Greetings from Cowan Community Center!

This past Tuesday was a rain barrel painting extravaganza up Cowan!  Beginning at eight in the morning and ending that night around nine, the Grow Appalachia participants of Letcher county painted twelve phenomenal works of art.  Debbie Fields, who lives up Cowan, was there helping with painting and tracing designs onto barrels as people began to paint them.  She was a great help and made it much easier for everyone to be extremely happy with how their barrels turned out.  

When calling participants to invite them to the activity, one participant, Becky Collins, asked how much it cost to come make a rain barrel for her garden and when we told her it was free, she got so excited that her grandmother, listening to her side of the conversation, thought someone must have been in a car accident or something.  Becky's barrel turned out beautifully and Becky hung out there all day painting and chatting.  This was truly a fun and sociable community event.

The Letcher County Conservation Office provided further funding for this specific project, giving us the opportunity to provide more materials for program participants.

Becky Collins getting started on her rain barrel.

Post-tracing, pre-painting.

Drilling holes for the spigots.

One son helps his mom paint their grandma's rain barrel.

Installing overflow valves.

Painting, painting, painting!

"I'm painting a rooster for Jerry [my husband]; he'll love having a big rooster sitting out in our garden!"

The Riley family paints a sea-themed scene on theirs.

Liz paints a black bear to sit out in her garden.

Debbie's owl

The finished barrels!