About this Event
Virginia Ukapalooza 2026 is an action packed, 3 day ukulele festival consisting of learning, playing, and socializing – hosted by the Richmond area ukulele community, featuring regional and nationally known artists, geared for all ukulele players. The festival includes: performances by community ukulele groups from all around Virginia, workshops for all abilities, concerts, jams, open mics, ukulele karaoke, individual mentoring, a panel discussion, and vendors.
Here’s a summary of each day of the festival:
Friday 11/6/2026
- Hours: 6-10pm (doors open at 5pm for registration)
- Jake Shimabukuro workshop and concert. If you want to see Jake Shimabukuro, you need to attend on 11/6!
- Ukulele Gent’s “Jam Party” (aka a big uke jam)
- The Midnight Ukulele Society (a community ukulele group from Richmond, VA) concert
- Vendors
- Food trucks for dinner (5-8 pm) available for purchase
- Snacks, water, and soft drinks (included in ticket price)
Saturday 11/7/2026
- Hours: 9am-8pm (doors open at 8am for registration)
- 5 rooms of activities running concurrently (attendees pick which activity to attend each hour)
- 18 workshops on various ukulele topics. Instructors: Stu Fuchs, Ukulele Gent, Amy Kucharik, Sam Anderson, Mim, Stu Kindle, Paul Bakeman, Ron Knobler, Jeff Patelski, Keith Fukumitsu, Sue Agee, Gregg Kimball, and Rick Shaffer
- Ukulele Gospel Ensemble workshop (required for all Sunday 11/8 attendees)
- Two uke jams (one led by Paul Bakeman, the other by Ukulele Gent)
- Performances by 9 community ukulele groups from all around Virginia
- Concerts by Stu Fuchs, Amy Kucharik, Sam Anderson, Stu Kindle, and Loopy G
- Open Mics – both a large room format geared for experienced open mic performers, and a small room format geared for beginner performers
- Uke karaoke – sing a song in front of a small audience (like karaoke), while the audience strums ukuleles (active audience participation) with bass/percussion accompaniment.
- A panel discusion about leading a uke jam
- Individual mentoring – 25 minute one-on-one lessons with a uke pro; limited slots which must be purchased as an Add-On through Eventbrite
- Vendors
- Food trucks for lunch (11 am-2pm) and one for dinner (5-8 pm) available for purchase
- Snacks, water, coffee, tea, and soft drinks (included in ticket price)
Sunday 11/8/2026
- Attending the Ukulele Gospel Ensemble workshop on 11/7 is a pre-requisite to attend on 11/8
- Hours: 7:30am-12:30pm (must arrive between 7:30-7:40am)
- Be part of the ukulele gospel ensemble and perform at the church service
- Must arrive 7:30-7:40am and be ready to play by 7:45am to play at the first church service. Play at the 1st, 1st and 2nd, or all 3 services (each service is 1 hour with a 30 minute break in between) – the event ends at 12:30pm. You are welcome to leave early after the 1st or 2nd service if you don’t want to stay for all 3 services.
- No other festival activities on 11/8 (no vendors, no food trucks, no drinks/snacks)
Each all access ticket entitles one person full access to the festival on all 3 days of Virginia Ukapalooza 2026 (Friday 11/6, Saturday 11/7, and Sunday 11/8), and free access to beverages -- water, and soft drinks on Friday/Saturday with coffee (roasted by Eastern Shore Coastal Roasting Company!) and tea on Saturday. A pdf jam packet will be emailed to each attendee prior to the festival to load on their electronic device or to print at home.
All Access (early bird) tickets go on sale on June 1 through July 31. If the festival isn’t sold out by August 1, the following tickets will go on sale:
- Friday Only tickets
- Saturday/Sunday Only tickets
- All Access tickets (regularly priced)
Virginia Ukapalooza is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all attendees. If you require any ADA accommodations, please provide specific details in the activity/workshop signup form (link provided to each attendee automatically by Eventbrite after purchasing a ticket), so we can accomodate you to the best of our abilities. If our ability to meet your accomodation may determine if you can attend our event or not, please email us prior to purchasing a ticket: [email protected]
Please like and follow us on Facebook/Instagram (@VirginiaUkapalooza) and join the discussion!
This event is run by Virginia Ukapalooza, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization, that uses its proceeds to buy ukuleles for central VA schools, and teaches free ukulele classes at those schools: https://virginiaukapalooza.org/outreach/
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Shady Grove United Methodist Church, 8209 Shady Grove Road, Mechanicsville, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 172.57
