GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Jumpin’ and Jivin’ Juneboree was just getting started on Saturday, June 20, when Waylon approached Paul Wane with a simple question:

“How do you get guitar lessons?”

Wane paused and looked at the 13-year-old from Green Cove Springs. He then asked, “Well, do you have a guitar?”

“No.”

“Do you want one,” Wane asked.

Five minutes later, Wane called Waylon to the Booger Hideout stage. He unzipped a cloth carrycase and presented him with a blue Fender Stratocaster guitar. He also got extra guitar strings, a strap, a tuner, a cord chart and a Fender amplifier.

Waylon came to the fifth annual event expecting to receive free gifts, lunch and participate in yard games, a dunk booth and a water balloon fight, and he left as a member of the Rising Stars: Guitars for Kids family.

“I'm going to tell you what I tell everybody that gets a guitar or an instrument from Guitars for Kids: The Lord chose to put those ears on your head, those are yours, that's the only two like that in the whole world,” Wane said. “Never let anyone tell you you're not playing right, because they don't hear what you hear. You play your song babe, okay, you play what you hear. Go get it.

“Welcome to the family son.”

As Waylon left the stage, Wane told the sun-splashed guests:

“This is what the whole day is about, and we're going to do it all day long.”

“I didn’t expect this,” Waylon said.

An hour later, Waylon’s brother, Liam, also received a guitar.

Jumpin’ and Jivin’ put the focus on Paul and Lisa Wane’s nonprofit that provides free instruments to children throughout the Southeast as an option other than getting into trouble, doing drugs, playing video games or being on a cellphone.

Counting the 16 guitars given away on Saturday and the two keyboards provided to the Boys and Girls Club After School and Summer programs at Clay High, the Wanes have provided between 550-600 instruments since 2020.

The six-hour free event included hour-long sets from Red Magnolia and Duval County Line, toy giveaways, raffles, line dancing lessons, vendors, reptile adventures and face painting.

The Wanes host two annual events to highlight their Rising Stars: Guitars for Kids program. Although they issue instruments throughout the year, another main event is the Rockin’ for Stockins’ at Boogerville in December.

For more information or to donate to Guitars for Kids, visit the organization’s Facebook page.