Today we’d like to introduce you to Otto Von Stroheim.
Hi Otto, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am an author, dj, designer, tiki collector and event producer. Each summer I co-produce, with my wife Baby Doe, a popular music festival called Tiki Oasis in San Diego. Tiki Oasis started as an architectural preservationist effort to save the Tropics motel in Palm Springs (2001-2005). We quickly outgrew the location and moved the event to the historic Hanalei Hotel (now Crowne Plaza).
We celebrate the Tiki Style design history of the location by bringing guests together for an extended weekend to celebrate the history, learn about other aspects of Tiki Style, and immerse themselves in the lifestyle for a stay at the hotel.
Tiki Oasis moved to the Town and Country Resort in 2021. Town and Country Resort is the oldest hotel on Hotel Circle, still family-owned. The towers at both hotels were done by local Mid Century architect John Mock, and it still has an original mid-1960s Tiki carving onsite that originally sat atop the pool gazebo/cafe
In 2024, we will kick off the weekend with a luau at the Catamaran Resort Hotel in Pacific Beach on the beach on Mission Bay.
Tiki Oasis is a 5-night, 4-day convention that includes over 20 bands, 20 DJs, 40 seminars, 3 Burlesque Shows, an Art & Lamp Show, 140 vendors in a 3-day marketplace, and more.
1200+ guests stay at the hotel, and more than 3000 attend over the weekend.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When planning and throwing a large event, there are any number of hurdles along the way. We have faced financial hurdles early in our growth. We committed to agreements that stretched our financial means. If the event had failed, we would have been bankrupt. We have organically and gradually grown the event over the years from 100 people to 3000 people. We have done extremely diverse advertising, placing print ads in the programs of similar events, in small magazines, and higher profile ads in local papers. We have done direct mail of postcards, distribution of postcards to local record stores and cafes, and email list and online advertising. But mostly, we have grown by getting incredible word-of-mouth referrals as friends bring their friends the following year and share their experiences online. We our always happy to hear of families that have grown with Tiki Oasis. Children who were brought by their parents 15 years ago now attend the event on their own! Another way we have grown is through a lot of news and publicity from press, television, and radio doing coverage of the event.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My profession is Graphic Design, and I have had a long and successful career working for major advertising and design firms while growing the Tiki Oasis event on my own time. My skills in graphics allowed me to create promotional materials for the event, and I was able to use my knowledge of advertising and branding to grow the Tiki Oasis brand.
I am also a promoter and author and have curated art shows and written the catalogs for three major group shows. I have written articles about Tiki Style and penned liner notes and introductions to books as well as published 18 issues of a zine about Tiki Style.
What does success mean to you?
Success is being able to pursue your passion and make it financially viable to live the life you enjoy. And it is even more fulfilling if you can share that passion with your friends and grow it over time.
Pricing:
- Tiki Oasis offers a free marketplace on Sunday 10 am to 3 pm
- Tickets start around $150 for a basic 4-day pass
- Hotel rooms are only available through Tiki Oasis website, and basic rooms start at $239
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tikioasis.com
- Instagram: @tikioasis
- Facebook: facebook.com/tikioasis
- Twitter: tikioasis
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tikioasistv
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/e39ixkkmha2etdkph99pn2jn7?si=924e6126022b4cfe
Image Credits
© Rob
