Bigger and better than last year with two and a half days of ‘ukulele fun.

Be sure to visit our new website for all the latest information:

www.winecountryukefest.com

 And mark your calendars now:

September 9, 10 & 11, 2011

 St. Helena, California

“I begin by acknowledging and asking permission of the ancestors of that area to allow our gathering. I proclaim the beauty of the valley, verdant in wine vineyards and famous for hosting visitors. I ask all that have gathered, including the ancestors, to come and enjoy the harmonious sounds of the ʻukulele. Grant life, grant life to all things.”
 

The Promenade Stage in front of the Old Stone Winery went on to host some of the most amazing talent in the ‘ukulele world today including: Dominator, Freebo, Moe Dixon,  Brittni Paiva, Aldrine Guerrero, Derick Sebastian, Erich Sylvester, Kathy Quain,  Kalei Gamiao, Ukulele Bartt, and many more, under the direction of our fabulous master of ceremonies, Andy Andrews.

And that’s not even including what simply happened on the spur of the moment. Here’s Derick Sebastian just “noodling” at the Oceana Ukulele booth:

In the meantime, vendors were doing a hopping business and many a festival visitor walked away from the day with a beautiful new ‘ukulele to take home, including a few who had only come to taste the wine!

Old friends met new friends, new friends were made, and people who just happened to be visiting the wine country discovered the smiles the ’ukulele brings to faces young and old. You could tell who is visiting from Hawai’i….they’re the ones wearing hoodies and down parkas.    

But even with all that going on up on the Promenade, one of the most happening places at the festival was Kimo’s Korner, on the back porch of the old Rhine House, where Kimo Hussey was on hand to answer questions, sign books, take requests, and kanikapila. He admits, he had the time of his life.

And let’s not forget the amazing workshops offered by James Hill,  Victoria Vox, Steven Espaniola, Derick Sebastian, Aldrine Guerrero, Moe Dixon, ‘Ukulele Bartt, Liko Puha, Dominator, Char & Gordon Mayer, Debbie & Kanoelani Haumea, and the beautiful “classrooms.”  Here’s Brittni Paiva teaching music theory in the Rhine House kitchen and Ralph Shaw teaching strumming techniques out by the Bocce Courts. 

And those with a little time on their hands could always venture on down to the UkeTube Booth, so generously sponsored by Kala Brand Ukuleles and  JVC Electronics and graciously hosted by David Tachera and family.  (Be sure to visit our YouTube Channel to see more.) Nothing but smiles all around:

But that was just the beginning.  Here’s Wine Country’s Faith Ako, who could not resist singing in the caves as she was leaving the luau later that evening at Flora Springs:

It was an amazing weekend and we’ll post more photos and videos as they come in.  In the meantime,  we have a winner for the  You Tube commercial contest:  Ooh, Ahh, Wow!, submitted by James Latimer from Clarkston, Michigan.  It, we thought, did the best job of conveying everything we had to offer.  However, it was the unanimous decision of the judges that To St. Helena, submitted by Steven Diaz from Inverness, Florida,  also deserved special recognition.  And  so, we will also be sending Steven a brand new Kala soprano travel ukulele and hope he’ll be able to make it all the way to St. Helena in time for next year’s 3rd annual Wine Country Ukulele Festival.  Special thanks go to MusicGuyMic,  Kala Ukuleles, and all the contestants for their inspired contributions.  

More to come……..

Saturday October 10, 2009

Beringer Vineyards, 2000 Main Street, St. Helena, California

Free and Open to the Public

(‘Ukulele Festival parking is available at the Beringer production facility off of Pratt Avenue.  There will be a free shuttle to the winery)

Appearing on the Rhine House Stage from 2:00 – 5:00 pm:

Steven Espaniola * Faith Ako * Ralph Shaw * Victoria Vox * James Hill

Lawn seating only, please bring a blanket to sit on

Appearing on the Promenade Stage from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm:

Arial Paisley * Ukulele Bartt * Derick Sebastian * Calistoga Flea Band * Taylor de Man * Victor Ohana * David Bustamante & Da Island Way *Dominator * Moe Dixon * Aldrine Guerrero * Golden Gate Trio * Kimo Hussey * Kalei Gamiao * Brittni Paiva * AHAmele * Linnea & Alex

International Marketplace open from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

 Food!  Gifts!  Ukuleles!

