The ubiquitous ukulele takes center stage this weekend at the 16th annual Great Waikoloa Ukulele Festival in South Kohala.
Picking a few notes and strumming a few chords, ukulele teacher Roy Sakuma and wife, Kathy, will kickoff Saturday with a free workshop at 10:30 a.m. The workshop draws participants from the Big Island and beyond each year and is open to all ages whether novice or advanced.
Last year’s event drew almost 200 people said Margo Bunnell, sales and operations manager at Waikoloa Resort, which is sponsoring the event in partnership with nonprofit Ukulele Festival Hawaii. They expect more attendees this year and the workshop is moving outdoors to the Queens’ MarketPlace Coronation Pavilion.
“What’s so amazing for my wife and I is to see the joy it brings to the people who come to the workshop. They just walk out so happy and a lot of them are first timers,” said Roy Sakuma. “It’s free. It touches peoples lives in so many different ways, and then to culminate the whole day they join my wife and I and perform on stage. We always encourage the attendees to join us on stage. We tell them it’s not about being perfect and they do come.”
Attendees are encouraged to bring beach chairs and blankets and their own ukulele because there are just a few ukulele that can be borrowed, Bunnell said. “If they don’t have a ukulele, they can still watch and play,” she added.
The ukulele traces its origins to Portuguese immigrants who arrived in Hawaii during the late 1800s. The ukulele, when translated means “jumping flea.” The name is believed to have been drawn from the quick picking and strumming of the instrument’s strings.
The small four-stringed guitar was named the state instrument by the state Legislature in 2015.
A celebration of Hawaii’s favorite instrument and music, the Great Waikoloa Ukulele Festival features a lengthy lineup of entertainment that spans three stages at Waikoloa Beach Resort. Emcees are Kapa-Darde Gamayo aka “Tita Nui,” Ms. Holly K., and former disc jockey (DJ) Orozco.
Live entertainment begins at 11:15 a.m. with Brian Vasquez, a ukulele master known for his take on rock and roll. Also highlighting the lineup on three different stages are Alii Keanaaina, a falsetto singer/songwriter who recently released his latest album, “Music and Me;” Roy Sakuma and Friends; renowned vocalist Paula Fuga; and Taimane, an Oahu native who’s played ukulele since age 5, among others. (See the full lineup below).
Two groups are also traveling from Japan to take part in the event. Uku Slatah will take the stage at 2 p.m. at the Queens’ MarketPlace Island Gourmet Markets Stage. Ukulele Pilialoha follows at 2:30 p.m.
Another group making the trek to the festival is the East Anchorage High School’s ukulele group, Thunderbirds Ukulele, which is traveling from Alaska to perform, Bunnell said. Thunderbirds Ukulele will perform at noon at the Queens’ MarketPlace Coronation Pavilion and at 4 p.m. at Kings’ Shops Center Stage.
“There’s something for everyone whether you want to listen to just the beauty of the ukulele or the voices of the great singers or to see children play together,” Roy Sakuma said. “And you know, we’re giving away 12 ukuleles — anybody can enter and if I pull your name that person goes home with an ukulele. The grand daddy is a $1,200 Kamaka ukulele at 6 p.m.”
Roy and wife Kathy Sakuma created the first Ukulele Festival in 1971, while Roy was a maintenance worker for the City and County of Honolulu. Today, their efforts have grown into a series of events on four islands, with more than 20,000 participants. They established the Waikoloa festival in 2001.
“When we started (the ukulele) was lost. In 1976, someone asked me, ‘do you think this could become international?’ And I said, ‘yes,’” Roy Sakuma recalled. “And to see it through the years become international and to see how the ukulele has touched the lives of not just the people of Hawaii but also the people throughout the world is like a dream come true for me.”
More info: 886-8822 www.waikoloabeachresort.net. ■
Great Waikoloa Ukulele Festival Entertainment lineup
Kings’ Shops Center Stage
– 11:15 a.m.: Brian Vasquez
– Noon: Duke Tatom
– 1 p.m.: Kris Fuchigami
– 2 p.m.: Roy Sakuma with Nelly Toyama-Badura, Daniel Baduria and Nick Acosta
– 3 p.m.: Ohta-San & Nando SUan
– 4 p.m.: East Anchorage High School “Thunderbirds Ukulele”
Queens’ MarketPlace Coronation Pavilion
– Noon: East Anchorage High School “Thunderbirds Ukulele”
– 1 p.m.: Alii Keanaaina
– 2 p.m.: Brittni Paiva
– 3 p.m.: Paula Fuga
– 4 p.m.: Roy Sakuma with Nelly Toyama-Badura, Daniel Baduria and Nick Acosta
– 5 p.m.: Ohta-san and Nando Suan
– 6 p.m.: Taimane
Queens’ MarketPlace Island Gourmet Markets Stage
– 1 p.m.: Brian Vasquez
– 2 p.m.: Uku Slatah
– 2:30 p.m.: Ukulele Pilialoha
– 3 p.m.: Kris Fuchigami
