Ukulele Tonya

(Read first for guilt-laden disclaimer: Yes, I know it’s been more than a few weeks since the trip this entry is about, but in between times I’ve been really busy. Really. So, here’s the first part of our ukulele-centric trip to Hawaii. The second section, which is about our time on the Big Island, will follow soon. Really. Oh, and if you just want to skip to the photo gallery for this entry—with lots more pictures than I had room for on this page—click here.)

While the rest of the world was (endlessly!) discussing voting on Election Day, Mark and I were winging our way west from Sacramento Airport to the islands of Hawaii. First stop, Oahu—home of Waikiki’s famed beach and a more-than-lively music scene populated by a wealth of talented–and friendly–performers.

After more than five hours of jet time (we fly coach, folks; if you’re a first class passenger, your experience may vary), I always disembark feeling as if I’ve spent a bit of time as a dryer sheet, bouncing around in a noisy metal drum. Yet arriving at the terminal in Honolulu Airport, I’m immediately energized by the variety of people (with the US economy as it is right now, the Asian tourists totally outnumber anyone else), the balmy breeze and the fragrances of the flowering trees planted in the gardens throughout this mainly-outdoors airport.

A quick trip downstairs for luggage, a hike (no sidewalk during an airport reconstruction so we hoofed it across a bit of a planted area and two lanes of traffic) across the street to the lei stands and then off to Avis to see what the rental car gods have blessed us with this trip—a serviceable and non-impressive Subaru-something-or-other four-door (in grey, no less).

Mark and I have only been to Oahu for one night in the past (usually we just pass through Honolulu on our way to a neighbor island), so we’d decided this Hawaii vacation would feature a bit of time on the island that most folks recognize at “the” Hawaii of the oft-imagined tropical dream vacation. We booked ourselves into a one-bedroom unit at the Wyndham Waikiki Beach Walk. We’re not timeshare members with RCI (heck, we’re not timeshare members with anyone), but rented the rooms through a third party. Good decision! While not on the beach (we’d have plenty of that on the Island of Hawaii in the next two weeks), the WWBW is close to everything as well as immaculate and roomy. Destiny checked us in (she’s so lovely and equally sweet–and she plays ukulele left-handed, I found out later). Our room, on the eighth floor, even had a view of Diamond Head, seen over the cotton candy pink spires of the Royal Hawaiian.

Although we were tired, we weren’t too weary to drop off our luggage and head to the beach to re-introduce our toes to the sand and salty sea. Coming back I noted a quartet of folks clutching inexpensive ukuleles downstairs as they participated in a “free ukulele lesson” conducted by resort personnel. Quick as a flea, I bounced up the elevator to the eighth floor, grabbed my LoPrinzi and inserted myself into the group. Even joining in a beginner class is a joy for me—and, heck, this was Waikiki so the delight was multiplied as I sat in the balmy air, strumming happily.

Sunset that night was at 5:53 pm and we’d planned to enjoy it at the Halekulani’s outdoor bar on Waikiki Beach, House without a Key (thanks to the sterling recommendation from Gerald Ross). A few ukulele friends from past festivals had been on Moloka’i the week before for Kimo Hussey’s multi-day workshop and I knew they’d be in Honolulu on that evening so we’d arranged to meet at the Halekulani for pupus, drinks, Hawaiian music and hula. Mark and I took a front-row table and soon were joined by Tim and Steve (I met both at the Windy City Uke Fest), Kay (who was the Moloka’i roommate of my friend, Kathy, from WCUF) and Cindy (whom I’d met at the Portland Uke Fest). For me, playing ukulele has meant I find friends almost wherever I travel…and they’re all nice people!

Playing that night was Greg Sardinha and his trio, Po’okela. Greg’s open smile and warm personality blended with a wonderful stage presence and awesome playing; I knew there was no exaggeration when Gerald had called him “one of the best” steel guitar players. And, he also played ukulele for a couple of numbers!

