And before you say “No, this is the fringe,” let me disabuse of that false notion right now. This is the new mainstream, and it’s been part of the alt-right playbook for years now:
Last night was just a tropical storm and not a hurricane, but Nebraska Avenue south of Sligh — not a tiny road, but a main thoroughfare — flooded so much that a number of cars had stalled out there. It gave me serious Philippines deja vu, where flooding often happens after a typhoon.
We flew home from Toronto yesterday, and fortunately, we landed about 20 minutes before the storm hit. I took the photo above from our ride.
The event is free to attend — come on down to Clearwater and enjoy some music!
Afternoon jams
I’ve tried to get them to correct my name a couple of times, but I’m honored to be in the lineup!I’ll be playing with Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons from noon to 3 on Cleveland Street, along with a lot of other fine bands:
You don’t have to be a spectator at this event — there are many opportunities for you to play the ukulele in a group, or learn how to play!
There’s a “Breakfast Jam” session at 11:30 where you can get started with your fellow ukulele players with some warm-up numbers.
At noon, the first “Strolling the District” walk will begin, where you’ll stroll through the District and make a few stops to play a number or two. If you have a ukulele and can play the chords C, Am, F, and G, you’ll be good to play along with most of the songs. Emily Stehle, Mike Stehle, and Cosmos Sagristano will lead this one.
There’ll also be a “Happy Hour Jam” session at 5:15. Once again, it’s a chance to warm up with your fellow uke players.
The second “Strolling the District” walk starts at 5:30, and once again, it’s a walk roll through the District with stops to play a number or two. The stroll winds up at the Peace Memorial Lawn where you’ll play the last medley at the pre-concert reception. Cosmo Sagistrano and Two Happy Ukers will lead this one.
Learn how play ukulele!
There will be three 45-minute “Introduction to the Ukulele” classes — they’ll be held at 12:30, 2:00, and 3:30. Bring your ukulele if you have one, and they’ll have some ukuleles on hand if you don’t.
Are you an experienced ukulele player looking to sharpen their skills? There’ll be a couple of classes for you:
I like to start most days with a 10-kilometer bike ride around my neighborhood, Seminole Heights. It’s also how I do the groceries; unless it’s raining or I need to get a lot of stuff or something large, I do most of my grocery shopping on the bike.
It was a pretty morning, so I took a couple of photos. The photo above was from the start of my ride and features our yard. The one below is of Lake Roberta, which is a great cycle track — the street that surrounds it is a quarter-mile circle.
![Ukulele Fest in the District acts: Spirit Band, Ukulele Russ, Chris Tracy, Roaming Busker, Connie Mason Project, Moon Dog, Tom Hood and the Tropical Suns, and Joey Davilla [sic] The Accordion Man](https://www.joeydevilla.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ukulele-fest-musicians-1.png)
