Tag Archives: Empire Music

Cutie Circle Presents U3: Cynthia Lin, Abe Lagrimas, Jr., and Ukulenny in Concert and Workshop

*New* EVENT REMINDER: Please visit this page for day of event details. *New*

The ‘ukulele supergroup U3 brings together three heavy hitters of the uke world in a musical collaboration spanning the Pacific Ocean. With popular YouTuber Cynthia Lin and Nā Hōkū award-winning multi-instrumentalist Abe Lagrimas, Jr. in Honolulu, and “life of the party” Ukulenny in the San Francisco Bay Area, U3 joins forces to create an island-inspired cross-cultural sound. From jazz and bossa nova, to Hawaiian classics, to island reggae remixes, U3’s debut album In Waves (2020) features genre-bending arrangements that bridge the artists’ skills and versatility, and stretch the ‘ukulele into new territory. In addition to hearing all three artists play ‘ukulele on the album, Cynthia leads with her signature vocals, Ukulenny lays down U-bass and beatbox, and Abe displays his multi-instrumental virtuosity on drums, vibraphone, and percussion. U3 is Abe Lagrimas, Jr., Cynthia Lin, and Ukulenny.

Date: Monday · May 22 · 2023 · Victoria Day
Meet and Greet: 1:00pm
Doors: 1:30pm
Concert: 2:00pm
Workshop: 3:30pm
Venue: Evergreen Cultural Centre · 1205 Pinetree Way · Coquitlam · BC
Tickets: Available online, by phone (604.927.6555) or in person from the ECC Box Office. Online ticket holders can pick up tickets at the Box Office.
Parking: Free on statutory holidays.
Transit: Lafarge Lake–Douglas station of the Skytrain Evergreen Extension
Travel Info: https://evergreenculturalcentre.ca/about/find-us/

AdmissionRegular Seniors and Students
Early Access: Meet & Greet [reserved seats in first two rows]
*Price in addition to Regular Concert Admission
$20
Concert only$25$20
Workshop only$25$20
Concert and Workshop$40$30
Cuties volunteers are deeply grateful for U3’s caring and generous gestures of offering discounted tickets to seniors and students in our community. As such, please feel free to purchase Regular Admission tickets if you would like to show our artists some extra love.

Catching the Wave with U3: a Bossa Nova Workshop

Level: Confident Beginner to Intermediate

Description: In this fun, interactive workshop with all three members of U3, you’ll learn to improvise and play Bossa Nova rhythms featured in Cynthia’s original tune, “Aquamarine!”  

Door Prizes and Thank-you Packets

Cynthia Lin

Creator of the #100DaysofUkuleleSongs project, Cynthia Lin is a singer-songwriter and YouTube personality based in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Through her popular YouTube channel (60+ million views) and approachable teaching style, Cynthia has helped hundreds of thousands of people across the world to discover the joy of ukulele. Her online Patreon community has grown to 5000 members, and she leads the vibrant San Francisco Uke Jam community with her uke partner Ukulenny. Together they founded the San Francisco Uke Fest, which was officially recognized by the State Assembly of California.

As a singer-songwriter, Cynthia has released 9 album recordings independently, with her recent albums Ukulele Days and Cozy Christmas hitting the Billboard charts in their first week of release. In her latest project, the island-inspired In Waves with the ukulele supergroup trio aptly dubbed “U3,” Cynthia shares her versatile vocals on songs ranging from Japanese bossa nova to cherished Hawaiian classics to sultry jazz ballads. She encourages you to follow your passion.

Abe Lagrimas, Jr.

Abe Lagrimas, Jr. is a musician, composer, educator, and author who plays the drums, vibraphone, ukulele, and studied at Berklee College of Music. He competed in the highly prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition and has worked with many different artists such as Eric Marienthal, Eric Reed, Kamasi Washington, Katisse Buckingham, Lalo Schifrin, Barbara Morrison, Michelle Coltrane, Jake Shimabukuro, Kenny Endo, and continues to be an in-demand session musician in Los Angeles. As a solo ukulele artist, Abe is a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award (Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts) recipient and has released multiple albums in the United States, Japan, and South Korea. He has headlined many ukulele festivals throughout the United States, as well as Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and Australia. Abe is also an active educator who has conducted workshops, currently teaches private lessons, and is an instructor for the Fender Play series. He is the author of Jazz Ukulele: Comping, Soloing, Chord Melodies (Berklee Press & Hal Leonard), which is available in stores worldwide and on Amazon. He currently endorses Canopus Drums, Paiste Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Beato Bags, Ko’olau Ukulele, Analysis Plus Cables, Fusion Gig Bags, and Roswell Pro Audio.

