This is where it all began. Kani Ka Pila was one of the original, founding members of the Wine Country Ukulele Festival back in 2008. Originally specializing in innovative ukulele accessories, their product line continues to grow and now includes ukuleles from Ohana, Rip-Tide, Kiwaya, Magic Fluke, Eleuke, BugsGear and more. They also carry a full line of ukulele books from all of the major publishers and carefully reviews each one before adding it to their product line.  Most importantly, Kani Ka Pila brings in many unique, one-of-kind, hand-crafted ukulele accessories for the festival from artisans all over the country, helping to create a constantly changing and vibrant marketplace at the festival each year.

Ohana, too, has been an extremely generous supporter of the festival from the beginning, donating ukuleles for the festival itself and for several non-profit educational groups that the festival supports across the country. Over the years Ohana has also supported the live performances on the Wine Country ‘Ukulele Festival stage, sponsored free ukulele lessons at the festival for children and adults, and each year brings instructor extraordinaire, Ken Middleton, all the way from England to enhance our teaching faculty. 

KoAloha is another one of the original sponsors who stepped up to bat when we were in our infancy and has been with us ever since. They provide a very welcome Hawaiian perspective to our festival with their hand-crafted koa ukuleles from Hawaii and have additionally been more than generous in their support of the festival’s special events, such as our first-ever (rip-roaring) concert at the Tucker Farm Center and the Judd’s Hill ‘Ukulele Hullabaloo.

Char and Gordon Mayer, founders of Mya-Moe Ukuleles, joined us in 2009 and soon became one of our most avid supporters. In addition to their generous sponsorship that makes our Friday night gala at the Napa Valley Opera House possible, they bring a selection of lovely, hand-crafted ukuleles for all to see and play, give workshops at the festival, contribute to the printed program, and have helped with housing our instructors.  On top of all that, Char has graced our stage on a number of occasions. 

Maker of the Ko’olau and Pono brand of guitars and ‘ukuleles, Ko’olau is another Hawaiian ‘ukulele manufacturer that has been generous with its support of the Wine Country Ukulele Festival for the last four years. Ko’olau can be counted on year after year to provide us with a variety of high quality instruments that enhance the experience of everyone who attends.

While Rick Turner may be  new to the Wine Country Ukulele Festival, he is no stranger to stringed instruments, having made guitars for a laundry list of top acts including the Grateful Dead; Jefferson Airplane; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and loads more.  He joins us this  year as our on-site luthier and will be building an ukulele at the festival, from start to finish,  for all to see. What we’ll do with the ukulele at festival’s end has yet to be determined.

Aquila Corde is another newcomer to the festival this year and we are truly honored to have one of the leading, and most highly regarded, producers of ukulele strings in the world as a sponsor. Their strings appear on the ukuleles made by no fewer than thirty of the top ukulele manufacturers around the world!

There are still many sponsorship opportunities available.  If you or someone you know would like to help us make the 2012 Wine Country Ukulele Festival bigger and better than ever, please contact us as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know about a few important changes we’ve made to Camp Oo-Koo-Lay-Lay, August 18 – 20, which will make it even more affordable and convenient.  With the new Flex Stay option, you can come for as many (or as few) days as you’d like, for as little as $60/day. And you can also stay at nearby Pinecrest Campground for about $20/night. We’ve also increased the lodging options for folks who’d prefer less rustic accommodations than the tent cabins at the Lair of the Golden Bear. Please visit the website for more information. 

Back to Wine Country.  The ever-popular Gerald Ross will be with us again next year with a whole new series of workshops.  Here’s a little sample of what’s in store….

And that was just 8 minutes!  Imagine how much you’ll learn in 75.

More later.

We still have room in all workshops, though a few are nearing capacity.

Asilomar still has rooms available. But, in March they will start releasing them to the general public and it will be more difficult to get one. However, even if you can’t get a room at Asilomar, you will still be able to attend the retreat as a “walk-in.”

In case you haven’t visited that site in a while, you might want to check out a few of our new instructors and workshops.  We’ve added Peg Reza (aka Auntie Uke) who’ll be bringing her very unique bag of ukulele tricks to teach and inspire.  You can read more about her here.

