BIG NEWS!
Mark and I are very excited to announce that we will be moving our Bytown Ukulele Group (BUG) Jam to a new home, starting with our July 16 BUG Jam!
WHERE: Ottawa Masonic Centre
2nd Floor Lounge
2140 Walkley Road, Ottawa
RING THE DOORBELL FOR ADMITTANCE TO THE CENTRE
TIME: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Bring your dinner!
TICKETS: $10 tickets for our July 16th BUG Jam will be available to purchase on July 2 at 6 p.m. on the Bytown Instruments website. Here's the link: Bytown Ukulele Group (BUG) Jam Tickets – Bytown Instruments All monies from ticket sales go toward the cost of hall rental and equipment - Mark and I continue to do what we do for free.
NOTE: There will be some Pay-What-You-Can spots available for those who may have need. Please email Sue@bytownukulele.ca to enquire.
TICKET RETURNS: If you find that you are unable to attend the BUG jam, your ticket(s) may be returned by contacting Mark or Sue via phone at 613-526-4313 or email Sue@bytownukulele.ca. We will refund the full price of your ticket(s), less 10% to cover the costs of the bank/merchant fees paid. No requests for refunds will be accepted after 12:00 p.m. (noon) on the day of the jam.
SEATING: 1600 square feet on the 2nd floor with seats for 100+. Regular height tables and chairs. Lots of room for coats, ukes, and socializing.
FOOD & DRINK: You can bring in our OWN FOOD - pizzas, subs, burgers, etc. - and have dinner before the jam with your uke friends! Yippie! In our room there is a Smart Serve certified bartender with a fully-stocked bar with very reasonable prices for domestic, premium, and imported beers, wine by the glass or bottle, single and premium malts, blended whiskies, etc. as well as water, pop, juices, and packaged snacks.
ACCESSIBILITY (fully wheelchair accessible): Elevator to the 2nd floor
WASHROOMS: main floor (accessible) and 2nd floor
PARKING: Free parking for 140 including 8 handicapped parking spots near the entrance.
SONGS: THIS MONTH WE'RE TAKING REQUESTS FROM THE BUG FESTIVAL SONGBOOK RIGHT AT THE JAM! We're going to lead this jam the way we've led jams at ukulele festivals - and it means Mark has to bring ALL his toys! Here's where you'll find the BUG FESTIVAL SONGBOOK (also posted below), and a Song Request List of all 316 songs in the songbook, including the artist and year. You can print out or download the list to help you choose your songs! We'll ask you at the jam what you'd like to sing! There are lots of songs in that book that we haven't played in many years. It's gonna be crazy! Mark's gonna have to bring ALL his toys! Yippee! Of course, you can look through the songbook and list in advance and jot down a couple of songs you'd like to play! We're also hoping to get lots of volunteers to come up and help sing the songs, so please don't be shy - you'll have lots of support! We'll display the songsheets on the screen at the front of the room.
OPEN MIC: We have two or three open mic spots at each jam. If you're interested in a spot, please email me, Sue@bytownukulele.ca, with the name of the song you'd like to sing and the artist/songwriter. If spots are full, you'll be put on a waiting list for the next available spot. If you love open mic sessions, we'd also highly encourage you to participate in other open mics across the city to spread the ukulele joy!
DEADLINE for open mic submissions: July 2, 2025, but sooner is better.
IF YOU CAN'T JOIN US LIVE for whatever reason, no worries! We record the jam, so that you can play along with us anytime! We'll upload the jam video and the songbook we use for the evening on our BUG Jam Videos page.
If you'd like to help Sue and Mark cover the monthly costs they pay to maintain this website, please consider making a small donation. Thank you for your support.
