Ukulele Orkney

19/02/2026

Orkney Ukulele Gathering Update:
We’ve had to move to a Bigger Venue!

First off, a massive thank you to everyone who has already booked for the Orkney Ukulele Gathering on Saturday 18th April. The response has been so fantastic that we realised our original venue was no longer suitable.

We’ve moved the gathering to the newly refurbished and sparkling Salvation Army Halls in Junction Road, Kirkwall. The building is bright, airy, and there is plenty of space for two streams of players in separate rooms.

The Gathering was set up to appeal to folk already playing ukulele. We were open to inquiries from absolute beginners - but we were happily surprised by the response. The result is we’ll now be running two groups simultaneously.

The beginners' stream will be carried along by Susie Minto. Being married to Ken Walker, she has sat through most of his beginners courses and is taking on the starters group for the Orkney Ukulele Gathering so that multi-instrumentalist Ken can work with all those who already play ukulele.

The whole day promises to be a joyful gathering of like-minded folk, building community through music and song. We hope that at least one outcome of the day will be a new network of ukulele players in Orkney ready to start meeting together regularly.

If you’re a beginner, you don’t need to own a ukulele. Susie and Ken are bringing Kala Shark Concert ukes to lend out on the day for the Absolute Beginners. You just need to bring yourself, your fingers, and a sense of adventure.

To book for The Orkney Ukulele Gathering go to ukuleleorkney.weebly.com

The price for the full day is only £25. The Gathering is open to teens: the cost for 12-16 year olds is only £15, but they must be accompanied by an adult.

We look forward to meeting you!

05/02/2026

Thanks to everyone who’s shown interest in the Orkney Ukulele Gathering on 18th April. The venue is booked, the programme is almost ready to roll, and excitement is definitely building. Bookings are streaming in (or should I say "strumming" in)!

A few updates:

1. We’ll be running two workshop streams: an Absolute Beginners Workshop with Susie Minto, and an Improvers Workshop that I’ll be leading. Something for every level, so nobody gets left behind.

2. Young people aged 12 to 16 are very welcome to join us for the reduced rate of £15, as long as they’re accompanied by an adult. Sadly, our insurance doesn’t allow us to include anyone under 12.

3. We have 18 Kala Shark Ukuleles available for Absolute Beginners who don’t yet have their own. Perfect for getting started without any pressure (or expense)

There will also be a small selection of beginner ukuleles available to buy on the day for anyone keen to take one home.

And if you didn’t fill in the “Express an Interest” form, don’t worry - you can still book your place at ukuleleorkney.weebly.com

01/02/2026

Alex Mackenzie lives in Thurso and, with other members of the family, operates the music shop there - Pentland Music.

He is an up and coming star of the Ukulele in the UK and a wealth of information on all things ukulele.

Pentland Music is now the premier retail outlet for Ukuleles and Ukulele Accessories in Scotland. Next time you have time to spare while waiting for the ferry pop into the shop on the pedestrianised main street and introduce yourself.
You can see Alex's first ever ukulele performance at The Findhorn Ukulele Festival on youtube at https://youtu.be/OD_zWVSYJZA?si=BjPUnRrU1IOW2vNs

01/02/2026

The booking page for The Orkney Ukulele Gathering is now live on ukuleleorkney.weebly.com and the response so far has been wonderful — 31 people have already said they’re interested.
Susie Gareh Minto and I are really happy to be organising the event, with on the ground support from uke enthusiast Angus Ross-Thomson.
There isn’t currently a ukulele group in Orkney, and we’re hoping this Gathering might be the spark that brings one to life. If it does, we’d be absolutely delighted.
I’ll also be sharing some of the resources we use at the Forres & Findhorn Ukulele Group - FFUG.org - to help people get started, including songbooks, slides, chord charts and strumming guides.
Two people from the islands have already booked for the Findhorn Ukulele Festival. And we’re tagging The Orkney Ukulele Gathering as “The UK’s Most Northerly Ukulele Event.”
We look forward to meeting as many Orkney ukulele players as possible on the day, and also budding beginners who can book for a stand alone stream to go through the basics and get started on their musical journey.

Ukulele Orkney

31/01/2026

Bookings are officially open for the 1st Ukulele Orkney Gathering! Spaces are filling up fast, so grab your spot before they’re gone.

Head over to ukuleleorkney.weebly.com to:

1. Secure your place for the big event.

2. Register interest if you’re still deciding.

3. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop for future gatherings.