Spruke Update 2023
1st May 2023
The SPRUKE festival run by Brisbane Ukulele Musicians Society (BUMS Inc) in June 2022 was a spectacular success. Taking over King George Square in the centre of Brisbane was an inspired choice. There were four stages, a beginner’s tent, a ukulele market and 12 hours of music mostly from SE Queensland players. It was a free event and attracted ukulele players from far and wide and the general public too – for many their first experience of what the ukulele can sound like.
BUMS considered doing it again in 2023 but have decided to defer it until 2024.
It’s an expensive and arduous proposition to create an event that big from an open space. We were lucky to have received a grant from the Gaming Community Benefit Fund and support from Brisbane City Council. Without these supporters it’s just too pricey to run a festival every year. We considered pruning the event, but it wouldn’t have been the same.
We are trying to secure grants for 2024 and plan to run fund raising events in 2023 to help us put on another spectacular SPRUKE.
If you have contacts or know places where we can apply for grants, we’d love to hear from you. Ukulele players form a wonderful community inspiring ourselves, new players and others who have never heard such fun music. We all know how music can soothe and uplift us all.
We’d also like to hear from anyone with fund raising ideas.
Contact secretary@brisbaneukulele.com
