Houkulele: Houston's Ukulele Club

Houkulele is Houston’s ukulele club, a vibrant community of players of all ages and skill levels. We represent the culturally diverse Greater Houston Area and have fun encouraging each other to grow musically while connecting with the public through our shared love of the ukulele.

Want to contact us? Join our Facebook group!

Friday, February 6, 2015

Galveston Mardi Gras 2015 - Parking and Wristbands

 From Larry, our parade coordinator...

Due to street closures, the best way to access the Convention Center garage is to come up 53rd Street towards Seawall and take a right through the Rain Forest Cafe parking lot to get to the parking garage.

Wristbands will be available for the group which will enable them to get free food from the Krewe of Gambrinus vendor. Restrooms will be open at the Convention Center.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Galveston Mardi Gras 2015 - This Weekend!


Here's the latest info from Dave:

All ya all,

Here is a run-down of what to expect this weekend... Most of what is in here has been posted before, but these are some reminders. The weather looks like it will cooperate!

Please note that all Houkulele members, fans, and supporters are welcome to participate-regardless of musical ability!

Krewe of Gambrinus Mardi Gras Parade
  1. Parade is Saturday, February 7, 2015, Galveston, TX, Parade starts at 6:00pm.
  2. Roaring 20’s is the theme. Costumes appropriate to the period are desired. Decoration of the truck/trailer to be conventional Mardi Gras colors.
  3. Songs, chords, and YouTube play-along links have been posted on the site...please practice!
  4. There will be Gatorade and water in a cooler in the truck bed. BYOB if you want something else.
  5. We will be placed in the Float section rather than the Marching Band Section
    • Truck/trailer to be assembled on Thursday afternoon-and Friday in West Isle on Galveston Island. Final decoration touches to be done after spotting in the parade lineup on Saturday.
    • Sound check on equipment on the truck/trailer Friday evening
    • Truck/trailer to be at Avenue G and 44th at 0900 am on Saturday morning to be spotted in place and then proceed with the floats under police escort to the Seawall Blvd. (Should be in place by 11:00am, expect spot between 57th and 59th Streets)
    • Finish decorations on the truck/trailer at the Seawall
  6. We are invited to PLAY and play in the Krewe “PartyZone Section” before the parade (we get fed) and can warm up on our pieces (not expected to perform a concert)
    • “Party Zone Section” festivities are from 3:00pm to 5:00pm
    • Expect to play for our supper (warm ups for us) between 3:30 – 4:45pm
  7. Parade scheduled to start at 6:00pm The parade route runs along Seawall Boulevard, turns north on 25th Street and winds through the Historic Strand District in downtown Galveston. Parade duration is about two and one-half hours.
  8. Transport: The Krewe of are putting on a bus to take our participants back from the parade end to the Galveston Convention Center Parking Garage (parade start).

    Parking at the Galveston Convention Center (5600 Seawall Blvd, Galveston, TX 77551) is a two story parking garage located directly below the Convention Center with over 700 parking spaces. There are two entrances on 57th street and one entrance in the Hilton parking lot. At the parade end we will load everyone onto the trailer and the truck and follow the Floats to the Avenue G and 44th takeoff point where we will offload participants who would climb on the Krewe supplied bus to take us back to the cars at the Convention Center. A partial takedown of the truck/trailer decorations would be conducted to allow it to travel back to West Isle.
  9. Advise that you bring your ukulele but leave the case in your car. There is limited space available in the truck/trailer for transport of these during the parade.
  10. There will be 12 seats on the trailer for those capable of plugging into the sound equipment with 4 mics. There will be cords already on the trailer…..just being your instrument.
  11. There will be two SAG seats available on the trailer for people to rest.
  12. We will have the Houkulele Banner lead our unit like last year,,, some non-playing volunteers will carry the banner.
  13. 1000 instrument picks are on hand with the Houkulele Logo to be used as handouts. There are some beads left over from last year and we can give those out as well.
  14. There will be some Kazoos available at the trailer for those that need one.
  15. There will be a safety meeting beforehand so that everyone will know what to expect. We have access to two Motorola Radios to communicate from the trailer to the tow vehicle for stops.
  16. The parade stops periodically... we will play and sing but please do not encourage the crowd to rush the trailer for picks or beads. These could be potential safety issues for us.
Last but not least... please come and have fun. Bring your camera to take pictures. We can pool our results for a nice album.

- Dave Skodack