Newcastle is blessed with a strong and vibrant ukelele community, with well over 300 active participants. The Newkulele Festival has established itself as one of the leading festivals of its type in Australia. It brings together local and interstate musicians in a weekend of sharing and enjoying music.

Previous Newkulele Festivals have been run under the banner of the Newcastle and Hunter Valley Folk Club by a subcommittee of ukulele members. From 2018, the Festival was run under the newly created Newkulele Festival Incorporated Association.

Why do we exist?

The objectives of the Newkulele Festival Incorporated are to:

• organise and stage regular ukulele festivals in Newcastle NSW on behalf of the local ukulele community
• stage ukulele festivals that focus on ukulele education, performance, community and fun
• provide festival programs which engage and inspire the interest of local, interstate and international ukulele players and communities
• build on the success of previous Newkulele Festivals and re-invest any profits into future festivals in Newcastle, NSW

Committee

The current 2024 Newkulele Festival Organising Committee are:

• Carol McCaskie
• Alastair Torrance
• Mick Palmer
• Jane Jelbart
• El Fletcher
• Stuart Csanski
• Nigel George