Prizes

Custom painted ukulele with desert blooms. Original artwork by Marie Hughey.

Each year, we have a unique collection of drawing prizes donated to help support festival expenses and keep registration rates as low as we can. We’ll post the prizes as they come in, so come back and check as we get closer to the festival.

2026 Painted Ukulele

Las Cruces Ukes Charter Member Marie Hughey paints a special ukulele each year, which is finished by Chief Musical Officer boB Hull. This year, Marie has focused on the beauty of the Mesilla Valley, the Organ Mountains, and the drama of the night sky. One lucky winner will be the owner of this one-of-a-kind piece of musical art!

Stained Glass Ukulele

In honor of our country’s 250th birthday, Las Cruces Ukes member and artist Jo Hine has created a one-of-a-kind red, white, and blue stained glass ukulele, complete with interior lights!

Desert Southwest

This fused glass wall art by Las Cruces Ukes member and artist Kay Gross is inspired by the Chihuahuan Desert and her vintage Silvertone soprano uke. It  will make a great wall piece for your music room!  22″ x 7″

Kala Teak Tri-Top Tenor Ukulele with Cutaway and EQ

Model: KA-TK-T-CE ukulele and UB-T-Logo Gig Bag; Value $185

The Kala Teak Tri-Top Ukulele Series is a striking addition to their line of affordable ukuleles. Made primarily of Teak — a tropical hardwood that has a very soft brown tone with tight, straight grain patterns and striping — the Tri-Top comes together with a triangular strip of mahogany that runs down the center providing a red or orange contrast against the brown. The stain is so natural it looks like the wood is fresh-cut from the tree. These ukes also feature a sharp, Florentine Cutaway and an active EQ with built-in tuner. Comes with a Kala Logo Gig Bag with a plush, padded interior to help protect your ukulele wherever you take it. It also includes a zippered pocket to hold your accessories and shoulder straps to keep your hands free when you’re on the move. Donated by Kala!

Kala Makala Concert Ukulele Pack

Model: MK-C/PACK  SKU: MKCPACK2105; Value $79

The MK-C Pack includes a Makala Classic Concert ukulele, clip-on tuner, gig bag, and instruction pamphlet. The Makala Classic Concert ukulele is excellent for the novice or intermediate player. The inexpensive Makala Classics are comfortable and easy to play.

Ohana Concert Uke

Las Cruces Ukes member Carol Witham is donating this lightly used Ohana ukulele that comes with a beautiful gig bag and Wirth strings. It is Model CK-50M6 with a solid cedar top and flamed mahogany back and sides.

New value: $389 + gig bag (approx. $45) and upgraded strings

Amy Kucharik Prize Pack

Artist Amy Kucharik has donated a cool prize pack with two CDs, three stickers, and a magnet!

Sho Humphries CD

Instructor Sho Humphries is donating their CD, Making Summer Memories.

Stu Fuch’s Stukulele CD

Stu is donating copies of his debut ukulele-centric CD!

Viggy Kolasinski’s Bluesy Beatles Prize

UkeFest instructor Viggy Kolasinski is donating a Bluesy Beatles flash drive bracelet containing a 60-minute Beatles-themed video workshop and five finger-style ukulele tab PDFs.

Andele! Restaurant Salsa Bar to Go

You can’t visit New Mexico and not try some delicious, locally made salsa! This gift pack of Andele Restaurant salsas made by Ol’ Gringo Salsa Company is just the thing!

Salsa gift pack

New Mexico Gift Pack

New Mexico is called the Land of Enchantment for many reasons, including our beautiful vistas, clear blue skies, and even our rich agricultural heritage. Take home a little piece of New Mexico with this gift pack that includes a variety of mementos such as:

  • Rio Grande Winery fused bottle with their cork, with a turquoise and silver beaded serving knife (made by Kay Gross)
  • Hand-made NM rope basket (made by J.C. Sue)
  • Felted ukulele (made by Cheryl Fallstead)
  • Jar of Ol’ Gringo Salsa (medium heat)
  • NM patch, magnet, and sticker
  • Pistachio and Dark Chocolate Tortugas (turtles) 
  • Vanilla Pistachio Pralines
  • Red Chile Bible cookbook 

Special Offerings at Ukulele Swap Meet

Each year, we offer space in the Ukulele Marketplace so that full-festival attendees can buy and sell ukuleles and related items between each other. This year, we’ll also be offering ukuleles in the swap meet. These are rather special as they were part of the collection owned by late Las Cruces Ukes member Ted Powers. Ted had a large and varied collection of instruments and we’ll be offering some of his ukuleles at the swap meet to benefit Mesilla Valley Hospice, to which Ted willed his entire estate. Here are some of the ukuleles you can see at this year’s festival. Don’t miss them!