Soak up the Sun (and rain!) at 5th Annual Rain Beat on Main Street June 18 to July 8

It won’t be long until Ashland County visitors and residents will notice some colorful additions to their city and village streets. 2024 is the fifth year art and conservation will come together on the streets of both Loudonville and Ashland for Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District’s (SWCD) Rain Bean on Main Street event.

This year’s even will feature 26 one-of-a-kind rain barrels sponsored by local businesses and painted by local artists. The barrels will be on display during June and July in Loudonville’s Central Park (June 18-25), Ashland Balloonist at Freer Field (June 26-July 1), and Ashland’s Corner Park (July 2-8). While the barrels are on display, an online auction will take place for each barrel with the proceeds going toward stormwater education programs.

“It’s so fun to look back on all of the rain barrels that have been created over the past 5 years,” said Jane Houin, Ashland SWCD director. “The first year we started Rain Beat on Main Street was in 2020 during COVID, and people really loved being able to get outside to see and enjoy the barrels. We’re just excited to see interest in the program continue to grow with more and more local businesses and artists getting involved. We have a great level of community support from our sponsors, and when we combine that with the amazing artist talent within our community, great things happen.”

This year’s rain barrel sponsors and artists are:

      • Ashland Pheasants Forever Chapter 442 with artist Tom Oakley

      • Ashland Wooster Drive-In with artist Shelbi Kencsan

      • Brethren Care Village with artists from Brethren Care Village

      • The Burkhalter Family with artist David Vaughn

      • Centerra Cooperative with artist Evelyn Brockway

      • Chad’s Collision & Auto Repair with artist Markie Carter

      • Charles River Lab with 2 barrels with employee artists

      • Chicory Witch with artist Hop Abel

      • Donley Ford with artist Rachel Justice

      • Fin Feather Fur Outfitters with artist Jennifer Pollen

      • Flashes Trash & Sanitation LLC with artist Amanda Kencsan

      • Forbes Farmstead Market with artist Hailey Spreng

      • Ida’s Dairy with artist Emily Spreng

      • Laughery Land Surveying with artist Grace Carl

      • Loudonville Equity with artist Hannah Endslow

      • Loudonville Lions Club with artist Grace Ringler

      • Packaging Corporation of America with artist Kelly Mallory

      • Rooks Bros Farms with artist Kyle Ackerman

      • Shakley Mechanical with artist Eliza Osborne

      • Shrivers Pharmacy with artist Donna Sutherland

      • Simonson Construction Services, INc. with artist Tanner Frazier

      • Stake’s IGA with artist Julia England

      • Stakes Shortstop with artist Chloe Matz

      • Sutton Bank with artist Colleen Carl Miller

      • Ralph & Betty Jo Tomassi in memory of Steve Stuart with artist LeAnne Stadler

While the rain barrels are on display, an online auction will be taking place where community members can bid on their favorite barrels. The proceeds from the auction are used for stormwater education events in the county.

Use this code to access our 5th annual Rain Beat on Main Street auction.

So far, proceeds have been used to purchase a stormwater management learning and community engagement game and host a variety of educational events on precipitation monitoring, ice river spotting, rain garden workshops, and multiple rain barrel workshops.

“We have so many talented local artists that have once again just blown us away with their talent and creativity as this year’s barrels start to come in to our office,” Houin said. “We have everything from breathtaking mountain vistas to beautiful farm scenes and from personality-filled frogs to serene garden views. Each of these barrels is so unique and really reflects the passion and talents of our local artists.

For more information on this year’s Rain Beat on Main Street event, contact Ashland SWCD water quality specialist Cora Crilow at 419-281-7645 or at ccrilow@ashlandcounty.org

Ashland SWCD