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Tag: Tiki Party

Happy New Year! The Vintage Inn’s 2015 Year in Review

What a year this has been and how fast it has gone as well. I literally feel like I just started 2015 and now it’s coming to an end. Well the one thing I do know is that 2015 was a busy and fun year and I would love to share with you some of the adventures I got into with you. Here is my 2015 in review.

January: Every year I attend a big German Karneval (mardi gras) function called GAMGA in Las Vegas. It’s 2 days of costume parties, after parties and then a big Gala. It’s super fun and something I have been doing with my parents since I was a kid.

German Mardi Gras in United States

February: I was lucky to be able to attend the premier of the 1940s new Canadian TV show called ‘X Company‘. I have never been part of a premier and it was a cool experience and we even got to meet the host of the event and get our pictures taken with the cast and producers.

X Company TV Show Premier in Toronto

I attend a 1920s Speakeasy party at the famous and beautiful Palais Royale in Toronto.

1920s Speakeasy Party at Palais Royale Toronto

AND I traveled to Seattle, Washington for a long weekend to visit a good friends parents and see uber cool Seattle. I did a blog post all about it HERE.

Seattle Washington first starbucks
In front of the first Starbucks

March: I did nothing really blog post worthy. WHAT?? lol

April: VIVA Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend! I did several posts on that big adventure which can be found HERE.

Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend 18

May: Vintage Spectacular Dance with the GTA Swing Band. This was a super night of dancing, dressing up and great Big Band Music. The image below is some of the lovely ladies of TVS and the lead singer of the Band (she is soooo good).

vintage spectacular dance

I was very lucky to be part of a cool experience in May with a favorite Rockabilly band in Toronto called “The Millwinders“. Myself and few friends were filmed dancing in front of a green screen for use for future videos. Here are a couple of pictures from that day.

1950s vintage style
Credit: Kahlil Heslop

Lastly Toronto Lindy Hop (that I’m part of) put on a full weekend of Lindy hop, classes, history lessons and live music dances all weekend long called ‘Toronto World Lindy Hop Day’. I played host and it was such a good weekend 🙂

The images below are with 2 living legends in the Lindy Hop World. Chazz Young the son of one of the founders of Lindy Hop-Frankie Manning (and a talent as well) AND Dawn Hampton the Queen of the Cabaret and a little firecracker (her image is on the shirts we are wearing).

Dawn Hampton and Frankie Manning toronto lindy hop

Summer (June, July and August): I did a full blog post on all the events I attended (tiki party, UK Adventure, Horse race event plus much more), so check that out HERE.

hats and horseshoe event 2015 woodbine racetrack

September: Weekend visit to Havana, Cuba

This was not my first visit to Havana, but this was definitely the first time I visited areas outside of the Old part and it was fantastic. I still have to do a blog post on all the new things I saw but for now here is a collage of some of the highlights.

Havana Cuba

October: Halloween and a friend’s Wedding Reception Toga Party (yes a toga party). For Halloween the hubby and I went as Amazing Race Contestants. The outfits were big hits.

Amazing race costume idea

Toga Party!

toga party costume ideas

November: Swing Out To Victory’. Once again I helped my friend Dean with hosting duties as a third of the beautiful “Dominion Belles”.

Swing out to Victory-1940s vintage outfits
Credit: Kahlil Heslop

The throwing of the candies 🙂

Swing out to Victory-1940s vintage outfits
Credit: Kahlil Heslop

Here I am with 2 friends from the Toronto Vintage Society. Both created their outfits from scratch and Joy on the left, won the best dressed because she recreated the “Swing Time” outfit from the movie with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Toronto Vintage Society Swing out To Victory

Opening of Toronto’s first ‘Shameful Tiki Room‘ (literally around the corner from my apartment). Now one of my local hangouts.

