Cool hand uke

Ukulele enthusiasts are in for a treat; Ten Pound Fiddle, the Lansing Area Ukulele Group and Elderly Instruments have teamed up for a weekend chock-full of four-stringed fun. From concerts to group strums to workshops, that signature Hawaiian sound will resonate throughout the city.

The weekend begins with James Hill (pictured top left) and Anne Janelle (bottom left) in concert at Ten Pound Fiddle. Hill is one of the finest ukulele players in the world, and cellist Janelle slides in underneath the treble sounds of his uke with her lush cello tone. Both are accomplished singers and songwriters in their own right. The duo is promoting their newest album, “The Old Silo,” which mixes folk, roots rock, and Americana.

Ben Hassenger, Lansing’s selfdescribed “ambassador of the ukulele,” is thrilled to have Hill in town.

“For me, bringing (Hill) is comparable to being a guitarist and bringing Eric Clapton to town,” he says. “He’s in a rarefied group in the ukulele world.”

The fun continues Saturday, starting with a group strum hosted by the Lansing Area Ukulele Group. Ukesters of all ages and skill level are invited to bring their ukes to learn and play tunes together. The group hosts these events on the second Saturday of each month.

“We come up with 15 songs and post them ahead of time so people can learn them,” says Hassenger. “The leader will usually talk about strumming patterns or difficult chords. There is a teaching element.”

For Hassenger, it is a great opportunity to meet others in the community.

“You get a group of people playing and singing together, it’s a social experience as much as a musical experience,” he says For serious ukelists, Hill is hosting two workshops at Elderly Instruments. In addition to being a virtuoso ukulele player, Hill is a passionate teacher. He is co-author of “Ukulele in the Classroom” with J. Chalmers Doane, the trail-blazing teacher who pioneered the use of ukuleles in Canadian schools.

The first workshop, “Chord Twins,” promises to show you a “ukulele loophole” that “lets you quickly and easily sound like a pro.” The second, “Lyricism and Line,” will help participants explore the lyrical side of the ukulele.

“When Hill does a workshop, he has a great way of connecting with students,” says Hassenger.

—TY FORQUER

James Hill and Anne Janelle at Ten Pound

Fiddle 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 Group ukulele strum at 7 p.m., concert at 8 p.m.

$18/$15 members/$5 students MSU Community Music School 4930 South Hagadorn Road, East Lansing tenpoundfiddle.org

Lansing Area Ukulele Group Strum

10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 FREE Sir Pizza Grand Café 201E. Grand River Ave., Lansing www.facebook.com/groups/ lansingukes

Workshop: Chord Twins: Twice the Fun

1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 $40 Elderly Instruments 1100 N. Washington Ave., Lansing Call (517) 372-7880 for reservations

Workshop: Lyricism & Line: How to Make the Ukulele Sing

3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14

$40 Elderly Instruments 1100 N. Washington Ave., Lansing Call (517) 372-7880 for reservations

THURSDAY FEB. 12 >> OLD TOWN CHOCOLATE WALK

Explore Old Town’s businesses, shops and restaurants while on the hunt for sweet, sweet chocolate. When you sign up for the Chocolate Walk, you will receive a box to fill with chocolates, a map of participating businesses and a punch card. Visit each participating business to get your card punched and receive a tasty chocolate treat to put in your box. With any luck, you’ll even walk off all of the extra calories during your quest for cocoa. 5-8 p.m. $15 advance/$20 at the door. Old Town Commercial Association, 1232 Turner Street, Lansing. iloveoldtown.org/events/chocolate-walk.

THURSDAY FEB. 12 >> ‘SHARKNADO’ VIEWING AND DISCUSSION

Listen to an informative discussion about sharks and extreme weather after watching the hilariously improbable “Sharknado.” In cooperation with MSU Museum’s Darwin Discovery Day, Dr. Michael Gottfried from the MSU Department of Geological Sciences and Dr. Lifeng Luo from the MSU Department of Geography will host the viewing and lead the discussion. Shark teeth and skeletal material will be available to examine up close. “Sharknado” is gory, so leave the kids home for this one. 7 p.m. FREE. MSU Main Library North Conference Room (W449), 366 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing. lib.msu.edu.

FRIDAY, FEB. 13 >> MSU PROFESSORS OF JAZZ

MSU’s jazz faculty takes the stage as the musical version of the Justice League, the MSU Professors of Jazz. The “Professors” are a seven-piece ensemble comprising Etienne Charles on trumpet, Randy Gelispie on drums, Diego Rivera on tenor saxophone, Xavier Davis on piano, Randy Napoleon on guitar, Michael Dease on trombone and Rodney Whitaker on bass. The hard-bop group will perform classic tunes from the jazz canon, as well as original tunes composed by its members. 8 p.m. $10/$8 seniors/students FREE. Cook Recital Hall, MSU Campus, 458 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing. music.msu.edu.

SUNDAY FEB. 15 >> ARIELLE DI PORTO TALK

Arielle Di Porto of the Jewish Agency for Israel will speak on “Saving Jews in Ukraine, France and Elsewhere.” Di Porto’s expertise is in aliyah, the immigration of Jews in the diaspora back to Israel. Within the agency, her responsibility is promoting aliyah in Europe and the Middle East, and she was responsible for the recent secret immigration of 10 Yemenite Jews. 2 p.m. FREE. Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 1924 Coolidge Road, East Lansing. shaareyzedek.com.

SATURDAY FEB. 14-22 >> ‘SHIPWRECKED! AN ENTERTAINMENT’

This play follows the wild journeys of Louis de Rougemont, an actual historical figure who left home at the age of 16 to discover the world. His stories of adventure, published in Britain’s Wide World Magazine, were exotic and spectacular — and mostly fictional. He claimed to have lived in the Australian Outback for 30 years with indigenous people, where he supposedly rode a turtle and witnessed flying wombats. The Wide World Magazine once said of de Rougemont, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but de Rougemont is stranger than both.” Saturdays 8 p.m. and Sundays 7 p.m. $15. AA Creative Corridor, 1133 S. Washington Ave., Lansing. ixiontheatre.com.

SUNDAY FEB. 17 >> A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN

Join cast members of the MSU Vagina Monologues for a night of poetry readings, monologues and other works celebrating women. Attendees will have a chance to win raffle prizes, including tickets to see this year’s MSU Vagina Monologues, and Dublin Square has prepared a signature drink made just for the event. All proceeds benefit the Firecracker Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to honor the bravery of children who have survived sexual trauma. 7 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Dublin Square Irish Pub, 327 Abbot Road, East Lansing. vmonsatmsu@gmail.com, poetry.rcah.msu.edu/calendar.html.