Ukulenny

Lenny San Jose, aka Ukulenny, is a performer and educator based in Oakland, CA. He started his ukulele career in 2009 on the BART train, working on his chops and occasionally getting passengers to sing along during his daily commute. His YouTube channel has attracted over 77,000 subscribers and 10 million views, and yes, there is a rick-roll somewhere in there.A multi-instrumentalist at heart, he taught at Oakland School for the Arts and Berkeley Unified School District for five years before becoming a full time musician. His performances feature the ukulele (of course), bass, saxophone, melodion, and beatbox, as he covers a wide variety of music. Lenny’s influences include Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, and Bruno Mars, performed with the island spirit of groups like UB40, Kolohe Kai, and the electrifying Kapena. Collaborations include Ukulenny & Dos Pogi Boys (Hawaiian Reggae Trio), The Bob and Lenny Show (Trumpet/Guitar Jazz Duo), and U3 (Ukulele Trio). Sponsored by Kala Brand Music, Ukulenny is a regular fixture in the Kala website, Learn to Play Program and the Kala App. For more info, visit ukulenny.com and follow @ukulenny on social media and spotify.

 

Cutie Circle’s We ❤️ Ukulele! Mini Festival – June 9 – Evergreen Cultural Centre

Cutie Circle is very happy to announce the We ❤️ Ukulele! Mini Festival, the first ukulele festival to be held in the Tri-Cities. The festival will take place on Sunday, June 9, 2019, in the Rehearsal Hall at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, adjacent to the Lafarge Lake – Douglas Skytrain station.

Festival Check-in and Standby Lists

If you are unable to attend the festival, we would be very grateful if you could let us know by cancelling online through Eventbrite or by emailing events@cutiecircle.com at your earliest possible opportunity.

Check-in Time: 9:00am to 9:45am

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

There will be road closure to accommodate the Teddy Bear Picnic Grande Parade on June 9.

  • The back entrance off Guildford Westbound will be open from 7:30am to 9:30am (or whenever they actually close the road for the parade).
  • The main entrance off Pinetree Way will be barricaded but Evergreen will provide a crewperson to let in any stray Cuties who try to come in that entrance.
  • Once the roads are closed, parking is available in the lot south of Guildford (map below and routing) and at the Aquatic Centre to the west.
  • Once the roads close for the parade, no one will be able to get out of the lot until 12:30pm. After that, all roads return to normal.

Arriving before 9:30am will guarantee you a spot in the Evergreen lot. This is especially important for people with mobility issues.

Here’s the link to the map of the road closure, nearby parking lots, and the parade route:

festivalcoquitlam.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/teddy_bear_parade_route_2019_0.pdf

We encourage you to take transit, if possible.

If you plan on using the Evergreen Cultural Centre’s parking lot, please plan on arriving BEFORE 9:30am as access to the ECC’s free parking lot is scheduled to be closed at 9:30am or sooner.

Arrive early to get the best seats.

Support The Festival as Sponsors and/or Patrons

This festival is organized entirely by volunteers. We are pleased to announce that this will be a FREE ADMISSION ukulele festival.

Updates 2: Our Silent Auction opens for pre-bidding online from May 28 at 10:00am to June 5 at 10:00am. It will resume in person live at the festival on June 9 at the festival.
Get some rare and cool ukuleles, accessories and other lifestyle items at bargain prices:

https://www.32auctions.com/weheartukulele

Updates 1: We have reached our goal of offering free admission, thanks to all the patrons, sponsors and volunteers!

Online registration for free admission tickets opened on Thursday, May 23 at 10:00am on Eventbrite: weheartukulele.eventbrite.com

Thanks for your enthusiastic support. The festival is now sold out. A waiting list is available on the Eventbrite’s site.


(Photo courtesy of Janis Cleugh, Tri-City News)

We thank our presenters and growing list of sponsors, including our early supporters, Ohana Music, King’s Music, Tapestry Music, Amahi Ukuleles, Evergreen Cultural Centre and Port Moody Station Museum, for their support of this festival which will be available to attendees at or below cost. Our community-minded presenters, who believe in our cause, are offering their expertise at a special rate to make this festival a success.

Special Discounts for Friends of Cutie Circle

Please take advantage of the following discounts from our caring sponsors! This is an excellent time to make your ukulele-related purchases.