Ukulele (and other) fun for the whole family!

August 18 – 24, 2012

at The Lair of the Golden Bear

Pinecrest, California

Motorhomes and walk-ins welcome!

Please visit the website for more information.

September 7, 8, & 9, 2012

If you’re planning on joining us, you should make your lodging arrangements as soon as possible.  It’s a very popular, and beautiful, ime of year here in the Napa Valley.

And don’t forget, registration closes February 14 for Camp Oo-Koo-Lay-Lay, August 18-24, the first ever, ukulele summer camp for the entire family, held in the beauiful Sierra Nevada.  It’s the most fun you’ll have with your ukulele on! Be sure to check out the website for more information. You can uke as much as want (or not at all) and enjoy everything this summer camp has to offer. . .including free babysitting and lots of other actities for the not-so-uke inclined. Remember, you must register by Feburary 14.  That’s firm……

www.CampOoKooLayLay.com

And last, but never least, there are still a few spaces left at Asilomar for the 2nd West Coast Ukulele Retreat, with an impressive line-up of instructors from across the country. If you haven’t visited that web page in awhile, you should pay another visit to see who and what we’ve added. If we’re out of rooms by the time you register, you can always come as a “walk-in,” but you risk missing half the (unscheduled) fun.

Hope to see you here or there……..

Six full days of ukulele fun and campfire merriment for less than $800 per person! (Special family rates are also available).

Register by January 31 to assure yourself a place in one of our uke-centric tent circles.  (Less “rustic” lodging and motor-home hook-ups are also available.)

Please visit the Camp Oo-Koo-Lay-Lay website for more information.

Registration is now open for the 2012 West Coast Ukulele Retreat to be held at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, May 16 – 20.

We’ve got another stunning line-up of instructors:

Andy Andrews, Mike DaSilva, Jim D’Ville,

Joel Eckhaus, Dave Egan, Fred Fallin,

Fred Sokolow, Gerald Ross and more. 

and three solid days of workshops that’ll knock your socks of!

Register by December 16 and get the early bird discount plus a special commemorative thank-you gift. 

Hope to see you there!

May 16 – 20, 2012

The return of the West Coast ‘Ukulele Retreat at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California. 

Bigger and better than last year, with some of our old friends in residence and a few new ones, plus, we hope, an exciting international contingent we’ll tell you more about later! Registration will open soon, so stay tuned.  And if you haven’t already subscribed to the retreat’s website, be sure to do that now so you stay abreast of all the latest developments.

August 18 – 24, 2012

Camp Oo-Koo-Lay-Lay, ukulele summer camp for the entire family, at Pine Crest in the central Sierra. 

 “Hello Muddah.  Hello Fadduh.” Join Jim D’Ville and a full cast of dedicated instructor/musicians, to make your week at ukulele summer camp everything you ever dreamed of and more.  There will be swimming and sailing and ukulele; boating and hiking and ‘ukulele; arts and crafts and ‘ukulele; camp fires and talent shows and ukulele. Bring the kids.  Better yet, bring the whole darn family. There will plenty to keep you busy with or without ukulele. Even if you don’t have a family to bring, come along by yourself and find one there. And, if you have small kids or grandchildren, bring them as well.  “Childcare” will be provided for the little ones as well as a plethora of activities for kids of all other ages…even teen agers! We will be posting more information about Camp Oo-Koo-Lay-Lay soon, so stay tuned.  But do save the dates.  There will only be a limited number of spaces available, and priority in future years will be given to returning campers.

September 7, 8, 9, 2012

The 5th annual Wine Country ‘Ukulele Festival.  Need we say more?

We’ve got a few more things up our sleeves, so stay tuned. In the meantime, stay safe, play well, sing loud, and enjoy the rest of the year.

In the mean time, here’s a little recap of this year’s festival, filmed and produced by Jim D’Ville, to hold you over.

We are looking for more videos and photographs of the weekend to post on this website, so if you have any, please let send ‘em along.

In the meantime, stay safe, stay tuned, and we’ll see you next year!