Galveston Mardi Gras 2017 - Times, Bus Transport, and More!

All Ya All,

I talked with the Krewe this afternoon and here is the latest you should be aware of:

1. Parade starts from/near the Galveston Convention Center on Seawall Blvd at 6:00 PM Saturday February 18th.
2. The Krewe of Gambrinus buses start loading at 3:00 PM to take participants from the Moody Garden Convention Center Parking Garage at 1 Hope Road in Galveston to the “Party Zone” at the parade start.  There are 5 buses and when the last one leaves that will be the end of the Krewe transport from Moody to the Parade start.  It is estimated that the last bus will leave the parking garage at 3:30, they leave as they are filled.
3. If you miss the Krewe buses come to the Galveston Convention Center on the Seawall and park in their parking structure.  The Seawall will be closed from 61st street East but you can get to the Convention Center by taking off before you get to the Seawall and come in the back way from say 57th.  When you get to the Houkulele Truck/Trailer ask around and get a ride from one of the others that made the Krewe buses from Moody to bring you back to your car at the Convention Center at the parade end.
4. The parade will end near the Galveston Cruise Terminal and the Krewe buses will be waiting at the Train Museum to take you back to Moody Gardens. It’s a short walk from the Terminal to the Train Museum.

Housekeeping Items:

• We will have water and Gatorade in a cooler
• There will be some spare Kazoos at the trailer and beads to pass out to the crowd
• Please don’t bring your hard cases to the trailer (there is very little spare room)
• Dress appropriately - it most likely will be cool later on in the evening
• If you have a uke that is capable of being plugged into an amp, please bring it

Bring your enthusiasm!
- Dave Skodack

PS There will be a PDF fof the parade/parking locations posted soon!

Galveston Mardi Gras 2017 - It's time to practice!

February 18th will be here before you know it! Now's the time to practice the songs we'll be playing during the parade:

• Houkulele Mardi Gras 2017
  (updated January 25th to fix missing chords on "It's So Easy")

Note: Please try and memorize the songs up to the "Extra Songs" page. Everything beyond that may or may not end up getting played during the event...

Galveston Mardi Gras 2017 - Saturday, February 18th

Krewe of Gambrinus Parade
Saturday, February 18, 2017
6:00 PM Seawall Blvd

All Ya All,

We have received our official invitation from the Krewe! The theme this coming year is:

"Legends of Music on Parade"

At least one of the floats has adopted "The Beach Boys" as their focus.

Your "Collective" is accepting nominations for songs to begin practicing. We need at least six, one of course being "As the Saints Go Marching In", which leaves five others. They should be lively, easy to sing, readily identifiable by the crowd, and can be from any Music Legend. Examples: Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again", Elvis's "Hound Dog", John Fogarty's "Bad Moon Rising", Buddy Holly's "That'll be the Day", Chuck Berry's "Johnny Be Good", Elton John's "Crocodile Rock", etc, etc, etc.

Of course we could adopt one Music Legend, learn their songs, and everyone dress up as that or go with varied Artists which would leave everyone to dress up as their favorite...

Let us know your thoughts by joining the discussion on our Facebook group.

More as it develops.
- Dave Skodack

Ukulele Workshop with Mark Baker, Saturday, October 22nd

SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, October 22, 2016
Ukulele Workshop with Mark Baker

Workshop starts 4:30 pm
Pot luck dinner at 6:00 pm
Open mic followed by House Concert by Mark 7:00 pm

Place: Kenneth and Nicole's house in the Houston Heights
(address will be sent to participants)

Cost: $20 at the door

Please send a Facebook message to Kenneth Fowler to reserve a place (limited seating)

Workshop description:
Tired of the same old sing and strums on the ukulele? Want to add more COLOR to your playing? Join us for this very interactive workshop. In the workshop, you will learn various techniques, including chord variations, picking and strumming for effect to really add pizazz to your playing.

You will walk away from this workshop with techniques you can immediately implement to increase your pleasure in playing your current repertoire and provide more color for those around you!

Mark Baker will demonstrate techniques then follow with a short concert with original ukulele music from his Album, “And I Ride”.

Here is a link to Mark's web site. You can listen to clips from his CD there:
http://markbakermusicaz.com/?page_id=155

Houston Ukestration Workshop, Monday, July 25th

Ukulele Workshop Coming!!! Sign Up Today!!!

Date: Monday, July 25
Time: 7-9pm
Location: My home in the Houston Heights (will send details to those who register)
Cost: $30

Since 2010 Mark Jackson and Jane Jelbart have been building an international reputation for unique, entertaining and educational "Ukestration" workshops. Their home is in Newcastle, NSW, Australia, but they have had the privilege of delivering workshops in Canada, Vietnam, and the USA. Over 1500 students altogether in the last 6 years.