Added in to the top-notch Hawaiian music and the cerise ribbon of a tropical sunset was the delightful dancing of Kanoe Miller, a former “Miss Hawaii” whose lovely auana hula dancing interpretation has earned her the distinction of dancing six nights out of seven at the Halekulani for the past 22 years! When Kanoe dances it’s as if she’s sharing the story, the song and her vision of Hawaii with you personally. Heck, you hardly even notice the bar tab for the $12 drinks… If you can’t afford the drinks (or, for that matter, the airfare to Honolulu), the next best thing is Kanoe’s DVD.

Kamaka Ukulele

The next morning found Mark and I at Kamaka Ukulele for the 10:30 tour led by Uncle Fred Kamaka. A handful of us (from San Diego to Australia) crowded into Kamaka’s  front office which looks like it houses all the “business” functions of the company in addition to what has become a museum on Oahu, albeit one singularly devoted to the ukulele.

At 87 years, Fred Kamaka is lively, full of talk-story and possessing of a strong voice which carries well over the sound of the various machines in the manufacturing building—no matter how loud the sander or cutter or whatever was, Uncle Fred’s voice boomed over the noise to tell us exactly what was happening in that particular step of ukulele creation. His sparkling eyes kept tabs on each of us tour group members, making sure we stayed out of the way of sharp objects and chunks of koa wood that would trip an unsuspecting visitor.

While his tour was informative (for more factory photos, click here), the Kamaka visit got even better when Bryan Tolentino gestured us over to Casey Kamaka’s workbench to see the custom projects that Casey is applying his expertise and craft to. Bryan, who was headed out to Japan the next day for a short tour with Weldon Kekauoha, had arranged with us to meet at Kamaka Ukulele at the tour’s end. As the others in the tour group headed out, Bryan and Casey shared a variety of astounding custom work.

While “factory made” Kamakas  have set the Hawaiian ukulele standard for generations, the custom projects evolving under Casey’s hands are far and beyond the normal high standards. We saw a new instrument for Taimane Gardner (‘couldn’t miss it with her name on the fretboard) and then Bryan out an instrument I’d only heard tell of—one of the much-sought-after Jake Shimabukuro special editions. And I got to hold it! Yep, they really do exist—and they’re lovely. That’s me and Casey, in the picture at left, with one of the Jake signature models.

Only 100 of these custom instruments are being made by Kamaka (Casey’s in charge of the production) and while several have been delivered to their more-than-happy new owners, there are still many more in the works. Casey, who also flies inter-island as a pilot with Hawaiian Air, is diligently tackling finishing the Jake project, wedged in between his other custom work. While he never stopped smiling at our pleasure with the great instruments he’s producing, I could tell Casey is a serious guy when it comes to turning out exceptional ukulele (Bryan’s comment: “He’s a perfectionist—-and that’s why they take so long. But the end result is worth it.”).

After more pictures, Mark and I headed out the doors of Kamaka and Bryan took time to pose for a few photos with me outside. Bryan is my absolutely favorite ukulele player to listen to; realizing that I wouldn’t be able to hear him play in Hawaii on his own turf (or sand, as it were), was probably the only sad part about this trip. But, he was kind enough to call Jody Kamisato before he left to set up a private lesson for me at Jody’s ukulele studio, Ukulele Hale. So I was off to the hills of Honolulu to learn…

Jody Kamisato and Ukulele Hale

Before I could do any learning, however, I got lost. Grrr…I love circling streets in an unknown community looking for seemingly non-existent address numbers—oh wait, I don’t like that at all…By the time I found myself in the cool and quiet studio of Ukulele Hale, I was more than a bit agitated, quite warmish and feeling guilty at being late to my appointment. No fear—Jody quietly listened, brought me an ice-cold bottle of water and talked story until I was able to settle down and we started playing. I have Jody’s teaching DVD and it’s a priceless resource for Hawaiian-style playing; but of course having him teach me in person was even better than pushing the “pause/play” button repeatedly.

