WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Hugh and Fi McCafferty first picked up the ukulele in 2009. Two years later, inspired by the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, they ran a series of adult classes that eventually morphed into a weekly ukulele group. In 2012 that group (grandiously named the Geraldine Ukuphonium Orchestra) performed at the Midwinter Magic Ukulele Extravaganza – a variety concert organised by Fi and Hugh as a fundraiser for their church.
Encouraged by the favourable response, the ideas for a festival were scribbled on a cafe napkin and the following year, Geraldine Ukefest was born. Following 2013’s inaugural festival, GUF grew from a one-day event mostly attended by locals to a four-day festival with international acts, workshops, community concerts, mass-strumalongs and jams, and, most importantly, lots of opportunities for amateur performance.
Following the 2015 festival, Fi and Hugh created a Facebook group to gather up New Zealand ukulele groups – New Zealand Ukulele Network (NZUN). This network has successfully grown a vibrant ukulele community made up of enthusiasts from all around the country. NZUN has international members, too, with a growing number of ukulele tourists now visiting New Zealand, playing their way around the country using the NZUN Club Directory as their guide.
In 2022, poor ticket sales, thanks to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting poor economic climate, that year’s festival was cancelled, and the decision taken to mothball the event. However, in 2026, after a three-year break, Fi and Hugh were pleased to announce the GUF reboot.
When they aren’t organising Geraldine Ukefest, Hugh is Vicar of Geraldine Anglican Parish, while Fi keeps busy organising other local events, helping Hugh with the parish, leading music worship on Sundays (sometimes on her ukulele), and editing the Geraldine News, the town’s weekly newspaper.
To find out more about the history of Geraldine Ukefest, here’s a little blog Hugh and Fi wrote for an international publication: How to build a ukulele festival from scratch