Opening of Shameful Tiki Room Toronto

The official Tiki mug for Shameful. Very Canadian with the Beaver 🙂

Shameful Tiki Room Toronto

I dj’d my first Rock N Roll social dance night for my friends 50s dance studio ‘Soda Pop Hop‘. Such a fun night!

Soda Pop Hop Social Dance Night. Rock N Roll dancing

December: Toronto Vintage Society annual Kitschmas Party. I played host once again at the party and it was another huge success. Here are the winners of the title of Kitschmas King and Queen. Make sure you check out the blog called “Flipsville” because she made these outfits!

Toronto Vintage Society Kitschmas Party

And that my friends is a general overview of my 2015 year. I hope you had a wonderful year and I wish all of you a Happy 2016! Thank you so much for reading my blog and commenting and just being wonderful readers, I love and appreciate each and everyone of you.

Liz 🙂

 

 

Bye Bye Summer-Highlights Of My Summer Adventures

Well it’s officially..summer is over here in North America and I just heard on the radio that I’m in for a cold cold winter. Wonderful. So before this hits I wanted to look back and remember all the fun times I had before I’m crying in my bed to make the cold and snow disappear (I’m becoming a wimpy Canadian).

1930s vintage swimsuits image

My summer started off with my big trip to Glasgow, Scotland, UK to visit my husband’s family and then London,UK to visit friends and do some site-seeing (I have never been). It was a fantastic trip and I’m eager to go back and see all the things I missed (In both cities).

Glasgow & Loch Lomond (area)

Vintage Inn Travels to Scotland
Highlights of Scotland

London

Vintage Inn Travels to London England
Highlights of London

Hats and Horseshoes at Woodbine Racetrack for the Queens Plate.

Hats and Horseshoes at Woodbine Racetrack 2015
Some of the Ladies of the Toronto Vintage Society in our Best Hats.

Me and the Parents! Don’t they clean up nice? My mom is wearing Stop Staring and my Dad is wearing a vintage jacket he purchased at VIVA.

Hats and Horseshoes at Woodbine Racetrack 2015

I attended a full weekend of German Heritage fun at Germanfest in Milwaukee where I was in my glory. Beers, German Bands and Beers 🙂

Germanfest Milwaukee 2015

Toronto Vintage Society held our annual Pinup Picnic in the Park.

(Note: I was kind of obsessed with my new Vivien of Holloway dress and you will see it again in this post..sorry! lol)

Toronto Vintage society pinup picnic

I spent a weekend with a bunch of Swing Dancers in cabins up north called ‘Lindystock’ run by Toronto Lindy Hop (that I do the Social Media for). I had so much fun! We swam, we played games, we did a bit of drinking, had campfires and just hung out. I wore no makeup all weekend, did not do my hair and I was super happy.

Lindystock 2015 Toronto Lindy Hop

Toronto was lucky this year to play host to the Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games. My husband and I saw Squash at the Pan Am and took my nephew to see Wheelchair Basketball at the Parapan am. Coolest experience ever!

Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games Toronto

Toronto Vintage Society along with the Gladstone Hotel held a “Vintage Night Market”. 

Toronto Vintage society at the Gladstone
Some of the TVS Ladies with our wears we were selling

Even though we could not attend the Rosie the Riveter Guinness Book of World Records Event in California, we held our own mini version right here in Toronto.

Rosie the Riveter Toronto

For the first time ever I finally got to visit the East Coast of Canada-Nova Scotia to be exact. It was a short trip for a wedding (and I will be back) but it was so much fun!

Peggy Cove Nova Scotia and around
Some of the highlights of my visit.

Lastly the summer ended with the Toronto Vintage Society Annual Tiki Party. I played host again at the event of the summer and it was simply..awesome. Such good memories.

Tiki Lani Lanai Toronto Vintage society party
Some highlights of the night.

And here is a mishmash of all the other events I attended.

Toronto Vintage society summer highlights
Blue Jays Game, Hotel Event, Wedding Photo Booth

Did you have a good summer?

Happy Fall!

Liz 🙂