Kahunaville closed 12 years ago, but there's still one more party

For those who partied there, it may be hard to believe that it has been a dozen years since Kahunaville closed on Wilmington's Riverfront.

The 7,000-person venue, which was the center of the state's party scene from 1995 to 2006, was a hub for singles and drew big crowds, hosting everyone from John Mayer and Green Day to Bob Dylan and Hall and Oates.

Some of the same faces that walked those floors — owners, bartenders, entertainers and patrons — will gather one more time at Delaware Park (777 Delaware Park Blvd., Stanton) for an official Kahunaville Reunion Party on Saturday night at 7. Tickets are $25.

Former owner David Tuttleman and promoter Sam Adams have teamed up for the event, which will feature a blast-from-the-past entertainment lineup of vintage Kahuna acts including DJ Gizzmo and Bryen O'Boyle of Mr. Greengenes.

"I remember the crowds, the joy and the fun," says Tuttleman, 56, who still lives in Wilmington and runs his Nevada-based marijuana-growing business Matrix NV. "I can still hear the music and feel the people."

This is a party that's been in the works for 18 months, hatched by Adams and former Kahunaville graphic designer Michael Carroll.

But in February, as the finishing touches were being made, Carroll died suddenly. Since the event had already been billed as a benefit, Adams and Tuttleman didn't want to let down the beneficiaries and cancel it, so the party will go on.

"Mike was literally in the midst or organizing this when he lost his life," Tuttleman says.

The event will be held in recognition of Carroll and the other members of the Kahunaville family who have died over the years. In addition to benefiting the Wilmington-based Trauma Survivors Foundation, funds will also go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the ACCT Philly animal shelter.

Through ticket sales and donations, $10,000 has already been raised, organizers say.

Saturday's reunion is only the second official Kahunaville event since its closure, giving both those who worked and partied there another chance to relive their younger days.

Remember when female customers would sometimes climb on the bar and take their tops off? Or nights dancing outside on the deck along the Christina River? And what about that evening when comedian Artie Lange kicked a poinsettia off the stage and into a fan's face?

There was always something happening at Kahunaville to keep everyone coming back. And each time it was usually bigger and better.

"We weren't just the biggest, baddest nightclub in Wilmington," Tuttleman corrects a reporter while remembering his past life as a club owner. "We were the biggest, baddest nightclub in the Mid-Atlantic region for a long time."

Newark's Saul Machinton can back him up on that.

"They always had bands or DJs or something going on, plus you knew everyone was going to be there," he says. "Kahunaville back in the day, nobody could touch it."

The first Kahunaville reunion was held in 2013 in Prices Corner at the former Moodswing nightclub, complete with a pre-party the night before. This time around, it's one-night only.

Tuttleman says he decided to close Kahunaville in 2006 shortly after the death of his father Stanley, a philanthropist and Philadelphia clothing manufacturer, who sold his company to The Limited in the late '70s.

The sudden closure came as a shock to many. Tuttleman had been taking care of his father in his later years as he fought prostate cancer, stepping away from the day-to-day Kahunaville operations in the process.

"Caring for my father is really what drove me from the business," he says. "It was just time for me to call it quits."

Adams, who also promoted events at the old Kahunaville, admits that he and Carroll had ulterior motives in teaming up with Tuttleman once again.

They thought that maybe, just maybe, Tuttleman will find himself in the center of the circus once again and decide to give it a go once more.

"I'm hoping this lights a fire under his ass and he opens another big club in Delaware," Adams says.

Tuttleman, who also works as a trustee with the Tuttleman Foundation, doesn't sound like he's ready to start ordering beer by the tractor-trailer load any time soon.

"This sounds really corny, but we all have a certain amount of time on this earth and you make the best of it," says Tuttleman, a father of four children ranging in age from 5 to 29. "In my time, I chose to spend it creating great entertainment. But I had my chance at the wheel and it was amazing." 

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Kahunaville Reunion Party

WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Delaware Park, 777 Delaware Park Blvd., Stanton

COST: $25

TICKETS: mt.cm/kahunaville-reunion