Ukulélé Fest à la Médiathèque
I organized an ukulele festival that we called "Ukulélé Fest à la Médiathèque" at our médiathèque on saturday 14th February 2026, Saint Valentines day ! It's an event that brough a lot of experience and knowledge to me in so many different levels. I'm happy to say that the day was a success, and that my buttcheeks were hurting from running all day :D
Idea was to make a whole day event that will celebrate ukulele, this beautiful instrument that brings smiles to people of all ages. It's organized as a Scene Offerte, so that means 0 euros budget !
I was trying to organize this event for over a year, and at the end, we had a strong, full day programation : concert for the babies in the morning, an introductory workshop to playing ukulele for teenagers and adults, followed by a open mic and a concert of the group Les Youkou Félés.
Ukulélé Bébé (0–3 years old)
Times: 10:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Two gentle musical experiences for babies. In January I did a formation about playing ukulele for babies, and I used all I learned there for this concert. Nursery rhymes, adapted songs, and the warm sounds of the ukulele provided a moment of sensory discovery for the babies.
Session 1: 14 children + 14 parents
Session 2: 12 children + 8 parents
Total: 48 participants
This was a crown to my objective for this year - to do activities for small children. I created an acceuil de classe for grande section (5 years old) and now I did an activity for the babies. I broke the ice, and it went great ! I learned couple of new songs, we all sang, danced and had a great time. Babies were watching ukulele or me in awe and for a lot of them, if not all, it was a first ukulele concert ever. If there was something negative to add, it's a fact that i put the curtain behind me, to cut the salle in two, but when the kids found out there is something behind, they started playing. So some kids lost a concentration a little. The second thing is that the second session was little late, so when the kids were hungry, well, nothing to do really. But otherwise, a magnificent experience :)
Ukulele Workshop for Beginners
Time: 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
The workshop welcomed a motivated and highly engaged group of 6 participants: 1 teenager and 5 seniors. Three participants brought their own instruments. One ukulele were from our instrumentothéque, and tow ukuleles I loaned at Vernon médiatheque.
This initiation covered the basics of playing ukulele, explaining the instrument, feeling it, learning four chords and learning the song "Stand By Me." It was my first time giving a music class to people, and I tried to make it slow, and fun. I topld to people, we are not here to be perfect, because in one hour it's not possible. But we can learn the cords and learn a song. At the end, we did play the song and sing. I was super proud. The participants showed great enthusiasm and a genuine interest in continuing with regular sessions: a promising avenue to explore for adult music programming.
Concert « Scène offerte » – Les Youkou Félés
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
The concert began with an open mic, giving audience members the opportunity to perform on stage. Six different performances were presented and it was very personal, inspiring and touching. The band Les Youkou Félés then did their performance of pop and rock covers with ukulele (normal and bass) and a drum pad. There were over 75 people (children, adults, and seniors). Some children who had participated in the morning workshops were also present, creating a friendly atmosphere.
Overall Results
In total, at least 129 people attended this event, likely more since the count for the concert Les Youkou Félés was stopped after 75 attendees. The event attracted a diverse audience and demonstrated a real enthusiasm for participatory music-making centered around the ukulele. I hope this event will happen again, and that it will become a recurring even. It's promoting EMC and music making accessible to all.