When Waukesha found out it was going to be a Gibson GuitarTown city a few weeks ago, officials knew the process would be quick.
The latest step in this process will take place on Tuesday when 10, 10-foot tall guitars were delivered to Spring Artisan Village, 521 Wisconsin Ave., in Waukesha.
Almont Gallery owner Lynn Gaffey, who is one of seven members on the Waukesha GuitarTown steering committee formed by Mayor Jeff Scrima, said the guitars were to arrive between 10:30 to 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Originally, the project called for 20 Les Paul fiberglass guitars - 10 playable guitars and 10, 10-foot tall guitars.
But Martha Merrell's Books and Cafe owner Norm Bruce said Monday that Gibson will now donate five more playable guitars to the project to bring the total of playable guitars to 15.
The committee also originally said that they wanted all the guitars to be on permanent display downtown, but Bruce said these extra five guitars will be auctioned off on May 31, one day before the rest of the guitars will be revealed.
Bruce said this is a way to raise more money for local charities. The other Gibson GuitarTown cities primarily auction off all their guitars after a short time on display in the city.
But Bruce, the president of Waukesha's Downtown Business Improvement District, added that deciding if the guitars are permanent or not in downtown Waukesha is up to the Waukesha GuitarTown committee.
Bruce added that the committee is currently seeking sponsorships for each guitar and said the committee has come up with an estimate of around $10,000 per guitar.
The guitars will be painted by local and regional artists.
After the regular-sized guitars are painted, they will be transported back to Nashville, Tenn., to get strings attached to them before they are returned to Waukesha.
All of the guitars will then be revealed for a June 1 ceremony, a week before Les Paul's birthday and the first day of the Freeman Friday Night Live weekly music summer concerts.
Any interested artists can contact Gaffey, also a member of the Waukesha GuitarTown steering committee, at (262) 542-1522.
Here is a story about how Waukesha became the newest Gibson GuitarTown city: http://www.waukeshanow.com/news/downtown-buzzing-about-guitartown-designation-oq3rpt1-137996083.html
An original story posted here said the guitars were coming to Waukesha on Monday afternoon (as stated by Bruce in a phone interview and in a release he sent to local media Monday morning), but Gaffey confirmed later on Monday the delivery had been delayed and that the guitars will not be delivered to Waukesha until Tuesday.