What I especially enjoyed in Jody is his heartfelt commitment to sharing with so many people how to learn to play the ukulele. I’ve always felt that way about teaching folks the ukulele: that learning to play this very special instrument can open up so many possibilities for people. Seeing Jody and his staff make that come to life through his ukulele studio cemented in me an incredible admiration for this humble guy.

And, on the way back to the condo after my lesson with Jody, I stopped in for a bag of warm malasadas from Leonards. What? You haven’t ever tried a malasada? Forget the standard description of “just a Portuguese donut.” Ha—a well-made malasada is so much more than that. It’s three bites of light, puffy dough that caresses your taste buds; it’s not overly sweet, but each one, I’m sure, packs hundreds of calories, so I only had two…plus one more that evening. Not that I wouldn’t have had more if the bag wasn’t already empty…

Ukuleles at Waikiki-area shops

Hundreds of tourists clogged Kalakaua Avenue’s sidewalks in the heart of Waikiki, but I was more drawn to ukulele shops than the abundant upscale clothing stores and jewelry emporiums. I first visited Bob’s Ukulele (at the Royal Hawaiian Center—there’s another one at the Waikiki Beach Marriott).  Lots of ukulele brands here, including G String, Kelii, Kamaka, Koaloha, Lahaina and Lanikai. On two visits, I found two different gentlemen there selling; ‘not sure which one was Bob, but all were friendly and more than willing to let me play any instrument in the shop. So I did! I’m looking for a pretty special island-made tenor and, while there were lots of ukuleles at Bob’s, I didn’t discover my special one.

Walking toward Diamond Head several blocks, I reached the Pacific Beach Hotel, the location for Ukulele Puapua. I’ve purchased learning materials from this shop online and it was fun to see the store with its dozens and dozens of ukuleles. This shop seems to market in Waikiki primarily to the Japanese tourist population and there were a lot of high-end and custom instruments available lining the walls. Again, I tried all that interested me, but didn’t find that one special tenor… But, gosh, there aren’t many ukulele stores located a few steps from a tropical beach.

Heading Ewa down Kalakaua Avenue, I ended up back at the new upscale retail area, the Waikiki Beach Walk. Here I went up the elevator to Mana Hawaii: Spirit of Hawaii Nei. This store features art and crafts produced in Hawaii—including hula implements, novels, history books, woodwork and ukuleles! They were offering a free ukulele lesson that day and I watched as the instructor guided the students through their first chords. She offered a different approach than I’d seen: she taught C as the “big brother” with C7 as the “little brother” and the F as the other member of the family. Each chord has its own family, she instructed, and it’s important to learn to play all the chords in that family together…Hmmm…

Guess who I met at the Honolulu Airport?

Friday morning meant packing our suitcases, turning in the rental car (we only drove it 36 miles!) and heading to the Island of Hawaii (aka “The Big Island”). Going through security in the Honolulu Airport, I heard a distinctive voice behind me as we headed to the “take your shoes off” stage. I looked back—was it really Willie K? It looked like him and certainly sounded like his voice on the “Amy and Willie Live” CD I listen to while working out (it’s a fun one to lift weights to). The TSA folks seemed to know him and referred to him as “Uncle Willie,” so I knew my hunch was right.

That began my dilemma. Should I just quietly ignore him—or should I do the stupid, “I’m a fan” thing and strike up a conversation? Okay, I’ll admit I knew what I should do, but, golly, he seems so friendly on his CD and I had traveled four hours roundtrip once to see him play in Sacramento, so I justified my behavior and approached him with a big smile (after he’d slid back into his rubbah slippahs out of security) and a few admittedly lame compliments on his playing (I was too muddle-headed to think of anything clever). He was carrying an ukulele case and I pointed to the one I carried as well. We talked ukulele very briefly (he said he’s currently working on using the ukulele to approach classical music) and after an exchange of business cards he agreed to pose for a photo—even going so far as to pull out his ukulele and pose us in front of a “Hawaiian Air” sign so there was no doubt where we were. He strummed a few chords, smiled and Mark snapped the picture. Then he was on his way. Wow—what a fun ending to our short stay in Waikiki!