30-minute lessons available for the curious

 Online Registration for Hula & Ukulele Workshops still open

Pre-register for

Judd’s Hill Hula Party

Flora Springs Luau

Cameo ‘Ukulele Film Festival 

Sunday October 11, 2009

Appearing at Beringer Vineyards from noon – 5:00 pm:

Ukesperience

Please join us and prepare to be amazed. 

We’ve come a long way since Tiny Tim!

And while you’re here, don’t forget to check out the latest entries in the YouTube Commercial contest.

This is the  latest entry in our YouTube Commercial contest, entered by (you may have guessed it) Ukulele Bartt. Is it going to be the last?  There are still a few days left.  So get your entry in, get folks to watch, and make yourself eligible to win the new Kala from MusicGuyMic.

Important Festival Updates

The workshop schedule has now been posted.  If you haven’t registered already, surely there’s something there that strikes your fancy, and you will send in your registration, soon. Speaking of registration, the latest winner in our “early bird” drawing is Sharon Paltin, who will be receiving a gift certificate for a tour and tasting for four to Vine Cliff Winery in Napa. Congratulations, Sharon.  Next week’s prize is dinner for two at Market in St. Helena, so get your registration in now to be included. After that, there will only be one more!

 If you’re coming to the festival, there are a few changes you need to be aware of.  Liko Puha will, indeed, be opening the Wine Country ‘Ukulele Festival at Beringer Vineyards on Saturday, October 10,  at 10:00 am with a Hawaiian chant. We hope you will plan on joining us for this lovely tradition that will set the stage for all that the day has to offer.  Workshops will commence at 10:15.  A little later in the morning, Liko will be teaching one or two Hawaiian songs on the ‘ukulele, focussing on correct pronunciation–very important if don’t want to sound like a complete dodo.  However, he will not be available to teach ‘Auana Hula. Fortunately, with the addition of  Debbie Haumea Aynaga we are still able to offer traditional hula for beginners. Please see the Workshop listings for more information.

Flora Springs Luau

Registration for the Flora Springs Lu’au is now available online. The cost is $55 for Wine Club Members and Workshop Pass holders and $65 for all other adults.  What a great way to end the day!  David Bustamante and the dancers of Da Island Way will be there to greet you at the entrance to the caves and you will emerge to a beautiful view of the Napa Valley at sunset. There will be food and wine a plenty while you are serenaded by Steven Espaniola and Faith Ako. Then it will be time to put on your dancing shoes and get ready to party with  Michelle Kiba and the Tiki Tones.  And, just in case you didn’t pick up the perfect ‘ukulele while you were at the festival, our gracious ‘ukulele sponsor for this event, MusicGuyMic, will be there to help you find just what you’re looking for. And there’s even more, but we wouldn’t want to tell  you EVERYTHING.

Sunday School

We have a few spaces left in “Sunday School” at Miner Family Vineyards and a new guest ‘ukulele-ist for the venue. Kimo Hussey will be joining James Hill in the caves for this unique event pairing food, wine, and ‘ukulele.  

We’re not quite sure what the two of them are going to come up with, but we do know it will be stellar.  Meanwhile,  Natalie Niksa of La Saison is busy coming up with the menu and  it is a great time to acknowledge the generous contribution that Miner Family Vineyards is making to the festival. Even if you’re not going to make it to the Sunday School, you should stop by, taste a little wine, and let them know how much you appreciate their participation.  They are located on the Silverado Trail in Oakville, right on your way to or from the festival. As I said, we do have a few spots left, so you should act fast if you’d like to join us there.

 Sponsor Update

We are very fortunate to have two, new sponsors joining us.  KoAloha Ukulele has taken on the role of sponsoring the Friday night Judd’s Hill Hula Party, so  those attending will have an opportunity to win one of their lovely ‘ukuleles and see a sneak preview of  “The KoAloha ‘Ukulele Story,” in addition to all the other wonderful things we have planned: music by the Maika’i Gents, party hula with Michelle Kiba, shoes for Soles4Souls, “The Hukilau” parody contest, and more.  Thank you, KoAloha.

