A rain barrel that will be up for auction Sunday is also a work of art by a noted local decorative painter.
The barrel was decorated by Barbara (Franzreb) Bunsey, a painter and teacher who operates the Calico Goose in Macedonia.
Bunsey donated her services to paint the rain barrel, which was supplied by the Summit Soil and Water Conservation District and will be auctioned during the Nordonia Hills Concert in the Park from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Northfield Center Gazebo. The auction is expected to happen around 7 p.m.
The barrel is one of 15 the district supplied to Summit County communities with the stipulation that they be decorated by local artists and sold, said Sandy Barbic, the district’s education specialist. The project allows the communities to meet a state requirement for public involvement on storm water management.
Bunsey is regularly included in Early American Life magazine’s annual Directory of Traditional American Crafts and was once commissioned to create more than 1,000 Christmas ornaments for President and Mrs. George W. Bush to give as gifts. Her work is displayed in the Decorative Painters Foundation Permanent Collection in Wichita, Kan., and pieces she has painted are sold in the shops of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Free paint
Planning a paint project? Today only, Ace Hardware stores are giving away free quarts of Clark + Kensington Paint + Primer.
To receive your quart of paint in the color of your choice, you need to print and bring in the Free Paint Saturday coupon at www.acehardware.com/coupon or in the “Ace Offers” section of www.facebook.com/acehardware.
Customers will also have the opportunity to enter a contest to win one of 10 $1,000 Ace gift cards and a personalized paint color recommendation from an Ace design expert.
Equipment available
A reminder to community groups: Keep Akron Beautiful’s equipment-filled Community Pride Trailer is available for beautification projects, free of charge.
The 25-foot trailer comes stocked with lawn mowers, wheelbarrows, shovels, litter grabbers, grass seed and more equipment and supplies for a community cleanup or landscaping project. The organization will even transport the trailer to and from your site.
The trailer is available for bookings in Akron through Oct. 28. To borrow it, at least five individuals or households must commit to a project.
Details are at www.keepakronbeautiful.org.
Events, programs
• Antiques in the Alley, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, downtown Millersburg. Indoor and outdoor antiques show throughout downtown. www.starlightantiques.com or www.historicdowntownmillersburg.com.
• Portage and Summit Counties Parade of Homes, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday. Scattered-site event features 17 new homes and one house that has undergone a major remodeling. Descriptions of the homes and their addresses are at http://akronhba.com. Free.
• Cleveland Botanical Garden events, 11030 East Blvd. Ask the Gardener, noon to 4 p.m. today. Play in the Garden Workshop, 9 a.m. to noon Friday or next Saturday; part of the Learn How to Play in Nature series (members $15, others $20, reservations required). Garden admission: $9.50; children ages 3-12, $4; members and younger children, free. 216-721-1600 or www.cbgarden.org.
• Listen to the Garden, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Monday, Canton Garden Center, 1615 Stadium Park Drive NW. Program for ages 3-9. Free, but registration required at 330-455-6172.
• Knitty Gritters Knitting Club meeting, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Lake Community Branch of Stark County District Library, 11955 Market Ave. N., Lake Township. 330-877-9975.
• Home buyer seminar, 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Twin Oaks Realty, 2003 W. Market St., Akron. Program covers various aspects of the home-buying process. Free. Reservations: 330-867-9990 or twinoaksteam@gmail.com.
• Warm Up Akron meetings, 3 p.m. Tuesday, Danbury of Cuyahoga Falls, 1695 Queens Gate Circle, and 2 p.m. Thursday, Danbury of North Canton, 181 Applegrove St. NE. Members knit or crochet squares that are used to make afghans for needy people in the Akron area. 330-699-3252 or http://warmupakron.webs.com.
• Garden Forum of Greater Akron meeting, 10 a.m. Thursday, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, 714 N Portage Path, Akron. Program: Shrubs of Secrest Arboretum by Joe Cochran of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and Agricultural Technical Institute. 330-923-1172.
• Barn sale, 8 a.m. to around 5 p.m. Friday and Aug. 10-11, Afterwords Farm, 3947 Brush Road, Richfield. Sale of antique and vintage items.
• Guided Bird Walk, 9-11 a.m. Aug. 10, Secrest Arboretum, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster Township. Free. 330-464-2148 or cochran.7@osu.edu.
• Taste of Herbs, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Aug. 27, Canton Garden Center, 1615 Stadium Park Drive NW. Workshop featuring cooking demonstration, herbal wisdom and table decor ideas. $25. Reservations due by Aug. 11. Seating is limited. Mail-in registration form available at www.cantongardencenter.com/heritage-herb-society.
Submit notices of classes, programs and events two weeks in advance to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com or Home and Garden News, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640. Please include name and phone number. All events must be open to the public.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.