If you thought the ukulele was confined to Hawaii, think again. The small, guitar-like instrument is enjoying a small renaissance in Canada and Israel in recent years, and the Edmonton Ukulele Fest is a prime example.
According to the event organizer, Mark Hayes, the festival, which is hoped to become an annual event, began as a joke between friends and evolved into a fundraiser for Ukuleles for Peace, a non-profit group in Israel. The festival will be held September 11 at 10081 Jasper Avenue, featuring a selection of musicians that includes Doug Hoyer of Illfit Outfit, Alena Manera, and The Be Arthurs. Doors open at 8pm and admission is by donation.
Paul Moore, 58, hadn’t heard of the Edmonton Ukulele Fest until contacted by email in early September. The founder of the five-year-old Ukuleles For Peace (UFP), British-born Moore moved to Israel several years ago, spending his time growing apples and playing music with groups like the Jerusalem Travelers, Organic Energy, and in solo acts.
He considered leaving Israel when the suicide bombings increased in frequency, but changed his mind when he determined that the simple ukulele could be a tool to allow Jewish and Arab children to meet in a positive way. So he volunteered to teach the ukulele in the Democratic School in Hod Hasharon and the El Najach school in Tira on a weekly basis, involving some 100 children. He also created the UFP orchestra wherein 10-to-15 children from both schools meet to practice and perform on community holidays in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
“Before the Ukuleles for Peace program was introduced, there were virtually no communal or social ties between the communities of Tira and Hod Hasharon,” he notes on his website. “Since the start of the program, however, contacts between the two have begun to develop on a number of levels. At the most fundamental level is the orchestra itself. The children and some parents meet to rehearse and travel to performances together. Here, the children in particular began to form friendships, which lead to birthday party invitations, play dates and other social outings. The orchestra has held several picnics at which families have begun to interact and get to know one another.”
“The only reason I see hope is because I see the kids working together,” he says. “The people in the middle ground have got to get out there and make peace happen. It ain’t gonna happen if we sit by and say we’re all peace loving people – without talking to one another. It’s about sharing in one another’s happy moments and tragedies. You’re fusing the communities.”
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1 Paul Moore // Sep 5, 2008 at 2:59 am
Thanks for the blog. A couple of points to fill in .I have been living in Israel for nearly 30years not several as you published 11 years on a Kibbutz growing apples and playing music and since 1991living in Hod Hasharon as a musician . BTW i see you have a green agenda in your blog something i have incorporated in my life and music for many years , and plan to include in theUFP Orchestra in the future … Much Aloha Paul.
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