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Tiki Central / California Events

Ukulele festival UPDATED!

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TK

For the latest Uke Fest West info, go here: http://www.ukefestwest.com

Ukulele Expo's UKE FEST WEST
April 22nd, 23rd, and 24th
Santa Cruz, CA.

"Uke Fest West" will be held in Santa Cruz, California, April 22nd, 23rd and 24th, and then the Hayward Ukulele festival is on the 25th. This event is being planned, developed and presented through a collaboration of the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz (www.ukuleleclub.com) and The Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum. (www.ukulele.org) and is being planned to make a full weekend out of the Hayward Ukulele Festival. We are still pounding out the details, but it is sure to be awesome! Here is what we got so far...

Thursday night, April 22nd, for you early arrivers is the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz monthly meeting, join us for food, drinks, entertainment!. Start the fun early!

Friday during the day there will be workshops available, More info soon!

Friday night will be concert featuring some of the hottest performers from all over the country at the Historic Cocoanut Grove Ballroom, ( http://www.cocoanutgrovesantacruz.com ) where elegant oval lines, a tiered stage, wooden dance floor, main floor and balcony seating and a full (no host) Bar reflect the glamour and romance of the 1940s Big Band era. An appetizer buffet and dessert will be provided.

Here is a list of who you will see perform (so far!)
Bill Tapia
Bryan Tolentino
Byron Yasui
Carmaig de Forest
Dan "Cool hand Uke" Scanlan
Daniel Ho (and special guest)
Hiram Bell
Ian Whitcomb
James Hill
Janet Klein
"Jumpin" Jim Beloff
Joel "Ukulele Eck" Eckhaus
John King
Ka Ehu Kai
King Kukulele
Larry D
Lyle Ritz
Manitoba Hal
Michelle "ukulele Lady" Kiba
Milan Nicksic
Oliver Brown
Ralph "King of the Ukulele" Shaw
Tiki King
Ukulele Dick
Tom "The Ukulele Man" Harker
Waste Of Aces
And More...!

Also, For any non Uke obsessed travel companions, The coconut Grove is located on one end of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, ( http://www.beachboardwalk.com ) a beach front amusement park that is home of one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the country. Bring the Family for a weekend of fun!

Saturdays event will be at the Cocoanut Grove Sunroom. Vendors, music, workshops, concerts, open mike, etc. The Sun Room's retractable glass ceiling provides sunshine and fresh ocean breezes during the day, Weather permitting, and large windows provide spectacular views of the Monterey Bay. Also running throughout the day will be several screenings of "Rock That Uke"( http://www.rockthatuke.com ) as well as other Uke related short features

Saturday early evening will feature a reception at the Santa Cruz art League,( http://www.scal.org )where the walls will be adorned with some of the finest Ukes to be seen anywhere! This display will run Thursday through Monday

Sunday is the 11th annual Hayward Ukulele Festival, the west coast's longest running Ukulele festival, featuring a full day of performances, vendors and food with a Polynesian flair. Find out about it here: http://www.pica-org.org/events.html

For those of you coming from out of town, we have obtained a discount at the West Coast Santa Cruz Hotel, which is just down the beach from the Cocoanut Grove. The Santa Cruz Hotel, billed as the only beach front hotel on Santa Cruz Counties coastline, is on Cowells Beach, adjacent to the famous "Steamers Lane", one of the most popular surfing spots on the central coast. The hotel provides an outdoor pool and poolside bar, sun deck, hot tub, and children's pool. The hotels restaurant, Mainsail, provides stunning views of Monterey Bay and a varied menu of popular entrees. The hotel also provides complimentary valet parking. Please call (831) 426-4330, and ask for the Ukulele club discount!
There are also many hotels and motels within a five minute drive, as well as several "budget" motels within walking distance to the Cocoanut Grove. Check out the Santa Cruz visitors council for more info: http://www.scccvc.org/index.html

We also have a discount code for flights booked through American Airlines. Call 1-800-221-2255. and tell them you are with the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz for a 10% discount, on top of any other discounts which may apply. Discount code is: 1844AN. Group name is Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz. We also have car rental discount through Avis rentals. Say you are with the Ukulele club of Santa Cruz and Save!

To be put on the list for details as they emerge, send an e-mail to Andy Andrews: [email protected]

[ Edited by: Tiki King on 2004-02-17 14:52 ]

Tiki King- Thanks for posting this info!
This is going to be a lot of fun. I hope some of the T.C. ohana comes to town for this event. I know you guys are putting in a lot of time to make this happen. I am realy looking forward to this.