Empire Music is offering friends of the Cutie Circle special discounts on their website.
Use coupon code: CUTIE19 for a 10% discount between now and July 31, 2019.

King’s Music is offering friends of the Cutie Circle special discounts in many categories including tuners, straps, cases, strings, ukuleles, humidifiers, picks, etc.
Use coupon code: WEHEARTUKULELE between now and July 1, 2019.

Tapestry Music offers a 10% discount on ukuleles and ukulele accessories to Cutie Circle members and the We ❤️ Ukulele! Mini Festival attendees up until July 1, 2019. Tapestry Music also offers a rewards program which gives customers 2% back on all merchandise purchases.

Tom Lee Music is offering a 10% discount off regularly-priced ukuleles at the Coquitlam store. Festival attendees will each receive a special ukulele discount coupon.

We continue to welcome sponsors and patrons to keep the festival affordable and accessible to members of the ukulele community, regardless of one’s financial means.

The Cutie volunteers know in their heart of hearts that music is people’s birthright and it makes for happier people and a happier world when music is inclusive and accessible.

What better way is there to make music inclusive than to use ukulele, the happiest instrument on Earth?! Make our dream of holding a free admission festival come true!
Help us empower our fellow ukulele players with ukulele education.

Be a sponsor and/or a patron of this festival and celebrate our common love of ukulele.

Let us know at 604.552.UKES (8537) you would like to help.

You can

  • be a Patron with a reserved seat (by pledging $100 (or more) to cover the cost of one’s own admission and partially cover another ukulele player’s admission for this festival).
    A limited number of seats has been reserved for patrons.
    Call 604.552.UKES (8537) to reserve a seat
    ;
  • make a monetary donation;
  • donate to our silent auction;
  • take part in the silent auction;
  • spread the word about this festival;
  • be a volunteer, and more.

Festival Souvenir

Our exclusive and extremely limited edition festival t-shirts are now available for only $15 each. Limit one t-shirt per person. To order yours, please complete this online form:

 

Four Spectacular Workshops by Four Amazing Presenters

Four excellent musicians and music educators, Manitoba Hal, Jim D’Ville, Eduardo Garcia, and Guido Heistek, will be presenting workshops on popular ukulele topics we have always wanted to master.

Workshop Description

Manitoba Hal: Ukulele at the Crossroads — Blues Workshop

Legend has it that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads at midnight in order to learn to play the blues. Fortunately you don’t have to do that. Can you play the C chord? How about the F and the G7? If so then you too can learn the blues and no voodoo rituals or selling of your soul is needed! Manitoba Hal will take you through the 12 bar blues progression. Show you a few tricks and tips and have you strumming the blues in no time. Handouts available.

Jim D’Ville: The Emotional Value of Chords

There is a chord associated with each of the seven notes of a major scale. When played in context, each chord evokes a certain emotional response from the listener. Learning these chordal relationships will open your ears to the chord progressions to millions of songs. This is the first step to playing by ear. Knowledge of finger positions for C, dm, em, F, G, am, bdim helpful.

Eduardo Garcia: Movable Chord Shapes

Knowing in advance a few starting chords and willingness to practice the ‘barre’ after today.

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to understand, find and practice any given Major, minor and Seventh chords on the ukulele. Departing from your current playing experience with chords like C, F, Am, Dm, G7 and a few more, we will discover how to find any other given chord! This way, we can unlock all available keys for us to play, or find more comfortable/suitable positions for those chords that might be giving us a hard time (Like E). Don’t worry if you don’t know those listed chords yet, diagrams will be provided for everyone!

Guido Heistek: Chord Melody Magic

Chord Melody is a solo ukulele technique that allows you to play chords and melody at the same time on one uke. It’s like magic! This workshop will give you an inside look at this thrilling technique. First, we will pick the melody and strum the chords of a song. Then, we will learn how the melody and chords can be played together at the same time! As a group, we will create a chord melody arrangement to a famous song like, “Lulu’s Back in Town”. Some knowledge of tablature will be helpful for this session. The workshop will be taught in G, C, E, A tuning. If you enjoy the solo ukulele stylings of Lyle Ritz or Herb Ohta, this is the workshop for you.

Biography

Manitoba Hal (NS, Canada) – The Canadian Ukulele Bluesman

Manitoba Hal has forged an international reputation for engaging and connecting with his audience through songs that are mournful, hopeful, silly, romantic and introspective. He proves that the uke can be small but mighty as he pulls out powerful blues riffs and melodies adding subtle important accompaniment using looping technology.

