This was a great event and it was a pleasure to meet you Quiltingshirley (and your husband Bill).
For those who might be interested, what is unique about this camp is two intensive days of instruction with two instructors vs. many different instructors for short classes. This year, we had Lil' Rev and Fred Sokolow. Funny side note: it turns out Fred lives walking distance from me (and, sadly for him, likely just landed a gig as my new uke teacher) and Lil' Rev lives walking distance from my folks' in Milwaukee. What are the chances of that?
My wife accompanied me with the intent of enjoying two days of relaxing and reading in the mountains and then -- shockingly to me -- decided "on-the-spot" to do the beginner track taught by "Kona Don." He did amazing things with the beginners, some of whom had never even seen a ukulele. I couldn't believe she did it and was worried she would hate the uke after the weekend as she does not typically like total immersion in any topic. Much to my disbelief, when I made my way back to the cabin after my session completed the first day, not only was she not stomping my uke she used (thankfully!!), she was actually practicing after her class finished for the day.
When I was talking to our "6 2/3" (she likes fractions) year old daughter on the phone at the end of the first day, I told her mommy decided to do the class and I thought she would quickly be better than me. She responded, "Well, you know, Dad, Mom and I learn quickly and you, well, you have to work really hard at things." While my initial instinct was to ground her for three years, I decided to use it for a teaching moment. I took a deep breath and replied calmly, "You're right, Sweetie. Sometimes people have to work extra hard to get good at something."
The camp takes place at 7,500 foot in the mountains. While the lodging is rather rustic bunk beds and all, the food was quite good and the overall experience was topnotch. There were about 70 participants this year. This isn't an event where you'll see many vendors or performers like Reno (another event put on by the Play Uke team of Doug, Melinda and Ed), but it is a much more immersive yet low key event. If that's of interest, keep an eye out for next year's camp.
Regards, Eddie