Night Market performance, at last?

If the weather gods cooperate; plus, prep for the Whirligig Festival

[YIKES! I got the location of the Night Market from Google rather than the Night Market site. Google was wrong! Thanks to Susan S., who spotted the inconsistency, the correct address and map are below. The location might have been obvious once you got there, but I appreciate her alertness and hope no one gets lost. That’s why I sent the newsletter via our regular email. —RH]

Hello everyone,

Our next jam at the church will be jam-packed with goodness. Thursday the 18th we will go over the songs we’re playing Friday the 19th at the Cary Night Market, 7 to 9 p.m, weather permitting.

It’s that time of year. Forecasts change several times a day. As I write this, there’s a 40% chance of showers that evening. This time yesterday, showers weren’t in the forecast. Two days ago, the chances were 60% all day and night. Who knows?

We'll have a much better idea when we’re at the church, of course. Right now, I’d say the chance it’s dry enough to play is 50/50. But if you want to look over the tunes, I’ve uploaded the list to Dropbox (creatively titled “Cary Night Market playlist”) for your enjoyment.

Also, if you’re going, along with the usual stuff, bring a chair. Plan to arrive early. Parking nearby may be an issue. I don’t know. I’ll be there no later than 6 so I can find out which tent we’ve been assigned and see what other things we may need.

I hope we can do this. It should be fun!

How do you get there? It’s at the Old Library Park, 310 S. Academy Street. A map is below:

Thursday, we’ll mainly work on songs we don’t play all the time or others you may have questions about. I want to leave time for a little spontaneity. … plus:

Whirligig Festival videos

Previously, in RUJ News, I mentioned our plans to participate in the Whirligig Festival in Wilson the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 5.

We’re leading five songs: Da Do Ron Ron; Don’t Worry, Be Happy; Sweet Caroline; Sweet Pea; and When The Saints Go Marching In. All the songs from all the groups are in a Dropbox folder — Whirligig Festival Playlist — including a single PDF file with all the songs and a setlist. Again, feel free to noodle around with the arrangements. The other clubs use different keys than we do for many songs.

Speaking of the other clubs — understandably, everyone wants to know how everyone else performs the songs each club is leading. (With a little luck, we’ll all play something similar when we’re together. It’s not too much to ask!)

The others have started recording their versions and posting to the North Carolina Ukulele Collective Facebook page. It’s our turn. Thursday we’ll set aside time (probably just after the warmup) to record our five songs. We’re not aiming for perfection, but for a reasonable representation of how we do the songs. IOW, bring your kazoos, y’all. ;-)

We’ll post ours on the FB page and then we can compare notes virtually.

If you aren’t planning to join these special performances, come Thursday anyway!

We’re always happy to see you, and it’s always a good time. Lots of new folks have wandered by and some familiar faces have returned. Join the fun!

Wielding the Baton Rick