Performance Videos

Sweet Home Chicago LIVE in Sarnia Ontario

Alligator LIVE at Saskatoon Blues Festival 2018

Music Video

Blessed By Love – Official Video

Jim D’Ville (NM, USA)

Jim D’Ville is a music educator and facilitator who is on a mission to get ukulele players off the paper and playing music by ear. For nearly a decade Jim has taught his Play Ukulele By Ear workshops to thousands of players in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Jim has taught and performed at major ukulele events including the Ukulele Festival of Scotland, Kerrville Folk Festival, the NAMM Show, Melbourne (Australia) Ukulele Festival, West Coast Ukulele Retreat and many others. Jim is the author of the Play Ukulele By Ear DVD series and hosts the popular Play Ukulele By Ear website.

Jim is a Contributing Editor to Ukulele (magazine) and is sponsored in-part by Ukulele and the Deering Banjo Company.

“Jim’s Play Ukulele By Ear workshops are a high-energy roller coaster of learning and laughs. He is a one-of-a-kind. Buckle up!” — James Hill

Eduardo Garcia (BC, Canada)

Eduardo is a multi-instrumentalist who arrived in Vancouver in April 2017 from Mexico and is classically and traditionally trained.

Eduardo played with ‘Amate’, a traditional mariachi based in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was a cellist and chief arranger/composer for the ‘Victor Manuel Medeles’ chamber orchestra. He collaborated on ‘Tsenten Ajab’, a book of studies and arrangements of traditional and modern music for the Jarana Huasteca, a traditional folk instrument from Mexico’s Huasteco region.He was the founder/director of the Academia de Ukuleles de la Ribera, a self-financed music school that provided instruments and free music lessons to all children in his community.

He currently teaches, conducts and arranges music for the Ruby’s Ukulele Orchestra. He participated in the Vancouver Ukulele Festival in 2018 and 2019, the Ajijic Ukulele Retreat (Mexico) in 2017 and 2019, and Beyond Trad music camp in 2018 (and soon, in the 2019 edition too!)

Guido Heistek (BC, Canada)

Guido has performed and taught in the US, Japan and Canada, and has worked as both an arranger and consultant for stage and film. Since 2012, he has run Ukulele in the Dark, a popular ukulele site with thousands of international followers. Guido has released a ukulele strumming DVD, a solo ukulele CD, and most recently The Chord Melody Book for Ukulele, which teaches the fine art of playing chords and melody at the same time. This will be Guido’s first workshop in the Vancouver area in four years. Don’t miss this rare opportunity!

Program

Light refreshments will be provided. Thank you for the tremendous enthusiasm and support!

About Our Generous Sponsors

International Sponsors

Ohana Music (CA, USA)

Headquartered in Long Beach, CA, the team at Ohana Music believe in the importance of Quality, Playability, and Value. Since 2006, Ohana Music has focused on making ukuleles from rich tone woods and constructions that yield the best-sounding instruments possible.

Ohana Music has been supportive of Cutie Circle’s community initiatives including the Uke ‘n Play partnership with the Fraser Valley Regional Library by donating ukuleles and tuners to the public lending collection.

We are extremely grateful to Ohana Music for providing substantial financial support of this festival and the sponsorship of an Ohana ukulele for our silent auction.

Kala Brand Music Co.

Kala Brand Music Co. is based in Petaluma, CA. Kala‘s hometown is nestled in the Sonoma wine country and a harbor to an eclectic mix of artists, farmers, breweries and tech companies. At Kala, one will find a community deeply rooted in creativity and culture, spread across the many platforms and mediums of art, food, dairy, and music. Kala‘s character stems from its hometown drawing influence from Petaluma’s turn of the century downtown, its Gold Rush history and the modern meets historical vibe. The team at Kala knows it isn’t Hawaii, the birthplace of the ukulele, but it’s the birthplace of Kala‘s ukulele—the handmade Kala Elite USA ukulele.

We are extremely grateful to Kala Brand Music Co. for the sponsorship of a Kala Ziricote Concert Ukulele (KA-ZCT-C) for our silent auction.

Amahi Ukuleles (OH, USA)

Amahi Ukuleles is a division of the family owned business, Amati’s Fine Instruments, and have been producing high quality orchestral string instruments for over 25 years. In 2011, in order to provide ukuleles for the founder’s wife’s after school ukulele program, Amahi Ukuleles was born. The company is dedicated to providing high quality sounding ukuleles that are as attractive to the eye as to the ear.

