12 April 25th-MAy 1st, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Arizona Tiki Oasis offers something akin to time travel right here in the Valley at Scottsdale’s Hotel Valley Ho, but it’s way more than just a chance to see how a fabu- lous tiki-themed cocktail party might have been in the early 1960s. It’s an opportunity to soak up not only tiki culture, but also midcentury modern style, music, food and drink, fashion. It’s also a way to mingle and learn about a variety of cool topics all in one place. “It’s all about escapism. When (people) come to Arizona Tiki Oasis and the Hotel Valley Ho over the weekend, they can forget their day-to-day life. They are coming to really be immersed in this whole experience, and that’s the secret to why this event has like really been sticking for some people and why people are really happy to come back year after year,” says event co-founder Baby Doe Von Stroheim, who created Arizona Tiki Oasis with her husband, Otto Von Stroheim, in 2019. The Von Stroheims, who reside in Northern California, started doing the Tiki Oasis events back in 2001 in Palm Springs, California, and moved the event to San Diego in 2006. Stories of how wild the Southern California events could get are legendary, but prior to the pandemic in 2020, a concerted effort was made to make the events more inclusive and have a little something for everyone. “I think people really get what we are putting out there, which is a combination of midcentury modern meets tiki with a strong nod to style, design, fashion and of course, the cocktail is everything,” Baby Doe Von Stroheim says. Tiki culture is rooted firmly around alcohol in the United States. Here in Phoenix, for example, bars and restaurants like UnderTow and Hula’s Modern Tiki (which are both Arizona Tiki Oasis collab- orators), have regained a lot of popularity after tiki culture had flagged a bit in the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s. Fans of a good, stiff rum drink served in a carved mug or replete with the occa- sional umbrella will have no problem finding a tasty beverage at the Valley Ho during the event. There are multiple semi- nars around tasting and mixing tropical beverages to suit any fan of classic and newly discovered tiki treats. For those staying at the hotel for the weekend, there are no worries about getting behind the wheel, too. Local tiki enthusiast and Arizona Tiki Oasis vendor Eric Lussier of Witchdoctor’s Den, loves what the Von Stroheims have created both here in the Phoenix area and in San Diego, as well. “(The Von Stroheims) are doing this for all the right reasons. They always start off the event with a Native blessing and a lot of this benefits Arizona chari- ties. Some people see this as a big booze fest, but it is a lot more. (Witchdoctor’s Den) love being a part of it,” Lussier says. That idea of the event being a “lot more” is something Baby Doe Von Stroheim is proud of. “When you’re at Arizona Tiki Oasis, you can choose where you want to spend your time. You can go to a seminar during the day or hang out by the pool or eat at ZuZu and go to the marketplace. At night, you can choose a cocktail party and a soiree in a suite, or you could go on the rooftop and watch the sunset. You can also have a top mixologist make you a cocktail in the Sands, which used to be Trader Vic’s,” she says. Speaking of the rooftop, Otto Von Stroheim highly encourages Arizona Tiki Oasis visitors to take advantage Island Time from p 11 Hanging by the pool at Hotel Valley Ho during Arizona Tiki Oasis 2021. (Photo courtesy of Arizona Tiki Oasis) Tiki fans take over Hotel Valley Ho from April 25 to 28. (Photo courtesy of Arizona Tiki Oasis) >> p 14 “IT’S ALL ABOUT ESCAPISM... THEY (PEOPLE) CAN FORGET THEIR DAY-TO- DAY LIFE.”