And Hawaiian Airlines has just donated two round-trip tickets to Hawai’i, which we will be giving away at the festival. Remember, if you book your ticket through the link on our website, you will not only save 5% on their lowest internet fare, but you will also be helping us continue to bring you wonderful musical talent from Hawai’i.

Vendors

Just a reminder, the International Marketplace will be in full swing at Beringer Vineyards,  Saturday, October 10, from 10 am – 5 pm. It could be a very long time before you ever see that many ukuleles in one place, at one time again.

Publicity

We have built it.  Now we just need everyone to come.  Please help us spread the word.  And while you’re at it, please be sure to check out KAPU 104.7.

Subscribe, please 

As we get closer and closer to the date, its more important than ever that you please take a moment to subscribe to this web log.  It really is the most efficient way for us to get important information to you in a timely fashion….especially if you’re planning on attending.

See you soon.

This is the first entry in our “WCUF YouTube Commercial” contest, sponsored by MusicGuyMic. Ooh! Ahh! Wow!  The deadline is September 25, so you still have time to enter one of your own for an opportunity to win a brand new Kala ’ukulele. (See the previous post for more information.) And please feel free to pass this video along.

Congratulations

Jean Miller is the latest winner in our “early bird” sweepstakes and has won a gift certificate for a tasting for four to  Cuvaison Estate Wines.  She’ll also take home a bottle of their Chardonnay Carneros.  We’ll pull another name out of the hat this Saturday afternoon, so if you haven’t done so already, be sure to get your registration in ASAP. 

Workshop Update

 We have three new instructors and three new workshops to add to our line-up.  Ukulele Bartt will be joining us from Southern California to teach ”Liverpool Luau – Beatles for Beginners”  and Kumu Debbie Haumea Aynaga will be coming over from Stockton to teach  Hula ‘Auana: “E Pili Mai,”   a lovely introduction to beginning, traditional Hawaiian hula.  You can read more about Bartt and Debbie and their workshops on our Instructors  (formerly “Musician’s”) and Workshop pages.  Aldrinne Guerrero will also be teaching a workshop for us, and we’ll let you know what it will be soon.  If you follow the Ukulele Underground  at all, you know it will be worth waiting for.

Ohana Promenade Stage

Louis Wu and Ohana ‘Ukuleles   have been generous supporters of the Wine Country ‘Ukulele Festival from the beginning, and I am delighted to announce that this year they will be sponsoring the Promenade Stage, featuring live music at Beringer Vineyards, Saturday, October 10, from 10:00 am until we close at 5:00 pm.  Paul Knight Sound will be covering both this and the Rhine House Stage to ensure a great experience for everyone. Here’s just a sample of who will be performing on the Promenade Stage during the day:  Kimo Hussey, Brittni Paiva, Derick Sebastian, Aldrinne Guerrero, Dominator, Erich Sylvester, Victor ‘Ohana, Templebar Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band, Ukulele Bartt, Da Island Way, AHAmele, and more.  Mike DaSilva, our on call ‘Ukulele Doctor, will be manning Ohana’s booth, so please take a moment to stop by and ask him to let Louis know how much we appreciate his contribution. Better yet, pick up an extra ukulele to give as a gift to a special someone…maybe even yourself. Mike will also be able to help with any minor repairs to your ‘ukulele while you’re at the festival.

In case you haven’t noticed yet, the Workshop Descriptions have now been posted. The list is still a work in progress, but at least you’ll have an idea of what will be available. We’ll post the actual schedule as soon as we can.  In the meantime, here’s a little preview featuring one of our instructors, Victoria Vox, playing her ‘ukulele and “mouth trumpet”:

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Karen Wagner, winner of our first “early bird” drawing. Karen wins a Tour & Tasting at Raymond Vineyards with a bottle of wine on arrival. We’ll hold another drawing next Saturday and pick another lucky winner from all the people who have submitted their workshop registrations by then. We still have a few pairs of the ScullCandy Ink’d earphones available, so, get your registration in now.