The Amahi Ukuleles‘ finest craftspeople professionally setup and adjust their ukuleles in Cincinnati prior to supplying their customers throughout North America. They carry a complete range of ukuleles, from entry level soprano ukuleles with decorative designs to beautiful high-end ukuleles for serious musicians. Amati’s Fine Instruments is proud to have over 40 employees dedicated to furthering the advancement of music in the lives of children and adults.

We are extremely grateful to Amahi Ukuleles for the sponsorship of an Amahi Penguin Flamed Maple Acoustic Concert Ukulele (PGUK555) for our silent auction.

Local Retail Music Sponsors

Tom Lee Music (BC, Canada)

Since 1969, Tom Lee Music has proudly brought music making to local communities throughout British Columbia. Since the company’s humble beginnings as a small piano retailer in Vancouver, Tom Lee Music has grown into one of the largest full-line musical instrument retailers in North America. Tom Lee Music provides the very best in musical instruments, equipment, services and education throughout the eight retail locations and online store. Tom Lee Music is well known for supporting the local music community and have received numerous awards in recognition of our longstanding dedication. At Tom Lee Music, customer satisfaction is always the number one priority. The company’s aim is to provide every person with an enjoyable music making experience by delivering quality music products and services at competitive prices in an inspiring retail environment.

We are extremely grateful to Tom Lee Music for the sponsorship of a Kala Tenor Resonator Ukulele (KA-RES-CHR) and a Levy’s Tenor Ukulele gig bag for our silent auction.

Tom Lee Music is offering a 10% discount off regularly-priced ukuleles at the Coquitlam store. Festival attendees will each receive a special ukulele discount coupon.

Empire Music (BC, Canada)

After more than 60 years in the music business, Empire Music takes pride in offering music educators and students a choice of the best musical instruments available and is committed to offering customers the best products, service, and value in the industry. Empire Music offers an extensive range of products to find the musical instruments, teaching aids, or accessories to meet the customers’ needs.

Empire Music has been supportive of Cutie Circle’s community initiatives including the Uke ‘n Play partnership with the Fraser Valley Regional Library by donating ukuleles and tuners to the public lending collection.

We are extremely grateful to Empire Music for being a festival vendor and for the sponsorship of products including a ukulele and accessories for our silent auction.

Empire Music is offering friends of the Cutie Circle special discounts on their website.
Use coupon code: CUTIE19 for a 10% discount between now and July 31, 2019.

King’s Music (BC, Canada)

King’s Music has been serving musicians of the Fraser Valley and beyond since 1997. Having been a band teacher for 24 years, the company’s founder, Jack Koning, saw a need for a good local brass/woodwind instrument store as well as a convenient and top-notch instrument repair centre in his home-town of Abbotsford, B.C. Over the years, with the help of great staff and support, he would build that and more. In 2004, Jack’s son, Daniel joined the King’s Music team and began to add departments and expand product lines in order to better serve the diverse musical community. In hand-selecting what brands to make available to customers, value-for-dollar was and still is key.

In 2013, King’s Music expanded its services with a second location in Chilliwack, B.C. Since then both stores continue to hone their product selection and make sure that the service its staff provides is above and beyond so that whether you are a school teacher, a private instructor, a performing musician or just beginning your musical journey, you feel welcome at King’s Music!

King’s Music has been supportive of Cutie Circle’s community initiatives including the Uke ‘n Play partnership with the Fraser Valley Regional Library by donating ukuleles and tuners to the public lending collection.

We are extremely grateful to King’s Music for sponsoring the venue cost of our festival.

King’s Music is offering friends of the Cutie Circle special discounts in many categories including tuners, straps, cases, strings, ukuleles, humidifiers, picks, etc.
Use coupon code: WEHEARTUKULELE between now and July 1, 2019.

Tapestry Music (BC, Canada)

Tuba player David Sabourin believes that music feeds the soul. As the owner of Tapestry Music in White Rock, he makes it his business to have whatever you need, whether you’re picking up an instrument for the first time or you are a professional musician.

Tapestry Music has been on Johnston Road in White Rock since 1996, and they currently have three locations on the same street where they take care of business, which includes their retail store, a repair shop and a music school.

The retail location is a full-line music store selling band and orchestra instruments as well as drums, guitars, keyboards and electric pianos. The walls are lined with instruments — guitars of all sizes and colours, ukuleles, saxophones and drum sets — and the sheet music is neatly organized by genre.

Tapestry Music, staffed with music aficionados, offers everything from lessons and instruments for rent or sale for the beginner musician to boutique items like a guitar effects pedal for the professional.

