STAY TUNED HERE

A Big Thanks to Troll Music

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:27:53 -0400

We’d like to extend our thanks to Troll Music on E. Venice Avenue in Venice for providing us consulting and sound system support for the Suncoast Ukulelefest. Troll is our number one first choice for any musical performance equipment and advice. Ask for Mark or Nick.

Please visit Troll for Kala ukuleles and Aquila strings, for ukulele instructional materials and songbooks, and for expert assistance in anything you might need in order to put together a fantastic performance, no matter what the venue. We could not have done this ukulele festival without the generosity and support of Troll Music, so we thank them very much and wish them a very happy 20th anniversary.

John King, 1953-2009

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 13:53:51 -0400

KING, John 55, died April 3, 2009. A well-known teacher, musician & long-time resident of St. Petersburg, he is survived by his wife Debi, daughters Amy, Katie & Emma, mother Dolores, and brother Paul. John was attracted to classical guitar, was taught by Pepe Romero, and became an accomplished performer. He taught guitar at Eckerd College, was a published composer, & Assoc. Editor of Soundboard. John's early years in Hawaii initiated a lifelong love of the ukulele, to which he applied his knowledge of classical guitar technique, becoming one of the world's foremost virtuosos, featured on NPR. John was an authority on early makers of the ukulele, which led him to study the machete, its' ancestor. He performed music from rare manuscripts from San Francisco to Lisbon. A Funeral mass will be at St. Paul's Catholic Church 1800 12 St N., Monday, April 6 at 10 am.

More soon from us...it’s just too hard to write anything right now. John was a special friend and was loved by many. We hope you will take a minute to remember John.

what’s so special about nokomis and VENICE?

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:43:39 -0400

When most people hear the names of these Florida towns, they almost invariably say, “Where? Never heard of them.” That’s because these two towns, nestled about 18 miles south of Sarasota on the west coast of Florida, are still fairly well-kept secrets.

The island that Nokomis Beach is on is called Casey Key, and it’s the winter home of writer Stephen King and tennis great Martina Navratilova. It’s five miles are lined with beautiful homes and the south end is still an enclave of charming vacation rental apartments, as well as several of the country’s most beautiful public beaches.

While Casey Key, like most Florida waterfront properties, is a winter refuge for the wealthy, the town of Nokomis just east of the key is a charming community undergoing revitalization, and is home to a growing creative community who appreciates its unhurried and largely unspoiled “old Florida” ambience.

The island of Venice is a lovely and still somewhat sleepy planned community built in the 1920s, with a thriving vintage downtown filled with boutiques, gift and antiques shops, restaurants, a farmer’s market, and consignment stores. The beaches are a mile from the downtown area, and if you go to the Venice pier near the Airport (visit Sharky’s restaurant while you’re at it), you can look for prehistoric shark’s teeth on the beach, as Venice is the Shark’s tooth capital of the world. If you’re interested in going back in time, Venice island is what Sarasota looked and felt like in the 1950s.

Introducing Online Registration

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:44:48 -0400

It’s cause for celebration—we’ve made it even easier to register for the Suncoast Ukulele Festival. Just go to our REGISTRATION page and sign up for workshops, house concerts, raffles or donations. Pay via PAYPAL and your receipt is your ticket to the festival.

Also, we’ve opened up the raffles to our online audience. If you’d like to take a chance on some Tommy Bahama shirts or a nice tenor ukulele, check out our raffles and enter often!
 If you’re feeling particularly magnanimous, we’d love it if you’d contribute a modest donation to our festival to cover some of our direct costs and support our efforts. Every donor over $25 will receive a free gift from us to you.

The Barnkickers CD Release

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:07:49 -0400

The Barnkickers (Steve and Amanda Boisen) have just released their debut CD, and it’s a doozie, with original songs by both Steve and Amanda. Featuring Steve on acoustic bass, ukulele and vocals, and Amanda on ukulele, clarinet, vocals—and poppy seed bagel.

The Barnkickers’ CD is available on CD Baby, where you can listen to track samples, and Steve will bring copies for sale at our Saturday Ukulelefest at the beach.

You can hear Steve playing bass accompanying Sazerac at the Venice Island Concert in the Park on Friday night (Amanda had to fly back to school). Admission is free (but bring lawn chairs and some tip money for the hat!)

Raffle Update

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:45:05 -0400

Raffle News! We’re offering three different raffles for the Festival. First is the Vineyard Tenor Ukulele raffle benefiting The American Asperger’s Association, which we’ve already covered in a previous blog entry. The second will be the Tommy Bahama Aloha Shirt raffle, where you could win one of two outrageously cool silk Tommy Bahama mens’ shirts, both size large. The third raffle consists of local merchants’ gift certificates and various donated items (this raffle is only available at the beach). For this raffle, we’ve received gift certificates for Captain Eddie’s Seafood Restaurant and for the Beach Shop on Holmes Beach, and Nifty Nik Naks on W. Venice Island donated several packs of cool vintage-style Florida postcards.

People who can’t make it to the event can still enter the raffles for the shirts and the tenor ukulele. Just visit our REGISTRATION page and look under the “Raffles” category.

We’ve also had some requests for a place to send donations, so we’ve set up a category for this on the REGISTRATION page as well if you’d like to help support our festival.