Now it’s on to the Big Island…

Since I have to work in an office for my living (gee, where’s my fairy godmother to give me money-making ukulele talent instead?), I’m happy that one of the main tools I use is a Macintosh. It provides an interface that gets out of the way so I can get my writing and design work done without having to worry about the computer’s operating system.

We’ve been a Mac office since 1986 (I know, that’s before lots of you were even born!) and one of the side benefits of running a Mac for so many years is our long-standing tradition of attending the annual MacWorld Expo held each year in San Francisco.

While Mark and I started attending in 1988 (believe me, it was a much different expo back then), for the past decade or so, my dad and I have made MacWorld Expo an after-holiday date. Dad flies to Sacramento, I pick him up and we travel in my trusty 1987 Mazda 626 (36 mpg!) to San Francisco, where we take in the show and some great dining.

Son, Matt (who is an Apple service technician and sales manager at BitVision), joined up with us at our hotel near Fisherman’s Wharf and we rode the iconic F Train streetcars (photo above by Matt Dale), hopping off at the nearest stop to Moscone Center. These cars originally operated all over the US and even in Italy; today they’ll get you from Fisherman’s Wharf and all the way down Market toward Castro for a meager $1.50. It’s a bargain—and a delightful experience to boot!

Inside the hall were hundreds of vendors selling all things Macintosh. Yet there was not one ukulele-centric product in the whole Moscone Center—but my sore feet can assure you that I looked on both sides of every aisle!

If only I was an ocarina enthusiast instead of a fan of our favorite four-string instrument, I’d have hit the jackpot with Ocarina, a program by Smule that transforms your phone into, yes, an ocarina. You blow into the phone’s microphone at one end of the iPhone, finger the appropriate on-screen “holes” and the sounds of an ocarina come out. Really.

Folks wandered by the Smule booth, laughing and shaking their heads with smiles as the sounds of “Hey, Jude” played out from an iPhone. It’s an admittedly cool program, but it’s not an ukulele, so I kept walking.

At last year’s MacWorld Expo, I’d already met up with ukulele player and Mac enthusiast/writer Andy Ihnatko—so I thought I’d give him a break this year and not crash his book signing session at Wiley Publishing’s booth. Frankly, I think last year he was more than puzzled to find the first question thrown at him about ukuleles, not computers…and I didn’t feel a need to repeat the scene.

So I wandered.

By the second afternoon, I’d given up on finding ukulele-related items and satisfied myself with a search for the perfect case for my iPod Touch. Dad and I had perused both halls of the expo and we were doing our final pass through to make sure we had no more urges to decimate our Visa cards on software and geeky gadgets.

I was eying the Lynda.com software training booth guiltily (thinking I really should finally master Bezier curves in Illustrator with an online class…) when a voice shattered my thoughts of self-condemnation.

“Tonya! Are you Tonya?”

A smiling guy had crossed over from the other side of the aisle and was headed my way.

“Do I know you?” I asked (being eligible for AARP membership these days, I figure I can play the ‘I don’t remember’ card with impunity). Attired in an OmniGroup-labeled jacket, he didn’t look dangerous. So I kept smiling.

“I read your website,” he said, reaching out a hand to shake mine. “I play ukulele, too.”

Aha—finally a fellow combo Mac/uke enthusiast!

And that’s how I met David Messent—ukulele player from Seattle and OmniGroup’s official “Support Ninja” (honest, that’s what his business card attests to). That’s us, playing “air ukulele” above.

David shared that he started playing ukulele after his 2006 honeymoon in Maui; impressed by the music and dance they saw there, the newlyweds decided Allegra would take up hula and David, a violinist during his school years, would tackle ukulele.

