Thursday, October 1, 2026
Oakcliff Sailing will welcome spring with one of its longest-running community traditions this weekend, when its annual Spring Art Show and Champagne Brunch returns for the 13th consecutive year. The event will bring together nearly 40 artists as well as residents and supporters of the Oyster Bay waterfront.
The fundraiser, whose theme is “A Seaside Reimagined,” will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Oakcliff’s waterfront campus in Oyster Bay. The event combines a catered brunch, champagne, live music and an art exhibition, with proceeds benefiting both Oakcliff and the participating artists.
“It’s just a nice spring kickoff,” Dawn Riley, Oakcliff’s executive director, said, “and the weather looks to be gorgeous.”
According to Riley, the event was created by Oakcliff benefactors Betsy and Hunt Lawrence, whose support helped establish the sailing center. The exhibition has grown from a single room into a showcase spread across multiple spaces on the campus. This year’s show, Rileysaid, will include the work of local artists as well as those affiliated with the New York School of the Arts, which Lawrence founded and chairs.
Lawrence said the idea was a natural extension of the sailing community’s connection to art. “I love art, and a lot of sailors and water people like art, too,” he said, “and people like to get together, and they can look at beautiful art, buy some and support artists and different organizations, too.”
The brunch will feature an omelet bar, a carving station, bagels, shrimp, yogurt, fruit, beer, wine and champagne, catered for the first time by Schultzy’s Restaurant in Bayville. Champagne has been donated by Center Island resident Cheryl Kerr. Music will be provided by Mamadou Yade, a Senegalese and French folk artist who also works at Oakcliff.
The event is also a significant fundraiser, though Riley emphasized that it benefits artists as much as the nonprofit training center. All artists donate a minimum of 20 percent of the proceeds of their art to Oakcliff, and some donate all of their earnings.
This year’s theme reflects recent changes to the Oyster Bay waterfront, particularly the removal of the former Commander Oil tanks. Artists were invited to imagine what the area could become — “what they would like to see here on the waterfront,” Riley said.
For Hicksville artist Kirk Larsen, a longtime sailor and a participant in every art show, that vision took the form of a piece titled “Waterfront Dream.”
“This is a wonderful, wonderful way to meet the sailors and meet the artists,” Larsen said. “We’re bringing a range of art, from representational to abstract, and to purchase art during this event, you’re also helping out a nonprofit that really gives back to the community in so many ways.”
The show, he said, has expanded in both scale and artistic variety over the years.
John Taylor, a Bayville artist and a former village trustee who took up painting after retiring from the advertising industry, said the exhibition offers inspiration and visibility for both Oakcliff and the participating artists. “I think it’s just a good community event,” he said. “Shake off the winter dust and blow us out and start working and getting together.”
Taylor, who works primarily in acrylic landscapes and seascapes, said the show’s waterfront theme fit naturally with his recent work.
For Oakcliff, the event also marks the beginning of the busy sailing season. According to Riley, staff members balance preparing for the event with launching boats for upcoming regattas.
“It’s a lot of multitasking,” she said. “The place looks beautiful for us to start the season because of our hard work.”
Tickets are $50, and attendees are encouraged to register in advance through Oakcliff Sailing’s website, OakcliffSailing.org, to en-sure that enough food is available. The artwork will remain available for purchase in the boathouse and online for several weeks.
