“Summer Breeze,” an oil painting by Searsport artist Sandy Dolan, the Belfast Chamber of Commerce “Artist of the Year’ in 2018, has been selected to be the event graphic of Belfast Rotary Club’s 2022 Belfast Harbor Fest. The image will appear on Harbor Fest souvenir items, posters and fliers. It will also be featured in a live auction during “Evening by the Bay,” the Friday, Aug. 19 event that kicks off this year’s three-day Harbor Fest.

Sandy Dolan paints natural scenes, including Maine coastal and Katahdin subjects. A plein air artist, she says she “starts painting wherever she finds inspiration.” Dolan is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and studied photography at Boston’s New England School of Art. She has also studied with nationally known landscape painters Stapleton Kearns and John Cosby.

Belfast Rotary Club launches its 15th Belfast Harbor Fest with Evening by the Bay, a special event on Friday evening Aug. 19 to benefit the Waldo County Technical Center student fund. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at Belfast businessman Paul Naron’s new building at 15 Front Street. The evening includes live and silent auctions, hors d’oeuvres, and live music by Ann and Barry Brindle, the duo known as Jonesville. Belfast mayor Eric Sanders is the auctioneer and event sponsors are Nordic Aquafarms, Mathews Brothers and a generous anonymous donor.

Event tickets at $20 are available at belfastharborfest.com in advance, $25 at the door.

Auction items include “Summer Breeze” and other works by local craftspeople and artists, as well as gift certificates for goods and services from local restaurants and other businesses, Special items include a Belfast-to-Castine boat trip and dinner for up to four people (donated by Naron), a Puffin Dinghy from Hamlin’s Marine, winter boat storage at Belmont Boatworks, and much more.

Belfast Rotary Club will donate proceeds from Evening by the Bay auctions to the Waldo County Technical Center student fund. The fund pays for specialized clothing and equipment the students need for their training and employment in automotive, welding, culinary and other skills. The project is one of several that Rotary carries out year-round, providing more than $140,000 annually in scholarships, holiday gifts, food pantry support, special community needs and help for families in need.

The free three-day Belfast Rotary Club Harbor Fest celebrates the city’s maritime history and traditions and continues through the weekend after Friday’s Evening by the Bay event. On Saturday, Aug. 20, the harbor front hosts a 5K road race and blueberry pancake breakfast, the National Boatbuilding Challenge beginning at 11 a.m., a harborside exhibit of boats, tours of the Front Street Shipyard, the 21st annual Come Boating! rowing regatta, a Boat Gear Swap, live music, food trucks and children’s activities. The popular Cardboard Boat Race is on Sunday morning. For more information go to belfastharborfest.com.