Ukestration is where contemporary songs are arranged into parts for a ukulele orchestra. The very essence of a ukestra is inclusion, so the parts cater to a wide range of abilities. The workshop will help you stretch skills, have lots of fun, and contribute to a musical whole that is truly greater than the sum of the parts!

I look forward to seeing you there!

- Kenneth Fowler

Use this link to register for the workshop:
http://www.thesumoftheparts.com.au/ukestration-and-leadership/houston/

Check out Mark and Jane's web site for more info and videos:
ukestration.com

Galveston Mardi Gras 2016 - Times, Bus Transport, and More!

All Ya all,

I talked with the Krewe this afternoon and here is the latest you should be aware of.  Also note I have put together some maps showing the Moody Garden Parking Garage/Parade Start at the Galveston Convention Center and the Parade End near the Galveston Cruise Ship Terminal and the Train Museum.

1. Parade starts from/near the Galveston Convention Center on Seawall Blvd at 6:00 PM Saturday, January 30th.
2. The Krewe of Gambrinus buses start loading a 3:00 PM to take participants from the Moody Garden Convention Center Parking Garage at 1 Hope Road in Galveston to the “Party Zone” at the parade start.  There are 5 buses and when the last one leaves that will be the end of the Krewe transport from Moody to the Parade start.  It is estimated that the last bus will leave the parking garage at 3:30 to 3:45 PM. They leave as they are filled.
3. If you miss the Krewe buses come to the Galveston Convention Center on the Seawall and park in their parking structure.  The Seawall will be closed from 61st Street East, but you can get to the Convention Center by taking off before you get to the Seawall and come in the back way from say 57th or so (see the map).  When you get to the Houkulele Truck/Trailer ask around and get a ride from one of the others that made the Krewe buses from Moody to bring you back to your car at the Convention Center at the parade end.
4. The parade will end near the Galveston Cruise Terminal and the Krewe Buses will be waiting at the Train Museum to take you back to Moody Gardens.

Housekeeping Items:

• We will have water and Gatorade in a cooler
• There will be some spare Kazoos at the trailer and beads to pass out to the crowd
• Please don’t bring your hard cases to the trailer (there is very little spare room)
• Dress appropriately, it most likely will be cool later on in the evening
• If you have a ukulele that is capable of being plugged into an amp, please bring it.

Bring your enthusiasm!
- Dave Skodack

PS You can download a PDF file of the parade/parking locations here.

Galveston Mardi Gras 2016 - Parking/Transport/After-Party

All Ya all,

I talked with Larry Thompson our Krewe of Gambrinus coordinator and he has graciously set up parking and transport for us for the parade.

Parade Start:

The Krewe is putting on buses for their own members (and us) from the Moody Gardens Parking Garage to the start of the parade which is directly across from the Galveston Convention Center on Seawall Blvd.  Their buses will start running around 3:00 pm and will most likely stop around 4:30 pm or a little sooner so that all of their members can get to the “Party Zone”, those events start around 4:00 pm.  We are invited to tag along on these so please park at the parking garage or near it and follow the people to the front of the parking garage and board a bus.  It will take you near the start of the parade and our truck/trailer will quite near to that.  If you are asked who you are with...just say “Houkulele and Larry Thompson asked us to hitch rides with you all.”

For those who cannot make the Krewe buses from Moody Gardens or prefer to come later then you should come to the Galveston Convention Center and park there and make your way to the “Party Zone” or Parade Start area and find us.

Parade End:

The parade ends near the Galveston Cruise Terminal...we should be directed to follow the floats to the front of the Train Museum which is where the Krewe buses will be to pick-up the Krewe members and us and transport everyone back to Moody Gardens.  If for some reason we are guided by the police to the Cruise Terminal Parking lot (where normal band buses are staged) don’t panic...it is only a short walk to the Train Museum to catch the Krewe buses.  I would ask that those who parked at the Galveston Convention Center board the Krewe buses and ask around our group and see if they can catch a ride with someone who has parked at the Moody Garden Parking Garage to take them to the Convention Center so they can pick up their cars.  Please...if you are asked to ferry these members be gracious and concede a ride.

Post Parade After-Party:

Larry Thompson has invited Houkulele members to join the Krewe at Moody Gardens for their Post Parade After-Party.  The cost is $35.00 a head (same as the Krewe) and there will be adult refreshments and a breakfast served as well as a live band and dancing.  If anyone is interested please let me know so I can give a count to the Krewe.

Regards,
- Dave Skodack