If something called "Uke Fest West" was held in Western Canada, it would be attended by about 3 ukulele aficionados and several thousand confused Ukrainians :lol:

I attended the Hayward fest last year. Good plate lunches, tons of music, lots of Hawaiian stuff to buy (not just ukes!)

Any TCers going? (Gotta get those 'Tiki King' buttons!)

:drink:

Tacky

for the latest info, go to: http://www.tikiking.com/uke_fest_west

ya know...
I been thinking that I sould drive on up ta this thinggy in the porno van, room for me + 6ix or 5ive in big comfort. OC/LA carpool victims? just a thought,I don't mind flying solo but it is a bit of a haul so...

On 2004-02-16 20:20, Bwana Tiki wrote:
ya know...
I been thinking that I sould drive on up ta this thinggy in the porno van, room for me + 6ix or 5ive in big comfort. OC/LA carpool victims? just a thought,I don't mind flying solo but it is a bit of a haul so...

C,mon up y'all, this event is going to be a blast!

Chongolio

TK

The "Official" Uke Fest West website is now up at: http://www.ukefestwest.com

T

Thanks for all the info Tiki King! I'm trying to get a vendor spot to sell my tikis, and adrift shirts. http://www.adriftclothing.com & http://www.tikitony.com

Tiki King! You have a fan on alt.music.hawaiian:

Judy ([email protected]) wrote:
Auntie Maria wrote:

Heads up, uke musicians/fans!

The first Uke-Fest West is coming to Santa Cruz CA,
April 22-24 (immediately preceding the annual Northern
California `Ukulele Festival in Hayward, April 25).

For details:
http://www.ukefestwest.com/

Auntie! Some amazing links on that page. Who's that Tiki King?? Amazing
web site, including these instructions for building a $12 ukulele!

http://www.geocities.com/tpe123/folkurban/uke/uke.html

Seems totally appropriate for my level of talent!


Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2004-03-09 15:10 ]

Hey TikiTony, I see you have been added to the list of vendors. I am lookin forward to meeting you and checkin out your goods.

Chongolio

Hey CHongolio,
sOunds like it will be fun! Hope to meet you toO! see you there.

P

Aloha, TikiTony, Chongolio and TikiKing - The Amber Love Goddess and myself will be there on Friday afternoon and Saturday.

I'm the fat guy wearing an aloha shirt with the uke.

I'm sure I'll be the only one.

I definitely want to see that film about the ukes. It looks extremely cool. Maybe we can hook up at one of the showings of it. Or just after.

Tony - bring something I can buy to wear around my neck.

[ Edited by: pablus on 2004-03-21 14:37 ]

TK

It's only a little more than two weeks until UkeFest West!
Here are the latest UkeFest West updates....

• A very special person in the world of Ukuleles has been added to the UkeFest West performers - Fred Fallin - and he will be giving a workshop as well - see workshops for more info

• Daniel Ho will not be able to make it to UkeFest West so his workshop is canceled (as is Faith Rivera's)

• Jim Beloff's workshop will be a Beginning Uke Workshop, not songwriting

• The hotels are getting filled up so if you have not gotten your room yet call the Coast Santa Cruz Hotel at (831) 426-4330 and if they are full-up they will give you contact info for several other very nearby hotels (1-2 blocks). There are several price range hotels available from $80 to $109 per night

• Single day tickets are available - go to the tickets page on the website for info

• The performer schedules will be posted on the website later this week but here is a quick rundown -

Friday - Kahakai, Ukulele Dick, Michelle Kiba, Tiki King, Oliver Brown, Jim Beloff, Bill Tapia, Lyle Ritz, Byron Yasui, Hiram Bell, Bryan Tolentino, Ka Ehu Kai, The Great Morgani, Ian Whitcomb, Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys, King Kukulele, Ralph Shaw, James Hill, John King, Mark Kapner, Tom Harker, Yes Yes Boys, Carmaig de Forest, Manitoba Hal, Bag End Boys, Songs from a Random House, Larry D, Rick Russo and Waste of Aces

Saturday - Strum Bums, Michelle Kiba and the Aloha Style Band, Bryan Tolentino & Asa Young, Steven Strauss, Oliver Brown, Steven Espinola, Soybean Sawyer, Dan Scanlan & Jukolin, Tiki King & the Idol Pleasures, Blue Shoes, Songs from a Random House, Rogie Cadiente, Milan Nicksic, Larry D, Hiram Bell, Carmaig de Forest, Rick Russo, Ukulele Dick and Fred Fallin

• The Saturday performance schedule has been extended to 7:30 PM

• All of the Saturday workshops are included in your ticket price - as are most of the Friday workshops. A couple of the Friday workshops will cost a little extra - workshops will be first come basis but the rooms are not small so we hope to fit everyone in the workshops of their choice

• There is over 2 hours of open-mike time available on Saturday - Practice your licks, for this will be your chance to show them off!

