It’s here! Lincoln Arts Festival’s three-day event at Hodgdon Yacht Services on Southport Island returns for an eighth year with a reception and show preview from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9. This event is attended by many of the participating artists – and harpist Suki Flanagan will be performing. The exhibition and sale are Friday, Aug. 10 and Saturday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Sunday, Aug. 12, hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Arts and Yachts celebrates artistic creation on land and sea. The fine lines of a yacht, boat, and, yes, even a model, are just as visually beautiful and compelling as a fine oil painting; both are works of art! This event is also a place to pick up gifts for family, friends and even a little something for yourself. OK, maybe not a yacht, but …  here  are the participating artists for 2018:  Elise Andersen, Andersen ceramic art; hand-painted silk scarves; Bill Bellows, rug weaver; Alan Braley, wooden assemblage artist; Jill Butke, weaver; John Butke, painter; Rick Dickinson, oil painter; Peter Felsenthal, photographer; Cindy Heil, jewelry; Sue Heil-Kibbe, pastel artist; Don Josephson, artist;  Jennifer Litchfield, painter; Richard Macdonald, stained glass; Leslie Muir-Volpe, fiber artist; Melissa Nein, hand-crafted bags; Suzanne Norton, painted furniture, jewelry; John M.T. Seitzer, artist; Lynne Seitzer, artist; Ursula Smith, weaver; Christine Andersen Tupper, artist; Villard Studios, white-line woodcut prints and printmaking; Carl Welshman, lighted nautical charts; Rhoda Weyr, wire-wrapped jewelry and décor; Betsy Wing, print maker and author, Sue Heil Kibbe, pastel artist; and Jess Wrobel, rug hooker and fiber artist.

Live demos during this multi-day event are always a draw for the curious minded! Here’s the lineup as of press time: Friday, Aug. 10: Ursula Smith, weaving - 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Carl Welshman, lighted nautical charts (also all day Saturday and Sunday); Villard Studios, white line printmaking, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (also on Sunday) the Studio will also be featuring new work of their interns Emma Stephens and Bernadette McKenney; Saturday, Aug. 11:  Jill Butke -  weaving on a floor loom; Leslie Volpe, all day  quilting, punch-needle embroidery;  John M.T. Seitzer /Joy to the Wind Gallery, oil painting, all day; Rhoda Weyr, all day, wire-wrapped jewelry; Bill Bellows, 11 a.m.  to 2 p.m., rug weaving; Jess Wrobel, rug hooking, noon-3 p.m.; Rick Dickinson, artist - all day; Christine Andersen Tupper, 11 a.m. to 2 -p.m. Saturday only. And Kim Villard of Villard Studios will hold a white line printmaking tutorial from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday at which the public can make one print.

Leslie Volpe, one of the organizers of Arts & Yachts, noted a new artist to the show this year, Carl Welshman, who creates lighted nautical charts. Volpe calls them “ … the perfect blend of ‘arting and yachting.’”

On the yacht/ship scene at the event, Ron Riml, an avid model boatbuilder who just happens to live in a former shipbuilder's East Boothbay home, is bringing a few of his favorite models. “’Sailing ship’ is a model of a British Navy 'Bomb-Ketch' of the Napoleonic era, made from a kit – so technically not a yacht,” Riml said. “I've significantly 'super-detailed' it. For example (and this is technical here) the 'ratlines' – which the sailors use to climb up the shrouds (standing rigging which supports the masts) are tied off at each 'shroud line' with a clove hitch (two half-hitches) of very fine waxed thread.”

Also from Riml’s collection: an Edwardian Era Thames River steam launch Topaz -  1/12 scale - powered by a two cylinder live steam engine and radio controlled.  Fiber glass hull, pear-wood superstructure, brass fittings.  Riml advises the kit was from a now-defunct British manufacturer known for top-notch quality; and a model of a 1/96 scale U.S. Navy heavy cruiser - USS Canberra - (the  very cruiser he was on through three Vietnam deployments);  at approximately seven feet in length and radio controlled.  Said Riml, “It is quite super-detailed;  for example, the deck is comprised of individual wooden planks laid and joggled as in actual practice.  I've had it out chasing the ducks on the mill-pond – great fun!”

Speaking of sailing ships on a pond, Jon Dunsford has been known to sail his 50-inch Marblehead in West Harbor Pond. Jon will be bringing it to the exhibition along his Bluenose, a 7-foot long model that is retired from sailing but too pretty not to show off!

Now all this activity and visual stimulation is bound to make a person hungry! On Saturday, Heidi Leighton will be on site with her Lot Dogs hot dog cart. And the other days … guess we’ll find out ...

All three days of events (four counting the preview and reception on Thursday) are at Hodgdon Yacht Services, 100 Ebenecook Road, Southport, or 43° 49′ 45.768″ N | 69° 40′ 36.6852″ W.