“Allegra bought me an Oscar Schmidt that Christmas,” David explains. “I dove right in and immediately ‘felt whole’ again! By the way, still no hula dancing to be seen in our house.”

David goes for the good stuff in ukuleles; he currently has an ukulele rotation of a 1920s Martin Style O (soprano), an Earnest Instruments’ Palomino (concert) and a Ko’olau T-1 (tenor) he bought himself for Christmas a few weeks back. “I also have a couple less exciting ukes that live on my desk at work and get loaned out to friends,” he points out.

He plays jazz and pop standards, chord solos in the style of Lyle Ritz—but he’s expanding his repertoire lately with Mark Nelson’s fingerstyle book, enjoying the Hawaiian tunes “a lot.”

And he uses his Mac to “manage” his ukulele habit—and has the t-shirt to prove it (see image from back of shirt at left). So how does software help with ukuleles?

“OmniFocus is a personal productivity application that’s all about getting the stuff you need to do that’s floating around in your head out, and into a system that will let you ‘focus’ on what you should be doing at any moment in time,” says David. “It’s an implementation of David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’ philosophy [and book] and uses the concepts of Projects—groups of actions, usually to accomplish a specific goal—and Contexts—a person, location or tool needed to accomplish an action.

“The intersection of these two ideas clears away all the peripheral stuff that you shouldn’t be worrying about and makes you more productive.”

David uses OmniFocus on his desk-based Mac and it’s also available for the iPhone/iPod Touch to take along wherever you go.

“I’ve actually got a Project in OmniFocus called ‘music,’ and it’s got actions in it like, ‘Buy new Aquilas,’ ‘Print ‘Misty’ chart,’ ‘Ask Allegra for permission to attend Portland Uke Fest ’09,’ and so on,” David says. “The uke stuff lives in the same database as my work and home actions, but because it’s organized by project, I only see it when I want to. On the other hand, if I’m out running errands I can easily see everything in my ‘errands’ Context, regardless of which project it belongs to—so I don’t forget those Aquilas!”

Gee, just imagine the ukulele “to do’s” I could have on my OmniFocus list: Finally master an E chord; learn how to change strings; play scales in every key; buy a custom tenor”…

Now, if only the software actually did those things for me!

With lots of new possibilities on my mind to link my computer and my favorite hobby, I bid aloha to David. Hmmm…just imagine if I could organize my life enough with OmniFocus that I’d have more time to play the ukulele. Now that’d be a real benefit…

The next MacWorld Expo (without Apple as an exhibitor, but I’m still heading there!) is slated for January 4-8, 2010. Bring your ukulele and I’ll see you there!

P.S And yes, I am aware of the iPhone/iPod Touch software “Pocket Guitar” with the ukulele option (and it’s only 99 cents!). I’ve been having fun with that software since last fall, but they weren’t at MacWorld so I couldn’t “interview” them for this article. Maybe next year???

‘Want to skip straight to the gallery of photos of this event? Then click the link here. Otherwise, buckle your seatbelt and hang on for the full description of the festival:

The wind was a bit cool, but the enthusiasm and smiles of the organizers, teachers, performers and participants at the first-ever Wine Country Ukulele Festival definitely made this a warm and welcoming event.

Most of the festival’s activities were held on Saturday, but Friday did include some playing at a local veterans’ home and performing at the local Farmer’s Market (the Friday night dance was cancelled, with that evening’s performers added to Saturday evening’s concert line up). In this busy election season (an “industry” that accounts for a good part of our business), I was lucky just to make it to Saturday’s events; I had to skip the concert that night in order to get back to the office…but at least I got to go!

Cynthia, from Ukuleles of Paradise, joined me for the fun; she’s traveled with me to the Northern California Ukulele Festival with me a couple of times. I guess my unbridled enthusiasm for ukulele experiences hasn’t scared her off yet—she actually seemed happy to accompany me!

