On Saturday, Sept. 15, from 4:30 to 7 p.m., spend a bucolic evening on the shores of the Sheepscot River in Newcastle, sipping Champagne and enjoying hors d’oeuvres while Lincoln Academy student jazz combos provide the soundtrack at Champagne on the Sheepscot. And if that’s not enough, ticket sales support the work of Midcoast Conservancy, promoting healthy lands, waters, wildlife, and people in Midcoast Maine through conservation, education, and outdoor recreation.

This year, the event will feature the raffle of a 40” x 40”painting created especially for the event by Alna artist Kate Nordstrom. The piece, entitled “Life in the Kelp Forest,” is a fanciful and powerful rendering of the integrated natural world. Flora and fauna intermingle in unexpected ways and encourage the viewer’s imagination to run wild.

Of the work, Nordstrom said, “Life in the Kelp Forest might fall into the category of magical realism, although I think that is a literary term.  It is a painting with dreamlike imagery; it pays little attention to the usual structure of things.  That is how a flying red rabbit travels through the water element in the company of alewives and a jellyfish. The leaves of the ancient gingko tree float over the earth element with a pith-pinned pollinator.  Above it all, is the motionless heron framed by a full moon.  Those of us who are transfixed by nature are occasionally blessed by unusual sightings.  This painting speaks of the mystery and science of our complex world.”

Nordstrom’s work will also be the focus of “An Evening of Art and Garden” in Wiscasset on Aug. 18 at the Carriage House Gardens, featuring her most recent paintings. She will be donating a portion of any proceeds to Midcoast Conservancy. For more information on the exhibit, call 617-974-7720. To see more of Nordstrom’s work, go to www.knpaintings.com.

Tickets for the raffle are $10 for one or $20 for three, and are available online at https://www.midcoastconservancy.org/events/champagne-on-the-sheepscot/, as are tickets for the event, which are $65 per person, and are available now until Sept. 10.

Major sponsors of this year's Champagne on the Sheepscot include ReVision Energy , Ames True Value Hardware & Supply in Wiscasset, and Cellardoor Winery; other local businesses have also contributed, including Treats and Sheepscot Valley Brewing.

For more information, call (207) 389-5150 or email info@midcoastconservancy.org.