The Hukilau Is Not Canceled

If you are a lover of all things tiki you are probably attending the 14th-annual Hukilau "pop Polynesian" festival happening June 10 through 14. At this point you've signed up for all the various parties, mixers, and educational talks you plan to attend. You've probably even ironed your collection of Hawaiian shirts, dry cleaned your grass skirt, and organized your various leis by color. You have definitely liked the Hukilau on Facebook and clicked "Going" to their event. 

And late yesterday, you probably almost dropped your ukulele in shock and despair when you got a Facebook alert saying the Hukilau had been canceled.

But no worries. The 2015 Hukilau is going on as planned, technical snafus and the perils of the internet not withstanding.

According the statement on the Hukilau Facebook page:
  
The Hukilau's organizer, Christie "Tiki Kiliki” White, says it became apparent yesterday that the Facebook and Twitter accounts had been compromised.

"We weren't sure what was happening," says White. "A lot of activity starting happening on the Facebook page, strange comments [from the account]. It's just been very stressful."

In order to get rid of the hacked comments, they immediately took everything down, including the main Facebook event for the Hikulau. This had the effect of alerting everyone who had joined it that the Hukilau was "canceled."

"But of course the event is still going on," says White. "We've already emailed all the ticketholders to let them know."

Originally, last year's event was going to be the farewell luau for the tiki-fest. The event had grown too popular for its own good, and certainly too big for White to handle all on her own. So, she figured, she'd throw one last festival and bow out of the torch lights.

"But then two investors contacted me. They'd attended the event and loved it and swooped in to give me a lot of resources to work with," says White.

So, rest easy tiki enthusiasts. The Hukilau is not canceled. The Hukilau is happening. Go put some rum in your coconut to calm your nerves. (Maybe add some lime, call the doctor, wake him up - ya know, whatever you need to do.)

The 14th-annual Hukilau is June 10 through 14 at various locations including the Mai-Kai Restaurant (3599 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 954-563-3272; maikai.com) and the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel (2301 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale; 954-525-6666; hyattregencypiersixty-six.com). Visit thehukilau.com.

You can contact Rebecca McBane, Arts & Culture Editor/Food Editor at [email protected]. Follow @cleanplatebpb on Twitter and like New Times Broward Palm Beach Food & Drink on Facebook to stay connected for all the local food news and events.