With the fun starting around 9 on Saturday morning (and Paradise about 3-1/2 hours away), we decided to cut Saturday’s drive time and spend the night in Fairfield, about 40 minutes from the festival (lodging in Napa Valley was really pricey!). Our online reservations for the Comfort Inn were assured, so we took our time driving south through the upper Sacramento Valley. The autumn sun slid into the western hills in a rich pumpkin palette of colors as we pulled off I-80 in Vacaville. Most folks know Vacaville as simply a place abounding with outlet stores midway between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe—but, if you enjoy Hawaiian food made with care and served with love, you should know Vacaville for Keanu’s Island Kine Food, a restaurant in a tiny strip mall just off Allison and Elmira Roads.

Kauai native DeeDee runs Keanu’s, with help from her three lovely daughters. The walls are hand-painted with a variety of Hawaiian motifs and a TV screen perched high in one corner of the room continuously plays videos of island scenes. The menu board is rich with a variety of Hawaiian foods—including homemade laulau. Plate lunch specials abound—and, of course I had to order my perennial favorite, Loco Moco. Cynthia tried the Kalua Pig/Teriyaki Chicken combo. Both plates came with the requisite two scoops of rice and macaroni salad. We each sampled from the other’s plate. Our conclusion? The food was oh, so ono!

But Keanu’s isn’t just about the homemade Hawaiian food—DeeDee and her crew welcome you to their restaurant with such a warm feeling of aloha that you instantly feel like your part of their ohana (family). When Cynthia and I opened the front door, Hawaiian singing and strumming poured out and we smiled at each other—we knew we were in the right place! Family and friends drop by Keanu’s on Friday evenings to mark pau hana—on the night we were there, I spotted ukuleles and a guitar and a bass, all played with true aloha. Keikis danced around happily to the upbeat melodies and diners smiled as they enjoyed the kani ka pila with their Hawaiian dinner delights. DeeDee and one daughter even danced the story of “Kalapana,” their graceful hands telling the tale of this lava-buried town on the south end of the Island of Hawaii.

Was it any wonder that Cynthia and I stayed until after closing? The music looked as if it would continue, but we still had a bit of a drive ahead of us and a full day on Saturday so we hugged DeeDee and smiled our thanks to all of our “new” friends gathered there. Keanu’s will definitely be on my itinerary when I pass through Vacaville again!

Saturday morning found us driving up Napa Valley, past Napa and into the lovely community of St. Helena. Nimbus Arts was the sponsor for the festival, staging Saturday’s events at the Upper Valley Campus of Napa College. Parking was easy and close-in—we knew we’d followed the driving directions correctly when we saw folks streaming onto the college grounds carrying ukulele cases and wearing a rainbow of Hawaiian shirts.

Elaine de Man, who was one of the main organizers for the event, had a cadre of helpful volunteers on hand. Their behind-the-scenes work before the festival was evident in the ease of registration and the organized feel of the whole event. Vendor booths were already in place, the day’s stage was ready for musicians and workshop leaders had plenty of chairs and room for their students—and all of this was finished before Hawaiian cultural educator Liko Puha opened the day with a chant.

I took workshops in beginning auana hula (from Liko), song arranging (Herb Ohta, Jr.) and ukulele fun (Mark Kailana Nelson). The wealth of workshops made me wish I could be in at least three places at once. Just imagine being able to choose from trying slide steel guitar (KonaBob), swing ukulele (James Hill), tips for beginners (Keoki Kahumoku), strum-cersizes (Ralph Shaw), stretching your chord repertoire (Robin Kneubuhi and learning to listen/buy an ukulele (Mike DaSilva). And that’s not even a complete list!

