SCHOOLS and community groups are invited to help turn 100 guitars created by the Wangaratta Men's Shed into canvases ready for decoration during the 2025 Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues.

Ten years ago, members of the Wangaratta Men's Shed group were vital contributors to the Diddley Bow project - a fun and highly successful community engagement activity created for the festival by instrument maker Luke Davies and art teacher David Godkin.

This year, the Wangaratta Men's Shed are at it again, creating 100 guitars for a new project paying tribute to the great Blues singer and guitarist BB King, who would have turned 100 this month.

The 100 guitars are in the shape of BB King's black Gibson guitar he called Lucille, which will be covered by a layer of paper mache, painted black and made available at the community stage area over the festival weekend for people to decorate as part of an arts activity, with guidance from volunteers.

This year's project is once again being led by Mr Godkin, who has conducted a number of entertaining engagement projects for the festival.

He said it should be a lot of fun, and a great way to learn about the history and culture of Blues music and its influence on the music of today.

"It's a fun way to learn about BB King - one of the greats of Blues music - with the reverse side of the guitar to have a photo and some information about him," Mr Godkin said.

"I was very fortunate to see him and his band perform in Melbourne's Festival Hall about 1990 and it was memorable - his band absolutely rocked."

Any schools or community groups interested in getting involved in the 100 GUITARS project are encouraged to contact Mr Godkin on 0439 040 868 or via wangjazzblues.com.au.