Vendors/Sponsors
Simply put, we need each other! The ukulele community needs good quality instruments and supplies sold by honest reputable dealers for good prices. Dealers need good customers, who appreciate craftsmanship and integrity, who come committed to purchase a particular product and are willing to pay to get it. The Fest is the place for these two actors to meet. We like to see beginners, upgraders and serious collectors drooling over the offered ukuleles, confused because there are so many choices that make it difficult to pick one. And it is great to see vendors struggling with lines of avid buyers, holding one uke to purchase and eyeing others while they are waiting to be rung up! This has been the typical scene at past Festivals. This year should be even better.
The exhibitions this year will be limited to no more than 25, which will mostly be for vendors, but will also include other tables displaying the work of the Ukulele Hall of Fame, the Ukulele Foundation and the Merch table for performers’ CDs and other products. Vendors are usually ukulele luthiers, manufacturers or dealers, but accessories and related products, like strings, straps, tuners, etc. are also welcome. Hawaiian arts and crafts have also been successfully represented. Ukulele schools and teachers, dance lessons (mostly hula), and even cooking have been on our program. So we are as flexible as imagination will allow, but being ukulele-friendly is the key.
Vendors will be displaying late Friday afternoon and all evening (until about 10PM), all-day Saturday (Noon-10PM), Sunday 4PM-10PM). The fee for tables is $350, same as last year. The fee includes two Full-Festival Passes.
We encourage potential vendors to get in touch with us at nyukefest@gmail.com to explore the possibility of exhibiting at this year’s Fest.
We are also interested in Sponsorship. These can include ukulele brands that we would partner with to maximize exposure to our dedicated ukulele community. It can also be by other producers of products that we would also term ukulele-friendly. We were able to stretch that designation last year to include Brooklyn Brewery and will again include them this year on our uke-friendly list! The fees associated with sponsorship vary with each case, so contacting nyukefest@gmail.com to devise a plan is the best approach.