A Page From Ruby Champagne’s Diary: Ruby’s Recollections of Tiki Oasis 2014

Ruby’s Recollections: Tiki Oasis 2014

DigThatCrazyRubyThere’s one particular weekend event I greatly anticipate full of fun, friendships, and rum-filled libations – Tiki Oasis! Friday, August 15th finally arrived and it was time to drive down to San Diego to Tiki Oasis held at the Crowne Plaza. Tiki Oasis involves the Tiki afionados preparing their tiki mugs for dark & stormy’s and mai tais as well as taking out the favorite Hawaiian dresses and outfits and all the flowers you can put on your head, all at once. Tiki Oasis also has a theme each year. This year’s theme was “Beat*Tiki” , a gathering of the urban beachcomber-bohemian underground. I met with my friend, Smexcksy, and we checked in to the hotel and settled in for a bit as we waited for our other hotel roomies to arrive. We checked in to get our wristbands so we were official attendees and could roam the grounds featuring vendors, music, drinks and what not. As I skimmed through the program of events, I realized there is much, much more to Tiki Oasis than the room parties!! There are tons of activities, symposiums, classes, music, literature, art and more throughout the weekend. My recollections will include mostly music, art, lots of flowers, hairspray, and cocktails…so many tiki cocktails.
RubyWattBack to Friday! My friend and I wandered in one of the vendor rooms and I came across my pals of Clever Vintage Clothing. They always have something fabulous I can’t live without. This visit featured a vintage floor-length Hawaiian dress with a beautiful blue and yellow flower print with a darling halter top. Friday night outfit, check! We went back to the room and pre-partied with our pals Fireball and friends. I had tech rehearsal in preparation for the Midnight Burlesque Show in the Lagoon Room. I shared hugs with some of my fellow performers of the evening, Charlotte La Belle Araignee, Amber Ray, Ruby Joule, Pearl Lux and Goldie Candela. The Stage Manager, Mitzi Von Trapp, was efficiently running the rehearsal so we each had some time to familiarize ourselves with the stage and sound. All is good to go! Now it’s time to get ready for my go-go dancing shift! I got to go-go dance for Ixtahuele, a super keen band from Sweden, and shared the go-go boxes with Jessabelle Thunder, Michele Del Ray, and Living Burlesque Legend, Shannon Doah. It was quite a delight to glance across the stage to the other go-go box and see I was go-go’ing alongside Shannon Doah! After the go-go shift, it was time to rest a bit before getting ready for the Midnight Burlesque Show. The room was starting to fill up with guests eagerly anticipating to see the show. It’s midnight – Showtime! Charlotte La Belle Araignee opened the show with an captivatingly sexy tiki act. That gal has one of the best asses in Burlesque I tell ya’. I followed Charlotte in the lineup and as my luck would have it, my dress zipper got stuck! It must be a tiki curse because 2 years ago, my corset didn’t come off! I tried to wiggle out of my dress but my gigantic hips were like no, girl. So I opted for the assistance of an audience member, who happened to be the luscious Marina, the fire-eating mermaid! Thanks to Marina, the dress came off and the crowd went wild! Oh yeah, it wasn’t stuck, I meant to do that. Ha! Our little dressing room was full of glitter in the air and smiles all around as we cheered for each other during the rest of the show. Curtain call came and now it’s time to play for the night! I dropped off my costuming in the hotel room and off to the hotel room parties we go. My tiki partner in crime that evening was my best friend, pinup cutie, Leslye Rox. We got to rock out in Tiki Hell and were ‘tattooed’ with a Tiki Hell tattoo to commemorate our shenanigans. We also visited the Bachelor Pad Magazine/ Steadfast Pomade room party, which featured Burlesque babes. We got to see Ruby Joule perform a groovy beatnik vibe number while enjoying some tiki libations. At 4AM, we decided we should get some beauty sleep so we can be stunning and fresh for the next day of tiki-bohemian adventures.

Friday Night Curtain Call
Friday Night Curtain Call

 

Miss Tiki Oasis 2014- Ruby Joule.  Photo: Lone Star Pinup. MUA/H: Blood & Glitter Makeup Trophy: Tiki King
Miss Tiki Oasis 2014- Ruby Joule. Photo: Lone Star Pinup. MUA/H: Blood & Glitter Makeup
Trophy: Tiki King

Saturday morning involved a trip to Old Town San Diego and enjoy a delicious Mexican breakfast to fuel us for the day. We headed back to the Tiki Oasis grounds with happy bellies and were ready for some poolside fun, music, art and more. I participated in the Pinup Safari photo shoot and got to enjoy some fun posing time with the enchanting Rosie Rawhide, Florida cutie Lila Starlet, pin up dolly Darcy, and some other lovely ladies. Mitzi Von Trapp managed the photo safari and Jessabelle Thunder administered the safari to ensure we all got to shoot with the photographers and enjoyed the experience, which we did! After the safari shoot, I had some free time to peruse the vendors and enjoy some live tunes streaming around the event. I ran into the ravishing Burlesque Legends, Shannon Doah and Kitten Natividad and got to chat a bit, which is always such a delight! The evening was upon us and it was time to gear up for the room parties! I started my room-bouncing at The Purple Orchid’s room, which featured an amazing concoction of deliciousness and shared smiles & hugs with Angie Cakes, Eva Mae Garnet, Holly Rockit, and other lovelies that cruised by the room. I met some wonderful people and we clicked so well, we enjoyed many, many cocktails the rest of the evening which included lots of enjoyment with friends like JMV Foto, Niccoco Creations, Red Dodge, Java, Bunny Pistol…Goldie Candela later shared some photos that we took, that will only be seen by Goldie and me, haha! Bachelor Pad Magazine and Steadfast Pomade hosted another extraordinary Burlesque show at their room party, where we got to enjoy the talent of Miss Tiki Oasis 2014, Ruby Joule and I wish I could remember who else we saw…the cocktails they were serving took over my brain by that point. Dance, party, dance, dance, photos with friends, hugs, make out, dance, drink…and then before I knew it, it’s 5AM and we pretty much danced off the liquor at Tiki Hell. It’s always a hoot shaking your tailfeather to disco, 80’s and all sorts of fun party music! Time to go night-night!

Sunday is the last day of Tiki Oasis and it was groovy, man. We all want to enjoy it to its fullest before we had back to reality. I spent the morning at the car show and enjoyed the live tunes and hung out with friends that were vending. As I mentioned before, there are still a ton of events, classes, and what not to enjoy on Sunday at Tiki Oasis, but it gets so overwhelming to decide what to do! I spent the rest of the afternoon with friends and did a bit more shopping. Alas, it was time to head home. Like previous Tiki Oasis events, I left the event with fantastic memories, new friends, and more love of all things Tiki. Next year is sure to be out of this world. Stay tuned, Dia Blow and I are working on presenting a donkey show in the parking lot. No, we’re not going to kidnap you and take you to the Tijuana red light district. You’ll have to come and find out what I’m talking about!

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