The Summer Strum Hoylake is a not-for-profit community festival run by the Wirral Ukulele Orchestra. It is a celebration of music and wellbeing - the ukulele being universally reknowned as an instrument that spreads joy amongst players and non-players alike. Over the years its popularity has spread and last year we had a band over from Finland. It is a chance for ukulele players/bands to showcase their talents and meet like minded people and for non-Uke players to have a go, to connect with a local group and to simply see how playing with others promotes wellbeing.

The festival is organised and run by a fantastic team of unpaid volunteers. There is no entry charge to the festival and we are extremely keen to keep it that way - to continue being accessible to all. All we ask is that people donate to the charities we choose to support that year via our bucket collections, raffles, workshops or by buying something from the many stallholders who set up shop at the festival.

In order for the festival to take place we aim to raise enough funds through the year to pay for marketing, stage, lighting, sound, seating and rain cover. It is our aim to raise all the money needed to cover the festival infrastructure this year, so that at the end of the actual weekend we will have more donate to the charities - Wirral Hospice St John and Wirral MIND. We are also holding a Race Night Fundraiser with proceeds of the raffle going to Shelter (Merseyside) and plan an evening of Ukulele and Wine in 2017.

Please donate as little or as much as you can to ensure that this community festival can take place and to help raise as much as we can for charity. Support our events throughout the year - information via our Facebook page : Summer Strum Hoylake and Wirral Ukulele Orchestra.

Many many thanks

Emma and Pat (Festival organisers)