• The Ukes for Kids raffle will have some incredible Ukuleles to give away to lucky winners so buy lots of tickets when you arrive - and over 50 kids will get their first ukulele lesson and leave with a free ukulele right there at UkeFest West on Saturday

• Get your tickets now if you haven't already - Tickets

• The Thursday (4/22) Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz meeting & UkeFest West kickoff party will be at the Ideal Bar & Grill - right next to the Coast Santa Cruz Hotel

• Please forward this to your music loving friends and anyone else you think would like to know about Uke Fest West

• Call me with questions - or problems - or just to let me know you're coming! Andy Andrews Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz (408) 828-2131

...and now go to ukefestwest.com for the latest info - see ya' there and keep uke'n !!

For anyone interested, there are some cheap tickets to Uke Fest West on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16224&item=3717185892&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
get 'em while their hot!

Hey we made Usa Today. I havent seen it yet but the print edition featured a picture of Andy Andrews. He is the "loyal" secretary of the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz.

Here is the online version of the article:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2004-04-15-ukulele_x.htm

O.K who is coming, lets hook up???


-- I believe that our Heavenly Father invented the monkey because he was disappointed in man."
... Mark Twain

Come explore http://www.lost-isle.com

[ Edited by: Chongolio on 2004-04-16 18:49 ]

P

I'll be there with the Amber Love Goddess; 20 percent Amberized toward her maximum bronziosity due in ohhh... August.

We're coming in on Friday afternoon and leaving Saturday afternoon.

[ Edited by: pablus on 2004-04-30 06:32 ]

TK

There was also a nice write up in the S.F. Chronical sunday edition...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/18/PKGD064IHU1.DTL

[ Edited by: Tiki King on 2004-04-19 13:34 ]

What day is King Kukulele performing?

Pablus, I will be looking for you and Angela. I will have my tiki necklaces on.

Unga- the word on the street is that the King Kukulele is going to be cruisin' around and is not really scheduled for any certain time.

Tiki King- Do you know when you are playin?

Tikitony- Are you ready Braddah.

Tiki Royale- You still comin over the hill?

Did somebody say cocktails on the boardwalk?

Chongolio


-- I believe that our Heavenly Father invented the monkey because he was disappointed in man."
... Mark Twain

Come explore http://www.lost-isle.com

[ Edited by: Chongolio on 2004-04-19 11:03 ]

TK

I am playing solo in the "welcome to santa cruz set" which opens the show. I am also playing with my new band around noon on Saturday. King Kukulele is playing on Friday night, both as a sort of "greeter" and on stage later in the evening. and probably causing trouble in the vendor room on Saturday. Also, I will have my booth set up in the vendor room, with a selection of Tiki and Ukulele goodies.

"Did somebody say cocktails on the boardwalk?"
Full Bar, onsite at the event, open both Friday and Saturday!


http://www.tikiking.com Neat Tiki and Ukulele Stuff
http://tikiking.iuma.com Hear the King sing!

[ Edited by: Tiki King on 2004-04-19 13:32 ]

T

CHongo,
I'll be carving as I drive up!
I hate this last minute shibookie. I smell like burned wood, and have stained fingers. Hope to see you all there!

T

By the way, wHat time does this start on Saturday? I couldn't find it anywhere. WHat time can we start setting up???????

Whew! the party is just getting started!
Bill Tapia played a few songs last night to a full house at The Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz Meeting What a treat!

Tikitony, I cant say for sure, but they let us start movin in Sound and stage stuff at noon. There are two big double metal doors in front of the Coconut
Ballroom. that is where you will load into.
I hope that helps. If you get lost go up the street to The Coast Santa Cruz Hotel. There is a Uke Fest
west Booth in the lobby and somebody should be there to help point you in ht eright direction.
see you tomorrow,
Chongolio

P

WHAT A BLAST!

The music was extraordinary.

King Kukulele was awesome... "Ian is dru-unk..."

All the acts were good. Most were great.

I may have scared the King - I mean they did have Pyrat XO there so my mood was sloshy from all the drinks and the great happy music. I said some things - things like "mrphshhuhhh bluungito" and messed up the TC secret handshake.