Nature Walks during the Festival

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:16:37 -0400

If you’re in town for the festival and looking for some other things to do in between ukulele activities, here is some information on nature walks conducted by Sarasota County:
A Guided Walk Full of Beautiful River Vistas At Sleeping Turtles Preserve North
Lee Ann Harling, Sarasota County volunteer and certified Florida naturalist, will lead a nature walk from 9 -11 a.m., Thursday, April 9, 2009 on the Sleeping Turtles Preserve North. Lee Ann will lead hikers through the varied landscape of the preserve adjacent to the Myakka River, presenting some history of the site and information about the local animal and plants. Visitors will pause to appreciate several beautiful river vistas along the way.
This preserve is one of many that are available to the public through the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program. In addition to the numerous subtropical plants, visitors may observe eagles or osprey hunting over the river corridor.
Space for this walk is limited to 20. Participants should bring a light jacket, wear comfortable walking shoes, a hat, sun screen, insect repellent, drinking water, binoculars (optional), camera and hand lens (optional).
Participants can reach the Sleeping Turtles Preserve North from northbound I-75, take exit 193 and turn right. From southbound I-75 take exit 193 and turn left. Proceed north 1/2 mile on Jacaranda Blvd. to the stop sign and turn right onto Border Road. Proceed approximately 3 miles east on Border Road to the bridge over the Myakka River. As you approach the bridge, the Sleeping Turtles Preserve parking lot will be on the left (north side), immediately before the bridge.
For NEW on-line registration go to www.scgov.net. Click Calendar of Events on the left. Click the 'All Events' drop down list and choose 'Nature Walks' and click 'go'. On the bottom of each nature walk is an area that states 'Click here for registration.'
If you are having problems with on-line registration, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000 and ask for Natural Resources.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spring singles nature walk at Red Bug Slough Preserve
Sarasota County is offering a free Spring Singles nature walk at Red Bug Slough Preserve in Sarasota from 9-11 a.m., Friday, April 10th. Sarasota County Environmental Specialist Jeff Weber will lead participants through shady oak hammocks and pine flatwoods as we surround ourselves with the sights and sounds of Spring in southwest Florida. Come enjoy the company of others who share an appreciation of nature and make a few new friends along the way!
Red Bug Slough Preserve is one of many natural areas available through the county’s environmental lands program. In addition to a wide variety of native plant species, the preserve also provides habitat for river otters, bobcats and various species of wading birds.
Participants should wear long pants, comfortable walking shoes, and bring a hat, sun screen, insect repellent, drinking water, binoculars (optional), camera and hand lens (optional).
To reach Red Bug Slough Preserve, take I -75 to Exit 205 (S.R. 72 or Clark Road). Go west on Clark Road to Beneva Road and turn right onto Beneva. Continue north about ½ mile to the preserve entrance and parking area on the left at 5200 North Beneva Road.
For NEW on-line registration go to www.scgov.net. Click Calendar of Events on the left. Click the 'All Events' drop down list, choose 'Nature Walks' and click 'go'. On the bottom of each nature walk is an area that states 'Click here for registration.' Space for this walk is limited to 20.
If you are having problems with on-line registration, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000 and ask for Natural Resources.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Birding for Beginners on the South Venice Lemon Bay Preserve
What bird is that? Join enthusiastic birder, Sarasota County Natural Resources Environmental Specialist Nancy Edmondson on Saturday, April 11, 2009, 7:30 am -10 am at South Venice Lemon Bay Preserve to answer that query and more. From head to toe or (bill to tail) learn basic clues and investigative tips for finding and identifying birds in the wild or in your garden. Binoculars are a must to bring!
The preserve is one of many lands that are available through Sarasota County’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program. The preserve is home to numerous subtropical plants, as well as gopher tortoise, Florida scrub-jay, alligator and river otter.
Space for this trip is limited to 12 (for an optimal birding experience!). Participants should bring binoculars, sun screen, insect repellent, drinking water and camera (optional), wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat.
Participants can reach South Venice Lemon Bay Preserve by taking I -75 to Exit 193 (Jacaranda Boulevard. Turn left (south) onto Englewood Road (AKA SR776).
From State Road 776 (AKA Englewood Rd) turn West on Manasota Beach Rd. Continue about a mile until the road curves left. At the curve turn right onto Belvidere. Next turn right onto Pheasant, then left (west) onto Macon and take a left (south) on Osprey. Park along the road shoulder.
For NEW on-line registration go to www.scgov.net. Click Calendar of Events on the left. Click the 'All Events' drop down list and choose 'Nature Walks' and click 'go'. On the bottom of each nature walk is an area that states 'Click here for registration.'
If you are having problems with on-line registration, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 941-861-5000 and ask for Natural Resources.

UKULELE RAFFLE at the Festival

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:46:17 -0500

Get your raffle tickets to win a cutaway Vineyard tenor ukulele with a built-in Shadow electric pickup/preamp. This ukulele has a solid spruce top, mahogany backs and sides, geared tuners and a case. It has a rosewood fretboard and bridge and nice low action for easy playing. This is a gently used instrument in excellent+ condition. Vineyard was the precursor to Ohana (made in the same factory) and the quality is the same.

Tickets are just $2 apiece. Proceeds from this raffle benefit the American Asperger’s Association.

Purchase raffle tickets online or in person on Saturday, April 11 at the Suncoast Ukulele Festival on Nokomis Beach. If you can’t attend but still want to enter the raffle, we’ll be happy to take your raffle bid on our REGISTRATION page and put entries in the hat for you.

You need not be present to win. We will ship the ukulele free to any US address (outside the US you would need to pay for shipping).