SPECIAL REPORT: Arizona Tiki Oasis 2025

Aloha to all you Cinema Sips readers! I’ve just returned from my first trip to the Arizona Tiki Oasis festival, and gosh does real life seem dull by comparison. No elaborate tropical headpieces at the grocery store. No parasols on the morning dog walks. No elaborate drinks prepared for me by the nation’s top mixologists. Take me back to the desert!!!!

As many of you know, April is also the month of the Turner Classic Movies festival, but due to scheduling conflicts and the rising cost of passes (and a rising annoyance at standing in long lines while premium passholders breeze right into packed screenings), I decided to devote my vacation time to cocktails instead of movies this year. I like that pretty much everything at Tiki Oasis is a la carte, particularly since my husband and traveling partner is a non-drinker. I could attend mixology seminars while he met mug makers and Hawaiian shirt vendors, and we only had to buy as many cocktails or mocktails as we wanted. An ideal couples trip for us!

The first night, we lucked out when a fellow Polynesiac handed us two unused tickets to the VIP party. Whoever you are, bless you. Thanks to this generosity, I was able to discover a new favorite gin: Rangoni Spirits’ Brando Motu Gin. That’s right, Marlon Brando has a gin! This might just inspire me to watch Apocalypse Now again—a movie that has thrice put me to sleep. But maybe with a Tiki cocktail like the “Colonel Kurtz’s Downfall”, I’ll have better luck.

Day 2 was largely spent away from the festival sightseeing around Phoenix, though we did return for a Sunset Soiree with lovely views of Camelback Mountain. The Hotel Valley Ho is a perfect host for the fest, with tons of scenic overlooks and mid-century modern styling. Speaking of, if you are a lover of 1960s fashion, then you’ll definitely find a hive of mod fashionistas at Tiki Oasis. I thought I was the only one who loved caftans and weird hats—not so! Walking into any party was easy and fun because no matter what, you could strike up a conversation about someone’s outfit. Finally, I’d found my people.

The next two days were largely taken up by seminars, including a great one by Jeff “Beachbum Berry” himself, whose recipes I’ve featured here on Cinema Sips. A natural storyteller, he had some fascinating tales of how the Tiki movement got started and where it’s headed in the future. I also got to learn about the “Lost Rides of Disneyland”, and take a tour of the Hotel Valley Ho- site of Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner’s first wedding ceremony, and refuge to many stars over the decades. This made the Valley Ho the perfect complement to AZ Tiki Oasis, due to huge role Hollywood played in the popularization of Tiki during the 1930s and ’40s.

All in all, it was inspiring to see how passionate the Tiki community continues to be. This was a smaller festival compared to the main Tiki Oasis that happens in San Diego every August, but it was perfect for a first-timer like me. I can’t wait to share some of the recipes I discovered as we go through more movies this summer, but in the meantime, here’s one I particularly enjoyed: the Mister Bali Hai. Cheers!

Mister Bali Hai

1 oz Lemon Juice

½ oz Simple Syrup

1 oz Pineapple Juice

½ oz Coffee Brandy

1 oz Myers Dark Rum

¾ oz Tanduay Silver Rum

Combine all ingredients with 12 oz crushed ice in a shaker. Shake to chill, then pour entire contents of shaker into a double old-fashioned glass or tiki mug. Top with more crushed ice, and garnish with dried lemon and swizzle stick.