I had a great seat on the balcony. I'll post pictures when I get back to dullsville.

Met TikiTony and copped a few cool neck-tikis. I'm getting that paddle as soon as I get my next check. Sorry I missed you, Chongolio - next time, brah.

TikiKing's new album helped us drive north on 1 back to the city. Good work!

What a great event and loads of smiles all over. Thank you, Santa Cruz Ukulele Club!

Whew, What an amazing weekend! I can' t begin to tell y'all that this was some kind of special event in the Ukulele world.

TikiKing- Nice job on everything. Your ukes are awesome! your strumming is steady and the new band sounds great. Keep us all posted on upcoming gigs and ukes.

-Tikitony good to see you, Alean and Marcus again. I hope you guys found somplace cool to hang out after your day in the sunroom under that warm Santa Cruz sun.

Pablus- Dang sorry I missed you two. I had my eyes peeled. I think I may have spotted Angela at one point, but was busy moving some stuff around at the time and I was unsure if it was her. We will hook up Next time when I am not runnin around.

Also big thanks to http://sctikis.com for lending us the tikis for the stage.
They really helped the stage look good.

Unga Bunga - Did you make it?

Here are some of my pics:


Byron Yasui, Bill Tapia and Lyle Ritz putting it all together to the delight of an SC tiki.


King Kukulele getting ready to greet the ukulele Masses.


TikiTony setting up the goods and preparing for sunny weather.


TikiKing found some shade under his Ukulele outpost


TikiKing and the Idol Pleasures intoxicatin' the crowd


Me, Bill and Shecky havin a good time.

I am totally stoked to have been a part of this event. Thanks to everyone who came together and made this event memorable. Extra super kudos to Andy Andrews from the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz. The man know no limits to fun and enthusiasm.
Uke on!
Chongolio

P.S. Ian insists he was not drunk, only very tired.


-- I believe that our Heavenly Father invented the monkey because he was disappointed in man."
... Mark Twain

Come explore http://www.lost-isle.com

[ Edited by: Chongolio on 2004-04-27 01:14 ]

[ Edited by: Chongolio on 2004-04-27 14:28 ]

I would like the world to know that FOR THE RECORD I apologized ten times to Ian for playing that rotten trick on him. I consider Ian an old friend of mine. I am honored to know him, we've worked together many times in the past and I can only hope to have as impressive body...of work...as he has someday. For anybody in the audience who thought I was out of line, you must understand the King Kukulele's line is very different than most lines and I was RIGHT IN LINE at that moment. I never wanted Ian to feel that it was anything other than good fun. He has forgiven me ten times and he pointed out something very important. Earlier in the evening he tripped on one of the many stage obstacles that were strewn about and my comments later may have seemed to be related to that incident. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE!! I had totally forgotten about the earlier incident and was merely trying my darndest to entertain the audience. I got alot of great feedback but if I thought it was at Ian's expense I wouldn't have done it. I was riffing with my friend as it were and in my little impish way playing a practical joke on him. It was a joy to entertain the Coconut Grove Ballroom, its a joy to work with the great Ian Whitcomb, its a joy to be in love with my little ukulele...When I'm Alone.
Love,
King Kukulele

PS Ian WAS drunk!

P

I approach the ukefest - after having spent the afternoon at Trader Vics teaching Dave the Bartender how to make test pilots with a 20 year old bottle of Sazeracs.

Hiram Bell and the crowd from my lofty perch

Famous lush, Ian Whitcomb, berates the crowd with a savage outburst of disdain...

Actually Ian brought much grace to the stage and was a perfect MC - here he sings a bit...

You can't have too many shots of Bill...

Tikiking and his orchid

The cold, heartless antics of King Kukulele...

Ian ran onto the stage to beat the King for his assault on his honor - here the King flees in terror and continues taunting his new enemy...

For real now, if you've never seen King Kukulele perform it's an amazing non-stop whirr and blur and blend of songs, snippets and one-liners. I can't wait until Hukilau.

Here, I gush some inebriate, garbled praise to His Majesty and name-drop like the TC-pimp that I am...

Again - a great time and I only wish I could have stayed on through Saturday night.

BTW - King Kukulele's new album is keen AND boss.

"...gonna have a looooo-owww..."

[ Edited by: pablus on 2004-04-28 19:14 ]

Oh man pablus, I saw you a bunch of times. I reconize the shirt. Next time we drink up.
Chongolio

Pages: 1 28 replies