Visit the Napa Ukulele Festival

The Napa Ukulele Festival is a yearly event held just north of California’s Bay Area. This region, of course, is famous for its fine wines and there are plenty available during this festival. There are usually wine-tasting events that coincide with the Ukulele Festival. While this event has, in fact, plenty of fun things to do and see, it is also a great place to visit if you’re among those who take your ukulele seriously. In addition to the performances and other attractions, it’s a great place to find a good instrument, new or used.

The Napa Ukulele Festival, like festivals for other instruments, allows those with a passion for what they play to network. This, of course, facilitates further learning and, if you’re trying to take up this instrument professionally, you can learn a lot about what it can do by attending the many performances given at the festival. There are live performances by concert-style players, Luaus and Hula parties held at the festival. These are usually held at wineries, so good spirits generally abound at these events. Performers include nationally-known names and traditional players from Hawaii.

The Napa Valley College is also a popular staging ground for various events during this festival. There are plenty of exhibitors, including luthiers and others who supply instruments and accessories. If you’re looking for a good ukulele, this is a good place to shop. In addition to the number of selections available, you’ll have no shortage of expert players of whom you can ask advice. There are also a lot of booths and table set up, and events hosted, that give information about the culture of the Hawaiian Islands and the evolution of the ukulele as an instrument and how the creation of Portuguese instrument-makers came to be so firmly associated with the Hawaiian Islands.

There are plenty of standard souvenirs at the Napa Ukulele Festival, as well. Networking with other players is also facilitated by the booths and the various events. You may even be able to find an instructor at this event, if you’re looking to improve your abilities on the instrument. Expect to see every kind of instrument under the sun, including all the concert voices, plus a lot of interesting novelty instruments that are displayed for good fun. There is also a movie festival dedicated to ukulele films, a fun thing to do after dark!