About Us

Ukulele Festival Hawaii is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit charitable organization established in 2004 by Roy and Kathy Sakuma who have dedicated their life’s work to preserving interest and spreading the joy of the ukulele through free ukulele festivals, workshops, community events, college scholarships and the donation of ukulele to those who need a helping hand.

In 1971, at a time when very few people were interested in the ukulele, Roy Sakuma, with the guidance and support of friends, sponsors and musicians, organized the world’s first and original ukulele festival. It was Sakuma’s dream to present a free concert to encourage local and international interest in the ukulele and show people that the ukulele could be played as a solo instrument of virtuosity and not just a rhythm instrument for background music.

Today, Roy Sakuma’s dream has become a reality. Hawaii’s wonderful little instrument is beloved around the world and the annual Ukulele Festival at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki is now a summer tradition. It is the largest ukulele festival of its kind in the world with crowds of thousands, internationally known musicians, celebrities, an ukulele orchestra of hundreds from 5 to 85 and ukulele players from around the world celebrating the diverse sound produced from the four-stringed wooden instrument whose predecessor came to Hawaii from Portugal more than a century ago.

In response to popular demand and the ukulele renaissance throughout the world, Ukulele Festival Hawaii  supports ukulele festivals on the road to the islands of Hawaii (Waikoloa), Kauai and Maui and virtually around the world.

Grammy Award-winning national pop artist James Ingram had been a frequent guest at the ukulele festival since 1994 when he and Roy met by chance while exercising on the tracks of the University of Hawaii football field. James Ingram, who has 6 children of his own, was taken by the concept of the Ukulele Festival whose main stars are the children. In 2004, James Ingram and Roy Sakuma composed the Ukulele Festival Hawaii’s theme song “Come and Join Us”. It was honored with the Hawaii Music Awards Single of the Year.

“Come and join us at the Ukulele Festival where the magic is in the music and the love that we share...”