Music by the Ocean: Craig & Sarah's Ukulele Retreat at Mission Bay Resort
A little over a week ago, I had the honor of teaching and performing at Craig and Sarah's Ukulele Retreat in San Diego, held at the beautiful Mission Bay Resort.
The retreat kicked off with a concert and jam session on Sunday evening, where all of the artists performed together. Each artist contributed a song or two to the setlist, and because of my Mexican roots, I thought it would be nice to include Bésame Mucho.
Here is a short clip of that performance, filmed by attendee Linda Austin. Thank you, Linda!
The concert was filled with laughter and beautiful solos from all of the artists. After the concert, everyone gathered for a jam session where attendees were invited to play alongside the artists.
Sarah led a blues jam, and I was in awe of her voice and performance style. I actually had to stop playing for a moment just to capture the experience on video. You can watch that moment below:
It was so nice to see some of my Patreon members in the audience! They hadn't told me they were coming, so seeing them was such a wonderful surprise. Here are a few photos we took after the show:
The next day started bright and early with "homeroom," where attendees met with their homeroom teacher before the workshops officially began!
I taught four different workshops:
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Fingerpicking for Beginners
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Beginner Basics of Tab and Chord Melody
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Music Theory for Beginners
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Strum Like You Mean It (Adding Rhythm, Volume, and Emotion to Songs)
"Strum Like You Mean It" was the workshop with the most attendees (we may have run out of chairs!), and by the end of the session, the class sounded like a performance-ready ukulele ensemble. I was so impressed with how much everyone grew in just one workshop.
One of the most beautiful parts of Craig and Sarah's Ukulele Retreat is that both attendees and artists get to enjoy a private lunch by the ocean. The setting was so beautiful that I asked my mom to snap a photo of my daughter, Dani, and me. We were holding our churros for the picture!
Craig and Sarah were so sweet to let me bring my daughter to the event, so little Dani (and Grandma!) had fun enjoying the pool while I taught my workshops.
In between workshops, I wandered over to the resort's boutique to do a little shopping and found this 100% cotton sweater that said "Salty." It immediately reminded me of Matthew 5:13, where Jesus tells His followers that they are the salt of the earth, so I had to buy it!
Lenny, one of the artists who is also known as "UkuLenny," led a jam session at night where he invited me to play Careless Whisper with him. Lenny is a multi instrumentalist, so we both played saxophone for this song. Special thanks to Neal for snapping this fun photo of us after the jam session.
Craig and Sarah's Ukulele Retreat was on another level. The Mission Bay Resort in San Diego is a beautiful location, and being able to stay there while attending the retreat makes the experience especially enjoyable because attendees don't have to think about parking or driving back and forth. The workshops take place just steps away from the rooms where everyone is staying, and the lunches by the beach completely elevate the experience.
If you've ever considered attending one of their retreats, I cannot recommend it enough. You'll walk away having learned so much on your instrument while making new friends, enjoying beautiful performances, and taking a break from everyday life in a truly beautiful location.
To learn more about Craig and Sarah and to attend their next event, you can visit their website here: CraigandSarah.com
(Scroll to the bottom of their website to join their mailing list and stay up-to-date with all of their work in the ukulele community!)
Thank you, Craig and Sarah, for having me in your retreat! I'm looking forward to jamming again with you in the future :)