“We’re not just trying to sell you something,” David says. “We’re generally interested in what your aspirations are and we’re trying to match you up with the right item so you can succeed.”

Tapestry Music has been supportive of Cutie Circle’s community initiatives including the Uke ‘n Play partnership with the Fraser Valley Regional Library by donating ukuleles and tuners to the public lending collection.

We are extremely grateful to Tapestry Music for being a vendor at our festival and for the sponsorship of an Acadia concert ukulele with a solid spruce top and flamed mahogany back and sides for our silent auction.

Tapestry Music offers a 10% discount on ukuleles and ukulele accessories to Cutie Circle members and the We ❤️ Ukulele Mini Festival attendees up until July 1, 2019. Tapestry Music also offers a rewards program which gives customers 2% back on all merchandise purchases.

Bonerattle Music (BC, Canada)

Bonerattle Music is one of the top ukulele destinations in the province and offers a wide range of high quality instruments, amplifiers and accessories. Bonerattle Music also stocks a variety of kids’ percussion instruments, novelties and great gift ideas for people of all ages. Bonerattle Music offers in-store​ lessons and repairs!

We are extremely grateful to Bonerattle Music for the sponsorship of two Kahiko ukuleles by DaCapo Music Limited for our silent auction.

Garibaldi Instruments (BC, Canada)

The name, Garibaldi Instruments, emerged from one of luthier Greg Harrington‘s favourite places, the Garibaldi Region in British Columbia. When he is not at work or in his workshop, he can often be found enjoying many of the recreational activities that this area has to offer.

A self taught luthier, and a member of the Guild of American Luthiers, Greg has been building instruments for over a decade. When he first began, he was instantly fascinated with the process and has since been working toward quality musical instruments with high play-ability and tone. He has spent many hours studying instruments and attending conferences, learning new skills along the way. In 2015, he had the privilege of studying at the European Institute of Guitar Making in Spain, where he focused on Granada Spanish guitar techniques of classical and flamenco guitars.
He has a great appreciation for the instrument building process, finding joy and pride in creating something out of raw materials. Over the years, he has completed more than 50 instruments, including electric solid body, demi-hollow body, steel string acoustic, classical and flamenco guitars as well as electric base and all concert, tenor and baritone ukuleles. He also makes specialty wooden boxes, music boxes and Irish Bodhram drums.

We are extremely grateful to Greg Harrington and Garibaldi Instruments for the sponsorship of a custom ukulele for our silent auction.

Neil Douglas Guitar Shop (BC, Canada)

Neil Douglas Guitar Shop has been proudly serving New Westminster since 1968. It offers expert repairs and sales, as well as private lessons for guitar, bass, drums, piano and vocals.

We are extremely grateful to Neil Douglas Guitar Shop for the sponsorship of two gift certificates each for one soprano ukulele and two lessons for our silent auction.

 

Long & McQuade, Port Coquitlam (BC, Canada)

The Port Coquitlam location originally opened in December of 1997 on Lougheed Highway and Shaughnessy Street serving the musical needs of Port Coquitlam, Burnaby, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and Mission. The store quickly outgrew its square footage and a new, larger location was constructed at its current location on Dominion Avenue in the summer of 2006. Since then, the store has gone through several renovations to further improve the shopping experience. The store’s focus is on great customer service, combined with an excellent selection of musical equipment for all types of customers and their diverse needs.

We are extremely grateful to Long & McQuade (Port Coquitlam) for the sponsorship of a Denver Soprano Ukulele (DUKE-BRN) with custom gig bag for our silent auction.

Local Beauty, Wellness and Lifestyle Sponsors

Balanced Health Wellness Centre (BC, Canada)

Balanced Health Wellness Centre is dedicated to helping others reach their highest potential through massage therapy. We’ve created a healing experience from the moment you walk in the door. Our soothing, relaxed atmosphere creates an environment that calms the mind, body and spirit.

We are extremely grateful to Balanced Health Wellness Centre for the sponsorship of two (2) one-hour registered massage therapy sessions for our silent auction.

Barber and Fritz (BC, Canada)

Barber and Fritz is a simple collection of hair potions and offers no cutting edge formulas or the ‘newest best trend’. This is a collection of hair preparations that offer simple, classic, time honoured formulas and is built out of a love of the craft of hair and a love of the lost art of the beauty ritual.

We are extremely grateful for Barber and Fritz‘s sponsorship of a gift basket of fine haircare products.

