This was our first time back to Portland in almost 4 years. We were really excited to see old friends, visit some of our favorite spots, and of course attend our first Tiki Kon.

Before we dive in to the weekend festivities, we should answer the most highly asked question. What is Tiki Kon?? The promoters describe it as “a weekend conference/party celebrating exotic tropical destinations and the Tiki bars, cocktails, art, music and fashions they inspire.” The name “Tiki Kon” is also a play on. words from the well-known Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947. (Read more about the Kon-Tiki here.) Now on it’s 17th year, it was their biggest turn out yet!

We flew in to Portland on Friday morning, grabbed our Stumptown Coffee and went straight to check in. The lobby area they had a few vendors to browse just before opening up the art show and lounge where they had the official Tiki Kon Bar. We got a couple drinks, looked at some art and then went over to the first symposium of the day.

Kicking off the Kon was a session titled Festivals of the Pacific. World travelers, Christopher and Christine spoke on their visits to cultural festivals across the Pacific. They shared photographs and tips on planning your own trips to visiting some of these amazing locations.

They were followed by a session called Clippermania. It was all about Pan American Airways and how they made it possible to reach the remote islands of the South Pacific faster than ever before. Really great for those history buffs!

The final symposium of the day was the film, Bosko: The Rebirth of Tiki, a documentary about Bosko's art and role in the Tiki revival. You can check out his work in most Tiki bars around the country such as Disneyland’s Trader Sams, The Golden Tiki in Las Vegas, Adrift in Denver, and more!

Our itinerary had us take a quick 30 min walk to Hale Pele, Portland’s premier tiki bar and restaurant. This place had the wow factor we look for when we’re traveling. We’ll be doing a whole blog post on that one alone. We had a great time, meeting new friends, trying out a lot of menu items so keep an eye out for that one in the coming weeks.

Saturday morning was full of shopping! The doors to the vending area opened at 10am. It was #TikiTings galore! We got to meet a lot of our Instagram buddies for the first time and check out their art in real life.

One of the symposiums we were looking forward to most was led by David Marley, a former Skipper from Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise. He shared stories around the origins and construction of the Jungle Cruise and Adventureland, and the role that Tiki culture played into the creation of the ride.

We ended the day with Tiki Lindy, who taught us some tricks for fast and impressive Tiki garnish ideas to make for beautiful and sustainable Tiki drinks.

Early dinner and drinks at the infamous Alibi, who has been up a strong cocktail game with a side of karaoke since 1947, making them Portland’s original Tiki bar. Their black light oasis did not disappoint! It’s the dark and eclectic Tiki bar scene we love to escape to. We ordered the Alibi Old Fashioned and an El Diablo to accompany our burgers and wings.

The final day of Tiki Kon is mainly for the Super Deluxe Weekend Pass holders, who get a private tour of the home bars in Portland. And since we didn’t purchase those passes, we ended up exploring downtown Portland and meeting up with friends we haven’t seen in a while.

We were tipped off by one of the Tiki Kon volunteers to check out a not-so-tiki bar, but still a tropical treasure, Hey Love. We are so glad we found out about this one before it was too late! The decor was so good and the drinks were even better.

Our pre-dinner drinks started off with The Secret Life of Plants: a Salted Mango Oolong Mai Thai. Love at first sip! That’s all we have to say. We followed that with a Pink Feather: Bourbon, Guava, Macadamia Orgeat, Lemon, Banana, with Coconut Salt Spray. Again, loved, loved, this drink! The perfect way to end our long Portland weekend.

We are definetly looking forward to see what next year’s Tiki Kon brings to the table. Hopefully we get another chance to visit Portland before then. You can bet we’ll be at Hey Love again as soon as we get off the plane!