A million blooms and 17,000 mums: Barberton's annual Mum Festival around Lake Anna

Barberton's annual Mum Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday in the Magic City, with the sale of potted mums scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Events for both Saturday and Sunday include Touch a Truck, pumpkin carving and chalk art.

O n Saturday , a Barberton Public Library book sale takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Water ski shows and a canoe race are also scheduled.

On Sunday, variety shows, balloon art, ski shows and stilt walking are scheduled. The book sale runs from 1 to 4 p.m.

The theme this year is "Mums in Flight." Hot air balloon pilot and instructor Robert Zannela will be present and available for photos at his hot air balloon gondola.

Tammy Simmons, assistant director of the Barberton Parks and Recreation Department, said planning for this year's Mum Festival began the day after last year's ended, with organizers deciding on a hot air balloon theme.

During research, organizers discovered they had a hot air balloon legend in their midst. Zannela, she said, was one of only 50 hot air balloon pilots in 1972 and taught generations of balloon enthusiasts.

"We found this out and stumbled on something we didn't even know about," she said.

Simmons said about 25,000 to 30,000 people attend the event each year.

The festival, according to Barberton's Parks and Recreation Department, features more than 17,000 chrysanthemums and more than a million blooms.

"The design is new every year," Simmons said. "Every year we think this is the biggest and best ever."

The thousands of mums are planted by parks department employees.

"They are all hand-planted and taken care of all summer long," she said.

About 30 food vendors and about 100 crafts and product vendors are scheduled to participate in the event this year, she said.

"Every year is great," Simmons said.

A complete schedule is available at https://t.ly/XO-nd.

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at www.facebook.com/alan.newsman.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: A million blooms and 17,000 mums: Barberton's annual Mum Festival around Lake Anna