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Music Plays On at 39th Annual Ukulele Festival with Target as Title Sponsor, July 19 at Kapiolani Park Bandstand
Target named title sponsor for annual ukulele festival.
HONOLULU—The music plays on at the 39th Annual Ukulele Festival, the world’s largest ukulele event, thanks to new title sponsor Target. Ukulele players from Hawaii, Japan, Canada, Sweden and Tahiti will gather at Kapiolani Park Bandstand on Sunday, July 19, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. as the popular event pays tribute to the small, four-string instrument with the big, wonderful sound.
“We are so grateful to Target for signing on as our title sponsor this year. New to Hawaii, Target has embraced our island culture and the spirit of aloha,” said Roy Sakuma, Ukulele Festival Hawaii founder. “This year’s ukulele festival brings together keiki as young at 5, teen sensation Taimane to 101-year-old ukulele legend Bill Tapia, as well as ukulele players from Japan, Canada and Sweden. It’s going to be an exciting event, and we invite everyone to join us on July 19.”
In addition to Taimane and Tapia, other guest artists scheduled to perform to date include Holunape, Ohta-San, Palolo, Ken Makuakane, Natalie A‘i, Sunset Strummers (California), Langley Ukulele Ensemble (Canada), Yuji Igarashi, George Matsushita, Lealea (Japan), Ukulele 4 Ladies (Sweden), and winners from ukulele contests in Tahiti and Japan. In addition, some 800 children, teens and adults of Roy Sakuma Ukulele Studios will also take the stage, performing popular tunes such as “”Boogie Woogie,” “Wipe Out,” and “Pineapple Mango.” The finale will be “I Am What I Am,” a song Sakuma wrote nearly 40 years ago that encourages people to accept themselves for who they are.
Free shuttle service from Kapiolani Community College to Kapiolani Park Bandstand and back will be available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ukulele displays, food booths, and Ukulele Festival T-Shirts and recyclable grocery bags add to the festivities.
Presented by Ukulele Festival Hawaii, the 39th Annual Ukulele Festival is sponsored by Target, Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Hawaii Tourism Authority in cooperation with the City and County of Honolulu, Bank of Hawaii, Tesoro, Foodland, and other organizations.
For more information about the Target 39th Annual Ukulele Festival, call 808-732-3739 or visit
www.ukulelefestivalhawaii.org.
The Music Plays On at 39th Annual Ukulele Festival with Target as Title Sponsor, July 19 at Kapiolani Park Bandstand
Ukulele Festival Hawaii is a non-profit charitable organization established in 2004 by Roy and Kathy Sakuma. The organization’s mission is to bring laughter, love and hope to children and adults throughout Hawaii and the world through the music of the ukulele. Ukulele Festival Hawaii produces, promotes and arranges ukulele festivals free to the public, encourages interest in Hawaii’s arts and culture through education and scholarships, and promotes local and international interest in the ukulele as an instrument of virtuoso quality.
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