Flora Springs Lu’au

If you would like to attend the Flora Springs Lu’au, but are not attending the rest of the festival, you simply need to fill out and mail in the Registration Form. Remember, this is a benefit for the Playing For Change Foundation.  Among other things, we will be collecting spare change in empty wine bottles at the Flora Springs tasting room on Highway 29 in St. Helena, and at the lu’au. Your donations will help support and bring PEACE THROUGH MUSIC to the Tintale Village Teaching Center in Nepal; the Mehlo Arts Center in Johannesburg, South Africa; Tibetan Refugee Centers in Dharamsala, India and Kathmandu, Nepal; and the new Ntonga Music School in Gugletu, South Africa. It’s time to put that growing pile of coins to work!

Contest! Contest! Contest!

I hope some of you are inspired to enter this one! We are looking for a 30- to 60-second “commercial” that would encourage people to pack up their ‘ukuleles and walk, ride, run, swim, or fly to the Napa Valley for the 2nd annual Wine Country Ukulele Festival.  Originality and humor (in good taste) rank very highly. Clever parodies of popular and well-known songs get extra points, as does the subtle (or not-so-subtle) inclusion of MusicGuyMic who is donating the prize. Entries will be judged on originality, comments from viewers (even if the viewer is your mother), and the number of views. You can enter as many times as you like. The winner will receive a Kala KA-ST tenor ‘ukulele with a hard shell case.

The Kala KA-ST has a solid Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides, giving this ‘ukulele a rich sound, great volume and tone. It also has die cast tuners, a nice binding, high gloss finish and GHS strings (though Mike will probably trick-it-out a little more.) 

It’s up to you to upload your commercial to You-Tube, then send us the link (you can leave it as a comment here on the festival website) so we know where to look for it.  Assuming it passes the first test (meaning, essentially, that it is suitable for all ages) we will then upload it to the Wine Country Uke Fest channel on You-Tube and try to help you promote it, both here and there. The deadline for posting is September 25 and the winner will be announced October 10, at the festival. (You need not be present to win.)  But, the sooner you get it done, the more opportunites you have to get it viewed.

So give it your best shot, and good luck. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Registration is now open for workshops and major events. Visit our Registration Page to open a .pdf file that you can print, fill-out, and send in. Don’t procrastinate or you’ll miss the opportunity to win some wonderful prizes such as:

Dinner for Two at Market in St. Helena

A mid-week overnight stay at The Lodge at Sonoma

Private Tour and Wine Tasting for Four at Vine Cliff Winery in Napa

For every registration we receive, we will put a ticket into a bowl and draw one of them every week.  If you don’t win that week, your “ticket” will stay  in the bowl and you’ll have another opportunity to win the following week. We will continue to add tickets to the bowl as registrations come in and will hold a prize drawing every Saturday, the last one being on October 2. So, the sooner you get your registration in, the greater your chances AND the more opportunities you will have to win.  Winners will be announced here and you will pick up your prize when you pick up your registration materials at the festival.

But wait!  There’s more!  The first 30 people to register for a workshop pass will also receive a set of  “Ink’d” earphones, courtesy of  SkullCandy (value $20). (I have a set and I love ‘em!)

Here’s another important detail. All workshop pass holders will also get a $15 discount on the Flora Springs Lu’au, AND a wine tasting pass (valued at $25 – $35) to use at Beringer Vineyards on October 10. You must be 21 to taste, so please have your ID with you. The workshop pass also entitles you to attend up to three ‘ukulele workshops.  Individual workshop tickets, good for one workshop only, are also available.

Beringer Schedule

The following schedule outlines the events of the day at Beringer Vineyards. As you can see, there is plenty to keep you busy. Please note that this is subject to change. We will be posting the specific workshops and performance times as soon as possible. Letting us know your skill level (simple scale from 1-4) on your registration form will help us plan accordingly.

Rhine House Concert

With sincere gratitude to Beringer Vineyards, I am very happy to announce that the Rhine House Concert is free with festival-type, lawn seating, so please bring a blanket or something else to sit on. (No metal chairs will be allowed on the lawn.) Right now we have no workshops scheduled during the performances by Ralph Shaw,  Victoria Vox, and James Hill.  However, that can change, depending on demand. Also, be prepared to be surprised by some of the other amazing talent we have lined up.

