Rotary Sets New Record on 4th of July

Thanks to a lot of hungry people, the The Bar Harbor/MDI Rotary Club broke it's own record, raising over $40,000 at the  46th Annual Fourth of July Pancake Breakfast and Seafood Festival . The net profit will be given back to the community through support of the Park Street Playground’s revitalization, Bar Harbor Kids Book Festival, scholarships, and non-profits organizations

“The Bar Harbor (MDI) Rotary Club could not be more proud of the financial success of this year's breakfast and seafood festival. Many local projects will be funded with the money earned from these amazing events. A giant thank you to all who attended!” said Rotary Club President Steven Boucher.

After the breakfast and parade, club members sold 450 lobsters to tourists and locals as part of an event that has been lauded by the Today Show and National Geographic as one of the best Fourth of July celebrations in America. Rotarian Peter Nicholson also coordinated nonprofit groups on the Bar Harbor athletic field. Those groups typically raise approximately $50,000 for their causes.

The Rotary Club of Bar Harbor recently supported cancer services at the MDI YMCA and MDI Hospital, sent hundreds of wheelchairs to Costa Rica, Belize and Panama, supported the Bar Harbor Kids Book Festival, and gave out charitable contributions and scholarships to local high school students and the Golden Apple Award to an outstanding teacher in the area. Rotarians have helped in the fight to eradicate polio, supported the Safe Passages project and anti-malaria projects, fought against human trafficking, sent shelter boxes to people devastated by disasters, and many more projects locally and around the world. The work on the Fourth was also made possible by sponsorships from Lynam’s Insurance, Artwaves, Acadia Cornerstone Real Estate, Paradis True Value, the Bar Harbor Bike Shop, Horton, McFarland & Veysey, the YWCA Pie Sales, Oli’s Trolley and the IAA Craft Fair. In-kind or volunteer help was offered by Frenchman’s Bay Boating Company, Emera, Brian Shaw, Parson’s Appliance, Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, MDI Hospital, MDI High School Interact Club, and the Bar Harbor Housing Authority.