L.A. Is My Beat: Ukulele Saturday

Ellen, Natalie and Brit, Nisei Week, Ukule-Along, Little Tokyo

We had a GREAT time on Saturday at the Ukule-Along presented by Active Arts at the Music Center. This seminar was held at the Japanese Cultural Center in Little Tokyo. Brit, Natalie and I signed up for classes. Brit and Natalie took the finger-picking class first. I took ukulele tips and tricks class with Jason Arimoto and Brad ___. We joined up for the strumming class later with Daniel Ho. All of the classes were wonderful, even though large amounts of people attended each class. There were helpers in each class if you needed extra attention.

Instructors Brad and Jason

It was fun just being around so many other ukulele players. I recognized a few people from other groups around town, but most of the players were new to me. Since it was Nisei Week in Little Tokyo, there were many events happening, adding to the festive atmosphere of the day.

After our classes we stowed our gear and had a delicious sushi lunch at Oomasa Sushi Restaurant, right on the Plaza.

Fresh Salmon Sushi w/Ginger and Wasabi @Oomasa

We'd signed up to participate in the Ukulele Flash Mob at 2pm over by the Temporary Contemporary/MOCA Plaza. There were some excellent vendors on the Plaza, so we milled around a bit, trying to blend into the crowd until we heard the first ukulele strums. Suddenly, everyone jumped into place on the steps and we began singing and playing, led by Culver City instructor, Cali Rose. We sang a few oldies, "Let's Twist Again," "Hound Dog," "All of Me" and more. People were taking photos of us and recording like crazy. Let me know if any of those pix or videos show up online!