tiki Mag found me while I was browsing the culture section (yes, I have culture) at Books & Company about three years ago, and I immediately bought a subscription online. Who knew that a mere year later I would be fortunate to have Tiki Mag as one of Surf Ohio Festiki’s charter sponsors? But it makes sense when you read that Tiki Mag’s mission is in “Celebrating the ‘ISLAND’ Lifestyle.” And how! The articles and photo spreads literally drip with exotic rum, rustle with the trade winds, and take us far far away and into another time – even if in our own imagination. Honestly, I’d buy a copy just to be able to gawk at the ads and explore the links.

Speaking of which, the new issue is packed with fascinating stories from across the wide and colorful world of tiki, but one I want to brag on is the new issue’s “Featured Carvers” spread, titled “Dave Hansen; The Wood Chopping Wizard of Wisconsin.” Dave is one of the best tiki carvers out there and it’s great to see him and his art spotlighted, at last. In 2007, I had the chance to meet Dave and his wife, Jen, and see his incredible carvings, large and small, at the 4th Annual Hot Rod Hula Hop in Columbus, where we were neighbors among the outdoor vendors. BTW- Dave’s business is called Lake Tiki (as in Lake Michigan, since Milwaukee is home-base for Dave and Jen).

We have a lot in common – Dave’s schooling is in graphic design, so is mine. He’s been hooked on surfing and tiki culture for years, so have I. His wife’s name is Jen, so is mine. Dave was born in California, so was…. well, I was born in Ohio. OK, so what I really want to share is this – on August 14, Dave will be working his artistic magic and selling his creations at Festiki as one of Surf Ohio’s featured carvers! He missed Festiki 2009 due to a gig at the infamous annual Tiki Oasis in San Diego. So this year we are thrilled to have Dave and Jen join our Festiki fun in Dayton, and congratulate them on the well deserved attention in Tiki Mag. Check him out at myspace.com/laketiki.

Speaking of Tiki Mag and Surf Ohio, this is where I have to make that blog disclaimer for the men in black at the FCC, monitoring this very post from deep in the bowels of a grey, non-descript eight story building with mirrored windows near Chantilly, Virginia, not all that far from CIA HQ – Tiki Magazine IS in fact a proud sponsor of Festiki 2010, and though I pay for my subscription (happily), I must point that out here, lest you think I have been bought off with such extravagant swag. Were it so easy. But you will see a Festiki shout-out on page 18 and the full page Festiki 2010 plug on page 59, and we are proud of it.

So I’m still allowed to make this pitch – if you can’t find Tiki Mag on your local newsstand (they sell out fast), go to www.tikimagazine.com and cough up the $24 for 4 quarterly issues – worth every dollar, and you’ll be hopping like Steve Martin when each issue arrives in your mailbox. And please give Nick a big “mahalo” for helping Surf Ohio again “Celebrate the ISLAND lifestyle” with the support of Tiki Mag and our other awesome sponsors at Festiki 2010!