<\/p>\n
The third annual<\/p>\n
Lots of ukuleles.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s festival will be based out of Fort Lewis College, with events being held at various venues around Durango.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything we need is there\u201d on campus, says Denise Leslie, director of the festival, adding that the Mainstage Theatre building at FLC has just the right amount of workshop space and a theater for performances.<\/p>\n
As for activities downtown, Leslie says there will an open jam at the Rochester\u2019s Secret Garden \u2013 and the hula girls are returning.<\/p>\n
There will also be a ukulele open mic night at Animas City Theatre on July 7 that is free and open to the public.<\/p>\n
This year, the fest is also offering a teacher training\/leadership training on July 9 for teachers who are incorporating ukuleles into their music programs. There will be two workshops available for them, and those interested have until July 7 to register.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are for anyone starting a ukulele group and wanting to lead it, to a teacher wanting to teach their kids how to play the ukulele,\u201d Leslie says.<\/p>\n
Festivals like this are important, Leslie says, because the ukulele deserves more credit than it sometimes gets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a jokester kind of instrument; it makes you smile. But it can also be a very serious and complicated instrument that a musician can just really create some beautiful music on,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd just to see us do different kinds of music; it\u2019s not just \u2018You Are My Sunshine\u2019 and \u2018Keep on the Sunny Side.\u2019 It can be tango music or it can be some Bruce Springsteen\u2019s \u2018Born in the USA.\u2019 We even do a little AC\/DC, or Queen, we\u2019ve got ABBA \u2026 and that way, you get everybody and every generation. It\u2019s really just fun to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n