Giant Tucson Tiki unveiled in historic event August 29!

GIANT TUCSON ICON UNVEILED IN HISTORIC EVENT AUGUST 29!

Tucson, Arizona- The giant  three story TIKI head from the closed Magic Carpet Golf property in Tucson has been totally resurrected and a major unveiling celebration event is scheduled August 29, 2009 at its new home The Hut on 4^th Ave.   Engineering, planning, crane removal, trucking, new structural base creation and the artistic design and creation of a totally new base, has taken over 18 months to complete along with "Save The Tiki" fundraising to finance the complicated process.

The TIKI (Moai) STONE FACE is the creation of the late Lee Koplin of miniature golf fame and was fabricated by Mike Kautza who was an employee of Mr. Koplin at the time almost 40 years ago. The entirely new artistic part of the base of the three-story sculpture was designed and fabricated by Tom Prevatt, a local artist from Amado, AZ. It has been a combined effort of a number of local companies: Galileo Construction, Division 2 Construction, Broderick Engineers, Parson Steel Erectors, Marcos Crane, Caid Industries, Lanning Architects and of course The Hut to make this possible. 

The planned fundraising event for this Saturday August 29 will be historic and large numbers of Tucsonans are expected to attend as well as Tiki lovers from around the nation. One of the largest international Tiki conventions (http://www.tikioasis.com) was held recently in San Diego, CA and two of the conventions' bands headlining The Hut dedication, The Martini Kings and the Del Reys, will be bringing their fans with them. The web site: http://www.tikicentral with over 250,000 members from around the world has publicized the happening on their web site.

Flam Chen, an internationally known Tucson based pyrotechnic theater troupe, combine with Chaz Cadaver and the music group The Mission Creeps to create a unique presentation unlike any seen before. The music for the performance "Nightmare on Tiki Island" (fun spoof) will be heard as FIRE comes out the Giant Tiki Head with a large video backdrop as Flam Chen performs.  This will be the main event scheduled for nightfall (7:50 PM). >From 4:00 PM until 2:00 AM there will be a total of 18 bands performing on three stages throughout the evening.

The Magic Carpet miniature golf at 6125 E. Speedway was a Tucson icon for over 40 years until its closure in December of 2007. The giant Tiki ( STONE FACE) was the most popular of all the unique sculptures in the park and it is estimated that over 200,00 visitors enjoyed its presence. The statue was featured in Sven Kirsten's TIKI MODERN book in 2008. He is the author of THE BOOK OF TIKI considered the best reference material on the subject.

Community support and the efforts of The Hut operators Fini Finical and Scott Mencke and their fundraising events helped by Tucson's Valley of the Moon, have made it possible for future generations to enjoy this gentle giant. Now the tallest structure on 4^th Ave., it is sure to become a tourist magnet in the future.

The event will be held Saturday, August 29, at The Hut, 305 N. 4^th Ave., Tucson, AZ from 4:00 PM until 2:00 AM.  < huttucson.com > There is a cover charge of $15 and visitors must be over 21. This charge is to help recover the substantial expenses for the Tiki's relocation and resurrection of downtown Tucson's newest icon.