Ukulele events are gaining in popularity thanks to ease of instrument, peer focus.

A little over a decade ago, the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz launched their first Smoldering Uke event at Hidden Valley Music Seminars in Carmel Valley. Co-founder and four-decade ukulele player Sandor Nagyszalanczy remembers it well.

“We had a fall campout event called Burning Uke which began in 2002 as an after-effect of Burning Man,” Nagyszalanczy says. Then in 2010, he and a friend approached Hidden Valley Founder and General Director Peter Meckel about the idea of a spring event. “He couldn’t have been more accommodating – he’s an amazing guy,” Nagyszalanczy says of Meckel.

And thus, Smoldering Uke was born. The event is unusual on several scores. First, there is no public event-ending concert. In fact, there are no concerts at all.

“This event is solely for the entertainment and enjoyment of the attendees,” Nagyszalanczy says. “There are workshops during the day, and structured jam session opportunities at night.”

Second, the focus of the event is different as well. “We are not a music school,” Nagyszalanczy explains. “This is a festival set to providing a good time for the participants, not a quest for virtuosity, one-upmanship or competitions. It’s about fellowship, enjoyment and having fun. If someone picks up a new technique or two on the instrument, then that’s just an added benefit.”

Also noticeably absent are a litany of high-powered guest instructors. Instead, the daytime workshops are led by fellow attendees, 14 of them to be precise.

“We strive for a peer-to-peer experience,” Nagyszalanczy says. “A peer-driven event like ours makes participants feel much more relaxed and comfortable.”

Nagyszalanczy also notes the proliferation of uke events since the Carmel Valley gathering began. “Ten or 15 years ago, when we started out, there were very few ukulele festivals,” he notes. “Now they are all over the country and the world.”

Nagyszalanczy credits the instrument itself. “It’s highly portable, inexpensive and easy to learn,” he says. “Watch a talented guitarist – the six strings and long neck seem complicated by comparison.”

And legendary players Jake Shimabukuro and Iz Kamakawiwo’ole elevated the uke, attracting more mainstream artists to the instrument, such as Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder.

“If festival attendees don’t leave with a smile on their faces, then we haven’t done our job, he says.”

SMOLDERING UKE: A WINTER UKULELE RETREATThursday-Sunday March 7-10. Hidden Valley Theater, 104 W. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. Sold out. 659-3115, hiddenvalleymusic.org