Giant Tiki at THE HUT in Tucson with its new warm scarf (Photo by Fini Finicial)

The Giant Tiki Head, from the old Magic Carpet located at the popular nightclub THE HUT, got a surprise gift recently  to help him handle the cold climate we have been having lately.

Some of our compassionate and artistic Tucsonans appear to have spent a lot of time knitting a large warm scarf together and in the cover of darkness wrapped it around our favorite TIKI (Moai) to give it some warmth against our desert chill.

Douglas “Fini” Finicial, one of the operators of the hut and a major Tiki collector, believes the scarf was knitted and placed on the Tucson landmark as a venue for a “renegade art installation”, a peaceful movement to place positive projects around the nation.

The giant sculpture was a significant part of the former Tucson icon, Magic Carpet Golf property, on Speedway here is Tucson. The majority of the statues created by the late Lee Koplin were saved from demolition and can be seen in various businesses and homes around town. The giant Moai, now in its permanent home at The Hut, seems to have a smile on its face now that it has a new warm scarf around its neck.  How many Tikis have you seen with a hand-knitted scarf?

If any of you get to the Seattle area there are some sculptures at a bus stop in Wallingford, there that the residents of the area decorate often depending on the season. They are concrete sculptures of people and a dog or two that have received lots of loving care by the town. Sometimes they get raincoats other times warm clothes and at Christmas a little Christmas decoration.

For centuries people have wondered how the giant Moais from Eastern Island were moved about the island. This morning on 4^th Ave. a few people witnessed how it would be done today.  The 55,000-pound Tiki head from the closed Magic Carpet was today lifted from its resting place and placed on top of its new steel structural foundation.

The head, of what the Magic Carpet called Stone Face, was transported to the parking lot of The Hut on 4^th Ave. & 8^th St. December 23. It has been resting quietly there while the operators of The Hut raised the necessary funds to rebuild the steel base (to meet new City guidelines) and to pay the crane and construction costs. Totally they have committed over $60,000 to rescue this Tucson icon for future generations.  The statue was originally created by the late Lee Koplin of Magic Carpet Golf fame in approximately 1971.

Tiki Resting in parking lot

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June 8, 2009 by Charles Spillar

If you weren’t in Tucson in December and missed all the media coverage you will be happy to know that the tallest sculpture in Tucson was saved and will soon be unveiled August 29. (more…)