Benée Rubin Design (BC, Canada)

Benée Rubin has always been inspired by multi cultural art, architecture, and the natural world. Her love of designing jewellery, combined with her goldsmithing talent has led to a 25 year love affair of crafting unique pieces for private clients and now collections for her Vancouver gallery and website. Her Canadian Artisan Gallery features handcrafted jewellery and gifts from Canadian and local artists. It is located in the East Village at 2629 East Hastings Street.

We are extremely grateful to Benée Rubin Design for the sponsorship of a pair of sterling silver with rose quartz briolette drops.

Dr. Bee Honeyland (BC, Canada)

Dr. Bee is a high-quality producer and purveyor of natural beehive products based in Pitt Meadows and has been in operation in Metro Vancouver for over 20 years. The owner and founder, Dr. Ron Lin, has a PhD in bee science and applies a scientifically-grounded approach to produce bee products that contain health benefits to stimulate healing in the body. An integral part of Dr. Bee’s approach is to ensure all their products are all-natural and involves minimal artificial processing.

We are extremely grateful to Dr. Bee for the sponsorship of two (2) gift boxes for our silent auction.

Happycakes (BC, Canada)

For over 5 years, Happycakes has been putting smiles on the faces of both children and adults with its scrumptious, artistically-crafted cakes, cupcakes, sugar cookies and more!

We are extremely grateful to Happycakes for the sponsorship of two gift cards for gourmet cupcakes for our silent auction.

Pomme Natural Market (BC, Canada)

Pomme Natural Market is 100% BC owned and operated.  The stores feature groceries selected with the highest ethical and nutritional standards, fully organic produce that’s locally sourced whenever possible, a wide range of top quality natural supplements and skincare, and a delicious deli that caters to all kinds of sensitivities and preferences. Pomme makes the healthiest, most forward-thinking food choices easy!

We are extremely grateful to Pomme Natural Market for the sponsorship of a large beautiful gift basket and a gift card for our silent auction.

skoah.® (BC, Canada)

skoah.® is a Vancouver-based skin care product company with locations in Canada and the US. All locations feature a facial only spa. The company is owned by Vancouver born Chris and Andrea Scott and all products are created in Vancouver, BC. Since 2001 skoah has earned recognition in many well-respected publications including In Style, The New York Times, Allure, The Globe and Mail, Travel and Leisure, Women’s Wear Daily and Vogue.

We are extremely grateful to skoah for the sponsorship of a fitskin™ facial.

Local Community Organizations

Fraser Valley Regional Library (BC, Canada)

Fraser Valley Regional Library is the largest public library system in British Columbia, with 25 community libraries serving almost 700,000 people in its service area. Established in 1930, it is funded with taxes raised in the communities it serves, plus a Government of BC operating grant. The governing board consists of elected officials representing 15 member municipalities and regional districts. With its mission of “opening minds, enabling dreams,” FVRL plays a prominent role in the communities throughout the Fraser Valley.

We are extremely grateful to the Fraser Valley Regional Library for their sponsorship of some of the festival’s ancillary needs and gifts.

The Uke ‘n Play program, a partnership between the Cutie Circle and the Fraser Valley Regional Library, administers a public ukulele lending collection.

Killarney Community Centre Seniors’ Association

The Killarney Community Centre Seniors’ Association (KCSA) is a registered nonprofit association. Its purpose is to develop, promote and provide programs, activities, services and special community events for older adults at Killarney Community Centre. Anyone who is 55yrs+ and registered into a program is a member of the Seniors Association.

We are extremely grateful to the Killarney Community Centre Seniors’ Association for its sponsorship of a Long and McQuade gift card for our silent auction.

Mission Ukulele Circle

Mission Ukulele Circle was founded in November 2013 by Richard Lepinsky. Since the group’s inception, word has spread the Mission Ukulele Circle has grown to over twenty members strong!

The Mission Ukulele Circle meets every Wednesday afternoon from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at St. Andrews Place, 7365 Cedar Street in Mission and the 3rd Friday of each month from 7 to 9pm at the Mission Seniors Center. The MUC has a lot of fun making music together!

We are extremely grateful to the Mission Ukulele Circle for its sponsorship that includes a financial contribution as well as sharing two of their songbooks for our silent auction.

Port Moody Station Museum (BC, Canada)

The historic Port Moody Station which houses the Port Moody Station Museum was the second station built by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Completed in 1908, the building and displays represent the role of the train station in the community and the early development of Port Moody. The Port Moody Station Museum is owned and operated by the Port Moody Heritage Society. Other activities conducted by the Port Moody Heritage Society include:

  • hosting many educational programs and heritage events at the Station Museum and elsewhere,
  • actively adding to a collection of over 200 oral histories by recording the stories of Port Moody residents and workers,
  • providing research services to local historians and writers,
  • assisting the Port Moody Heritage Commission in the creation of the Stone Marker Program and Heritage Building Inventory.

