Friday, Nov. 6, Saturday, Nov. 7 and  Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026

Shady Grove UMC in Mechanicsville, VA

Performances by 10 VA community ukulele groups, workshops, concerts, jams, open mics, ukulele karaoke, individual mentoring, vendors, and more!

Early bird tickets go on sale 6/1!

What is Va Ukapalooza 2026?

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, roundtable discussions, 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!

• Greg Gent’s  “Jam Party” (aka a big uke jam)

• The Midnight Ukulele Society (a community ukulele group from Richmond, VA) concert

• Vendors

• Food truck 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)

• 17+ workshops on various ukulele topics

• Instructors:Stu Fuchs, Greg Gent, Amy Kucharik, Sam Anderson, Mim, Stu Kindle, Paul Bakeman, Ron Knobler, Jeff Patelski, Keith Fukumitsu, Sue Agee, 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 Greg 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. 

• Round table discussions

• 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 truck for lunch (11 am-2pm) and 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) 

More Info!

• All Access tickets include admission to all festival events on 11/6, 11/7, and 11/8.  Individual Friday only and Saturday/Sunday tickets will go on sale on August 1 only if we don’t sell out of All Access (early bird) tickets by then. We have received an overwhelming positive response for our festival and there is a likely chance of selling out due to the demand

• Event is run by Virginia Ukapalooza, a 501(c)(3) non profit, and through volunteers provided by The Midnight Ukulele Society (a community ukulele group based in Richmond, VA) 

• Virginia Ukapalooza is open to ukulele players and enthusiasts from everywhere! All are welcome!

• Please follow us on Facebook/Instagram: @VirginiaUkapalooza

• Questions? VirginiaUkapalooza@gmail.com

• Check out the various tabs on our website for all of the juicy details!