• Win a $1,299 Global Mandolin Retreat Scholarship

    Win a 154780,299 Global Mandolin Retreat Scholarship from the Mandolin CafeBenicia, Calif. — The Mandolin Cafe is offering a scholarship for one lucky mandolinist to attend the next Global Mandolin Retreat in California, July 21-23.

    The inaugural Global Mandolin Retreat, hosted by Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg held this past weekend, took place just outside San Francisco and sold out upon announcement.

    The winner of the Mandolin Cafe Scholarship will receive a Silver Package ticket for the Retreat, a value of $1,299.

    The scholarship includes 13 hours of mandolin instruction, a welcome goodie bag, two lunches and two dinners plus access to the evening jams and instructor concerts. The winner will be chosen at random June 1, 2017 and announced on the Mandolin Cafe.

    About The Global Mandolin Retreat

    Players of all levels and styles will be attending this summer's Global Mandolin Retreat in sunny California. Mandolin players will be able to immerse themselves in learning mandolin at this three day mandolin retreat with two of the world’s leading mandolinists; Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg! They will also be joined by vocal coach Alison Burns and creativity coach James Taylor.

    From bluegrass to jazz to classical and more, Mike and Caterina will give you insight into the techniques, styles, and tips to inspire and improve your playing. The retreat is designed to gather mandolinists of all levels from around the globe with a common goal — learning, playing, eating and sleeping music. During the day you'll learn directly with Mike and Caterina and every evening you can sit back with a California wine or local handcrafted beer and take part in intimate, once-in-a-lifetime jam sessions. Just bring your mandolin, get ready to learn, jam, make friends and have fun!

    Additional Information


    Mike Marshall, Caterina Lichtenberg
    Comments 7 Comments
    1. jasona's Avatar
      jasona -
      Awesome! Thanks for the sponsorship. Applied--would love to attend. Then again, I love just being in the Bay area
    1. Freddyfingers's Avatar
      Freddyfingers -
      I tried to get into this event, and it sold out faster than a Dead show in the 90's. so maybe this is a second chance! Thanks guys, for the opportunity.
    1. DougC's Avatar
      DougC -
      I don't like this company pushing the 'spread the word' in order to increase your chances of winning. They send annoying emails if you enter. This is not up to the standards usually from Mike Marshall.
    1. jamestaylordotme's Avatar
      jamestaylordotme -
      Spreading the word is totally optional. You should only receive one email when you sign up to confirm that you have entered. Hope that clarifies and best of luck.
      - James
    1. BrianWilliam's Avatar
      BrianWilliam -
      Yeah, I don't care for the pyriamid scheme-y marketing but still signed up. Only received one email so far. Thanks!
    1. jamestaylordotme's Avatar
      jamestaylordotme -
      Yes, I can't stand those as well. Here's a picture from the Global Mandolin Retreat we held last weekend. This 'Mandolin Cafe Scholarship' is for one lucky mandolinist to attend the already sold-out Global Mandolin Retreat in California this summer. All the best. J

      Attachment 154875
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Anyone that has registered and feels slighted by the single automated email acknowledging registration, feel free to contact me by PM and I will request your name and email be removed from the scholarship drawing so that you won't receive a single further email, not the I'm aware one is even planned. The Retreat is already sold out so this is the only entry possibility.

      The discussion around some type of imagined illicit marketing scheme though stops here and now. Encouraging someone to share on social media is common. The Cafe does it all the time.

      While it's a right for someone to public beef about this, it's also the Mandolin Cafe's right as a sponsor of the scholarship to respond. There are plenty of instances of the Mandolin Cafe forum being used as a cloaked marketing front at times and we're not afraid to challenge them. This is nothing more than a single private request from an external company, which is their right, and which you're welcome to ignore. It's a non-issue.

      The email in question reads:

      --------------

      Thanks for entering "Global Mandolin Retreat Scholarship ($1299 value)".

      Visit (web address removed) to confirm your entry.

      IMPORTANT:

      To increase your chance of winning just share your lucky URL as much as possible via email, Facebook, Twitter, and social media.

      You will receive 3 extra entries for every person who enters via your lucky URL.

      Your Lucky URL: (web address removed)

      Regards,
      James Taylor
      On behalf of Mike Marshall