We are extremely grateful to the Port Moody Station Museum for including the Cutie Circle in its community events and for being the first sponsor of this festival.

The Cutie Circle has provided free ukulele lessons at PMSM’s educational and outreach activities.

UFCW Local 247

UFCW 247 represents over 12,000 members in British Columbia at employers such as Loblaw, Safeway/Sobeys, FG Deli Group Ltd., BC Tree Fruit Cooperative and many others.

We are extremely grateful to UFCW 247 for providing financial support of this festival and the sponsorship of several items for our silent auction.

Silent Auction Items

Patrons

We graciously thank the following fellow ukulele players for being generous patrons of our festival.

  • P. McCarthy
  • S. Hyde
  • L. Burton
  • M. L. Riederer
  • M. Brinton
  • T. Milldhall
  • J. Wan
  • J. Yap
  • M. Wong
  • I. Batori
  • L. Legrow
  • P. Kidd
  • C. Lee
  • F. Fung
  • S. Stead
  • K. Hansen
  • M. Mah
  • W. L. Chen
  • L. Kitamura
  • D. Brearley
  • W. Cormack
  • S. Verceluz
  • L. Thiessen
  • P. Zubick
  • L. Spencer
  • C. Rain
  • S. Dreland
  • K. Soh
  • O. Pineda
  • R. Shell
  • R. Blewett
  • R. Appleby
  • M. Enns
  • S. Satrijo
  • F. Quintoro
  • B. Ditson

What to Bring to the Festival

  • Ukulele
  • Digital Tuner
  • Tools to take notes
  • Smiles and Enthusiasm
  • Snacks to share (if possible)

** Please do not bring your music stand. **

Local Accommodations

Directions and Parking

Visit Evergreen Cultural Centre’s Find Us page.
Road Condition Traffic Camera: Drive BC’s Highway 1 in Coquitlam

Generous Sponsors Help Cutie Circle Amass 50 Ukulele Kits to Start Public Lending Collection at the Fraser Valley Regional Library

ukes

Do you know that starting in October, music lovers from Port Coquitlam to Boston Bar can partake in the joy of ukulele by borrowing the world’s happiest instrument from their local library?

That’s right! Fifty cheerful ukuleles complete with digital tuners and gig bags contributed by Cutie Circle, Empire Music, King’s Music, Ohana Music and our good friend, Linda Thiessen, are coming to the 25 branches of the Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) Uke ’n Play Collection (FVRL’s media release). The generous sponsors are committed to bringing music to the people and supported this project right from the start! The dream of putting one uke in every home is getting one step closer to reality!

Thanks to the friendly ukulele players at the Terry Fox Library (who disguised themselves as smiley librarians) in Port Coquitlam, the Cuties and FVRL collaboration was formed in February!

Library

Serving a population of 700,000, the FVRL will add the joy of making music to its offerings. In its typical library fashion, the FVRL will include ukulele instruction books to the lot and assemble them nicely into carrying bags to round out the 50 ukulele kits!

The ukulele lending collection includes a variety of styles and colours to suit different tastes and levels of playfulness. From the standard figure-eight shaped brown soprano ukuleles, to their red glossy cousins, to the huggable pineapple cuties, to the thin-line arched back travel-size ukes decorated with abalone and pearl inlays, there is a ukulele to appeal to every aspiring ukester!

Here’s a sample of the fun collection.

uke02

Ukulele #02

uke23

Ukulele #23

uke38

Ukulele #38

uke50

Ukulele #50

What’s more? The strings of each uke have been carefully stretched by members of the Cutie Circle. In fact, the Cuties have lovingly strummed a handful of happy tunes into the tummy of each and every uke to get the instruments well on their way to meeting their new friends in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley. The hope of the Cuties is, of course, that all the people the ukes will touch can then build on these happy vibes and spread the music to their friends and families.

The Cuties also had a farewell party for the ukes to give these babies a grand send-off.

Courtesy of Jerry S.

Courtesy of Jerry S.

The official launch of the lending collection will take place at five of the FVRL locations:

Uke ’n Play launch events will be held at five FVRL locations. Please contact the library for more details.

The ukuleles will be in your neighbourhood in October!

Are you ready?!