Art Auction to Benefit Bay Dredging Project

More than 150 paintings of Upper Newport Bay will be auctioned Saturday at the Orange County Museum of Art to raise money for a bay dredging project.

From dawn until dusk on the day of the “Images of the Back Bay� show, 30 artists will be completing paintings along Back Bay Drive.

Others may be painting near the Newport Beach Aquatic Center on Whitecliffs Drive, in Bayview Park and near the bike trail at University Drive and Irvine Avenue.

The participating artists agreed to donate 15% of their auction earnings to the city’s Back Bay dredging fund to help make up close to a $3-million shortfall for the $5.4-million project.

The city recently began pulling mud, dirt and silt out of the bay because it is harming the ecosystem and making boating navigation difficult.

The auction will be from 6 to 9 p.m. at the museum, 850 San Clemente Drive.

Information and reservations: (714) 717-3870.