Folks traveled from all over to attend this festival. I’m on several ukulele and Hawaiian forums and it was fun to see so many of my friends from those boards:  Tom B. (thanks for the plum medley jelly!), Peter, Carl, PearlCityBoy, ToeBone, Old Smelly Bob (with his very clever ukulele made from a monkeypod salad bowl—don’t ask to pet the monkey on the headstock, though), John G., KonaBob, Shirley, MusicGuyMic, TikiKing and many others (ooh, it’s always bad when my brain cells desert me in the memory department; if I’ve not listed you, it’s not because I didn’t enjoy seeing you, I just can’t remember—blame it on my age and drop me a note, please!).

Participants had a range of ukuleles to spend their money on—from imports to custom instruments so beautiful that I could only imagine the amount of work and expertise involved in crafting them. Dave Sigman (Little River Ukuleles) had a handful of his lovingly hand-crafted instruments available and Chuck Moore (Moore Bettah ukuleles) brought some beautiful examples of his work (the “Mermaid” with the spalted koa with cocobolo was unbelievable). Mike DaSilva (DaSilva Ukulele Company) showed me the just-finished tenor he’d made for James Hill—it has the accessibility of a cutaway design to those “way up the neck” frets, but the cutaway is atypically shaped as a wedge rather than a full cutaway. The sound was incredible and seeing James’ face as he played it for the first time was a joy.

I enjoyed meeting Mike Upton of Kala Ukuleles. What a great product he provides for us ukulele players—a wide variety of well-made instruments from more-than-affordable all the way through to sopranos, concerts, tenors and baritones that you could be happy playing for the rest of your ukulele days. But the variety is so wide (and the prices are so reasonable) that you’ll probably want to get more than one eventually! I’ve been thinking of a custom tenor for a year or so (no, I’m not an impulsive buyer, am I?), but, since it’s quite a jump in size from my much-loved LoPrinzi soprano, I looked at the Kala instruments with the thought of buying a less-expensive tenor to “try” the size and make sure I like it before making the order for the custom instrument. Does that make sense to you players out there? Before seeing—and playing—the variety of Kala instruments, I’d ruled out the idea of a less costly instrument, figuring it wouldn’t be a good test of a tenor if it didn’t play or sound good—but the Kalas played quite nice and had a good sound.

I took a break from ukulele ogling to take my hula class. Liko Puha, who is from Hilo but recently moved to the Santa Rosa area, teaches oli, olelo Hawai’i and culture and history; I certainly wish I lived closer so I could learn from his broad-based knowledge. Liko teaches with authority yet the joy he has for his subject suffuses all that he shares. Liko offered his full heart to those of us in the hula class, even though it was just a beginning class and admittedly just over one hour long. He’d written a place name mele in honor of the festival in Napa and he took pains to explain to us the meaning and pronunciation of the Hawaiian words. This was definitely *not* a “for show only” hula class. I think I shared the sentiments of everyone in the class in feeling we’d been given a very special gift of Liko’s time and sharing.

Slipping outside after the class, I snapped several photos of *the* Dominator playing a wonderfully rich set of ukulele-only songs. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that Joanne was videotaping the performance and I’m pretty certain my backside is now preserved for perpetuity as I was angling for a better camera angle right in front of her videotaping. ‘Sorry, Joanne!

There wasn’t a huge variety of food available at the festival, but what there was was delicious. Smoothies, shave ice (I can’t imagine the tongue color of those folks who chose the “Blue Hawaiian” combo) and grilled meats, veggies and fruit tempted me. The fragrance of island-grown plumeria and tuberose and the colorful blossoms of orchids were worn by many festival participants who’d stepped into the Hawaiian craft room (free with paid admission) and made their own lei and hair ornaments. I didn’t have time to make a lei, but they did let me purloin a few blossoms so I could carry the perfume with me the rest of the day. Ahhh…

All too soon the day was done and Cynthia and I were headed back home to Paradise (not the island one!). I know the event meant lots of work for a passel of folks, but I sure hope they’re already planning for a Wine Country Ukulele Festival in 2009!