The concert is free but the usual tasting fees apply, if you are also going to be wine tasting. There is no festival parking at the winery, but we will have shuttle buses running in both directions every 10 minutes so that you will not have to walk far or cross Highway 29 on foot. 

New Sponsors

We are very happy to welcome Music Guy Mike (or MusicGuyMic), who is joining us as a sponsor of the Flora Springs Lu’au on Saturday night and our You-Tube commercial contest (more about that later); Ohana ‘Ukulele, who is sponsoring the Promenade Stage and provided the prize for our logo contest; and Hawaiian Airlines, who among other things is offering a 5% discount to their already-low web fares for anyone purchasing tickets through our website and $25 one-way inter-island fares through the end of September!  All of our sponsors are very important to the success of the festival and your enjoyment of it. Your support of them and their good work ensures that we can continue to bring you more ‘ukulele fun in the future.

Accommodations Update

If you’re coming in from out of town, please be sure to revisit our Accommodations page.  We have just added some very interesting and affordable housing options at nearby Pacific Union College and the St. Helena Hospital. (It’s not a joke, and, no, you don’t have to arrive in an ambulance.)

Be sure to visit the new 2009 Festival page for the Schedule of Events (as it looks right now) and a list of some of the talent headed our way this year.  We will flesh this out with more detailed explanations of each event (and the prices) shortly.   In the meantime, please note that we have a full week-end of ‘ukulele fun in store. 

Also be sure to check out the Festival Poster page where you can download and print out your own fliers to post prominently, wherever you think ‘ukulele and/or music buffs would like to see them.  Your help in getting the word out about the festival is sincerely appreciated.  The more the merrier.

Community Outreach

Thanks to the generosity of the Petalukes, our ‘ukulele-strumming buddies over in Petaluma, we are once again able to put on a performance for the veterans residing at  the California Veteran’s Home in Yountville.  Last year we were able to treat the vets to the sweet sights and sounds of Hawai’i with Robyn Kneubuhl, KonaBob Stoffer, Mark Nelson, and Liko Puha. This year, the inimitable Ralph Shaw will keep ’em hopping with his usual, zany, off-the-wall antics. (Who can forget his song from last year, describing how to build an ‘ukulele case?  In case you missed it, click on the photo of Ralph, taken by Lori Ikeda-Lowe at last year’s festival.) Don’t worry, there’s plenty of Ralph to go around.  Festival attendees will be able to catch his act at Beringer Vineyards on Saturday AND take a couple of workshops from him. He’ll  be popping in and out of some of the other events through-out the week-end, as well.

 New Sponsor

A big welcome goes out to our new sponsor, JVC, who is providing the Everio camcorders for use in the  Kala UkeTube Booth, where festival attendees will have an opportunity to strum their stuff in a semi-private forum, under semi-professional circumstances, for world-wide distribution.  We’ll have more details on this later. But, for the time being, you might want to start thinking about what song you’dlike to perform for the world at large.  Thanks to the support of JVC and Kala Ukuleles, the  UkeTube Booth will be in operation throughout the day on Saturday, October 10, at Beringer Vineyards.

Rapid Uke 101

And while we’re on the subject of Saturday’s events, feel free to bring along any curious friends or family members who haven’t yet caught the bug (bug? flea? get it?) and drop them off at Frank Novicki’s Rapid Uke 101 booth, where Frank will have them humming and strumming in a quick 30 minutes. Don’t worry if they don’t have an ’ukulele, yet; we’ll make one available for them. 

Frank is also a valued member of the Maika’i Gents, who will be performing at the Judd’s Hill Hula Party on Friday, October 9.  If you plan attending that,  don’t forget to bring your gently used (but now unused)  slippahs to donate to Soles4Souls, the primary beneficiary of the Friday night event.

  
Nashville-based Soles4Souls™ facilitates the donation of  new and used shoes and has distributed more than 4.3 million pairs (currently donating one pair every 17 seconds) to people in over 125 countries, including Honduras, Uganda, Romania, and the United States.  We’ll have a collection box at the Hula Party where you can deposit the shoes you don’t want to take back home with you.