Reigning Rain Barrel Art Auction Opens In Hamilton

E. Robert Ross Submission

HAMILTON, March 31^st, 2011 – Hamilton’s first Earth Day Rain Barrel Art Auction is now open for bidding. Designs by school children, artists and art crawl participants have been posted to an online silent auction (www.RainBarrel.ca/artbarrel) to raise funds for Earth Day Hamilton-Burlington’s eco-festival and community tree planting events. Nine submissions are currently vying to reign rain barrel dominance by attracting the highest bids, however more rain barrels will be posted over the next few weeks. The silent auction concludes on April 30^th, 2011.

RainBarrel.ca is proud to showcase all contributions however one painted by internationally renowned, local landscape artist, E. Robert Ross is garnering extra attention. Ross has painted a beautiful image of Princess Point, Cootes Paradise including clouds and trees reflecting off water which words cannot adequately describe. From a distance it appears as three dimensional looking through a window into the rain barrel.

The rain barrel auction also serves to highlight the issue of water conservation and to draw attention to local truckload rain barrel sales in support of Earth Day Hamilton-Burlington. The rain barrel sales are scheduled for Saturday April 16^th, 2011 at Lime Ridge Mall from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM, followed by Saturday April 30^th, 2011 at The Royal Botanical Gardens from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Rain barrels will sell for $50 each, with a limited number being offered on a first come first served basis. The best way to guarantee a rain barrel is to order in advance online at www.RainBarrel.ca or call 905-545-5577.

Rain barrels provide chlorine-free and fluoride-free water which is ideal for flowers, vegetables, lawns, shrubs and trees. Rain barrels divert clean water from sewer systems and can provide cost savings for homeowners by reducing water bills.

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About RainBarrel.ca – RainBarrel.ca reclaims food grade barrels previously used to import fruits and vegetables to be reused as rain barrels. Partnerships with local non-profit organizations result in fundraising truckload sales events for dozens of communities in Ontario including Hamilton and Stoney Creek. For more information, please contact Larry Pomerantz, Larry@RainBarrel.ca, call 905-545-5577 or visit www.RainBarrel.ca.

About Earth Day Hamilton – Founded 15 years ago, Earth Day Hamilton provides free environmental education to students through an annual educational eco-festival. EDH also hosts an annual Earth Day Walk and a community tree planting event. Over 40,000 students have attended the eco-festival and more than 15,000 trees have been planted. For more information, please contact Laurel Harrison, Laurel@EarthDayHamilton.ca, call 905-973-3064 or visit www.EarthDayHamilton.ca.