Calling all tiki lovers.
Credit: Spike and the Camera
South Florida’s tiki faithful are preparing to descend on Pompano Beach once again as The Hukilau returns June 4 through 7 for its 24th year. With it, count on surf rock, tropical cocktails, vintage vendors and Polynesian pop culture obsessives together for one sprawling beachfront weekender.
Centered at the oceanfront BeachComber Resort in Pompano Beach, The Hukilau has long been one of Broward’s most delightfully niche annual happenings. But calling it a “festival” barely scratches the surface, y’all. The weekend functions as a full-property takeover, with live music, poolside parties, seminars, room crawls, cocktail tastings and late-night hangouts unfolding simultaneously across the resort.
Multi-event passes start at $199 and include access to a packed lineup of events and cocktail experiences featuring guest bars and bartenders from across the country. This year’s participating bars include Austin hotspot Tiki Tatsuya, Fort Lauderdale’s Hula Kai and Bare Bones Tiki, Orlando’s Aku Aku, Miami’s Kaona Room and New York’s Joyface, among many others.
The live music lineup reads like a surf-rock fever dream. Bands scheduled to perform include The Intoxicators, Black Valley Moon, Kreepy Tikis, The Mermers, Patina Turners and Disasternauts, with performances spread across the resort’s poolside main stage and additional event spaces.
The shopping component alone could eat up an afternoon. Saturday’s Tiki Treasures Bazaar brings together dozens of vendors selling vintage aloha wear, tiki mugs, retro décor, carvings, artwork and midcentury collectibles from names like Tikiphile, Get Lei’d, Eekum Bookum and Adventure Room.
A pair of major Mai-Kai events are also expected to draw attention. On Friday, June 5, the iconic Fort Lauderdale restaurant debuts “Heritage of Polynesian Legacy,” a new Polynesian floor show blending archival Mai-Kai music with fresh production elements. Then on Sunday, retro pop culture historian Charles Phoenix presents “Floridaland,” a colorful deep-dive into vintage roadside Florida and old-school Miami tourism culture.
For more information and passes, visit The Hukilau’s official website.
