What to take to a Uke festival?..

oregonuke · Feb 17, 2016

I'll be attending the Reno Ukulele Festival in April. This will be my first time attending a uke fest and I'm curious as to what suggestions experienced attendees have regarding things to bring. Specifically, I'm interested in how people deal with handouts that have chords or tabs for a workshop. Use a clothespin or tape to affix it to a chair in front of you? I'm sure somebody has (or has seen) a clever way to deal with this.

Nickie · Feb 17, 2016

I carry a lightweight music stand. Sometimes though, there's barely any room for it. I pin worksheets to it with a clothespin.

spookelele · Feb 17, 2016

maybe blue tack?

Ukulele Eddie · Feb 17, 2016

You can use a clothes hanger on the chair back in front of you and clothes pins to attach the handout to the hanger.

SailingUke · Feb 17, 2016

Doug has the handouts posted to his web site for download. I load mine to my iPad.

Tootler · Feb 17, 2016

I use a table top music stand. Another alternative is a cookery book stand. I've used those as well.

Nickie · Feb 18, 2016

Someday some geeky clown will find a way to put it up on the back of everyone's head so the person behind can see it.

oregonuke · Feb 18, 2016

Thanks for the ideas. With information given here and some other discussions it appears that there isn't any one method that works best, particularly since there is not necessary any commonality among venues. Think I'll just go and be prepared to wing it. Thanks again for the replies.

RonT · Feb 18, 2016

I made a few of these, a ~2" x 6" piece of foam insulation, a tab on a file card and I'm strummin'.
Cheers,
R

Booli · Feb 19, 2016

RonT said:
I made a few of these, a ~2" x 6" piece of foam insulation, a tab on a file card and I'm strummin'.
Cheers,
R

Ron, that's a great idea! Easy enough to build. I'm going to try that.

I saw this a while back and thought it would be great to use when out and about and a full music stand was either unavailable or inconvenient:

For sale at Elderly, and link below:

Elderly.com said:
Kani Ka Pila Klip $8.99

Say "goodbye" to clumsy music stands, clothespins, and whatever you use to hold your music in place. With 2 sturdy knuckle-joints, a 2-inch-long extension bar, and a coated clip that expands more than one inch, the Kani Ka Pila Klip attaches easily to the headstock of most ukuleles and guitars to hold music, song lists, or chord charts. Weighs less than one ounce and folds down to less than 4" square. The soft surface helps protect even the finest finish. Any material may interact with your finish, however, so we recommend it be removed regularly. Boxed, in a black velour bag.

http://www.elderly.com/kani-ka-pila-klip.htm

KohanMike · Feb 19, 2016

I had a Kani Ka Pila Klip but you have to be careful with it, I snapped one of the ball socket stems when trying to position it on my uke.

When I go to a uke festival and attend seminars, I always use a double tenor gig bag, one compartment holds the uke, the other holds my music stand.

ralphk · Feb 19, 2016

That double bag approach is really good.

EmmaQ · Feb 20, 2016

Here's a totally new suggestion for what to bring to the Reno UkeFest- your own lunch. I've been to this Fest and I've enjoyed it a lot! However, I was not particularly impressed with the one cafe I ate at in the casino. It was designed to be quick- roll your tray down the counter and tell the server what kind of sandwich you wanted. There was a long line and I found it rather frantic and expensive. I do know there are other restaurants in the casino so perhaps I just picked the wrong one. This year though I plan to take my own simple, but tasty, lunch and eat it in a leisurely way somewhere in the main area. After a couple of great workshops, a quiet break is a welcome addition to a busy day.

oregonuke · Feb 20, 2016

Great idea EmmaQ. I've stayed at the Nugget several times so am familiar with the restaurants there. I have had some good food in a couple of them but the cost and time can be a factor. Good idea to pack a lunch and mingle with the uke crowd. Also encouraging to hear you enjoyed the Reno UkeFest. I'm usually not too keen on large crowd functions but am hopeful that the power of the ukulele will prevail and make it a positive and joyful experience.

Tootler · Feb 21, 2016

I've just come home from a uking weekend. The table where I was sat got very cluttered and I ended up with both workshop h/o's and song sheets resting on my leg. Not ideal but needs must.

The big strum was OK as the song book had been emailed out beforehand so I had it on my iPad and was able to stand that on the table. Others could share it too if they wished.

Rllink · Feb 21, 2016

The few ukulele festivals that I've been to, the instructors in the workshops projected their presentations on a screen, and people could follow along. Otherwise, I'm much like Tootler, I just find some place to put my music where I can see it. That might be on a table, on an empty chair, or on my knee. When it comes to open mic, they usually have everything you need, and more, already set up. But I've seen all sorts of setups, some clever, and some not so much. Sometimes it is quite entertaining, just to see what people drag along with them.

dandbtucker · Mar 26, 2017

Hi Oregonuku....

There is also a In-n-Out Burger just across the street from the Nugget. Fast, cheap and yummy.

ukulelekarcsi · Mar 26, 2017

Southerners say there's nothing you can't do with a roll of duct tape...

acmespaceship · Mar 26, 2017

ukulelekarcsi said:
Southerners say there's nothing you can't do with a roll of duct tape...

True that. Wrap a pencil with a few feet of duct tape. Then wrap a few feet of masking tape next to the duct tape. Keep this Emergency Pencil in your gigbag along with your uke, tuner and car keys. Now you have everything you need. I hate lugging a lot of stuff around at festivals.

A bit of masking tape (duct tape not recommended) will stick lead sheets to the back of the chair (or person) in front of you. Might ask permission first.

Martinlover · Mar 26, 2017

Do people take more than one uku to these festivals? I brought a Martin soprano (high G) and a Martin tenor (low G) to a Lil Rev workshop but it was in someone's home with a small group so I knew no one was going to walk off with anything. I am going to my first big uku fest in a few months and am thinking I should just take my Blackbird concert only. It can take the heat and humidity where I'm going and I'm not so afraid of dinging it.

What to take to a Uke festival?..

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