Many parents are happy to have the school year over but the big question quickly becomes, “now what?”

With some kids going to off to camp, while others may go visit relatives, the question becomes, without school, what can we do as a family?

The first piece of advice would be to pick up the 2017 Midcoast Calendar of Events, and if you don’t know what that is, check in with the chamber office (725-8797 or executivedirector@midcoastmaine.com). The SMMC spoke to two dozen local organizations and combined their event schedules into one master document called the Midcoast Calendar of Events. The book has 548 event listings from June 1 through the end of the year. It is the must-have for your refrigerator door.

However, more immediately there are several events that are right around the corner, so we wanted to highlight some of those right now:

• Durham Warriors Survival Challenge, June 23-25: Bob Crowley, the 2008 winner of “Survivor: Gabon” has a nonprofit he began called the Durham Warriors Project.

Funds raised for the nonprofit go toward helping disabled veterans and their families, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Center for Grieving Children, Teens to Trails, Special Olympics and many more school outing and recreational clubs.

To raise funds, Bob’s nonprofit committee organizes the Durham Warriors Survival Challenge, which is a three-day event held at their site at 430 Auburn-Pownal Road in Durham, aka Maine Forest Yurts. The challenge is akin to the tasks Bob competed on the television program with and the competitors come from around the country.

Each competitor raises their own funds for an entrance fee which goes to the charity and any concessions sold and donations collected at the event goes to the charity, which then goes to support the groups listed above.

Former competitors from the television program will be competing against survivalists from around the country who apply for entry and are honored to be selected to compete against the former competitors and champions.

You and your family can come out and see it all during the three-day event. For more information, check out durhamwarriorschallenge.com.

• Brunswick Downtown Association’s Community BBQ, June 24: The traditional family-filled summer kickoff is back at the Brunswick Mall this Saturday from11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. with hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon and all the fixings. Live music and fun games for the whole family. Tractor-train rides, bounce house by Pathway Vineyard, two Brunswick fire trucks to explore, corn hole games, live music, Gelato Fiasco provided by Sunnybrook/Avita of Brunswick, and more. For more information, check out the BDA’s website at brunswickdowntown.org.

• Live Music in Bath, Brunswick and Harpswell every week: We will expand on all of the music offerings in a future article, but don’t miss the free summer concerts that have already started throughout the region.

Bath’s robust concert lineups have already begun with free live concerts two days a week, and very soon, three days a week. The Patten Free Library gazebo (33 Summer St.) hosts live concerts every Tuesday and Friday at 7 p.m. from now until the end of August. The Chocolate Church in Bath hosts live music at the Waterfront Park stage every Saturday in July and August with those shows beginning at 6 p.m. Check out visitbath.com for their schedule of acts.

Harpswell has begun their summer concert series that happens at the Mitchell Field bandstand every Thursday starting at 6 p.m. The concerts began June 15 and run every Thursday through the end of August. Their schedule is at harpswell.maine.gov.

Finally, the Brunswick Music on the Mall series begins next Wednesday, June 28 with shows beginning at 6 p.m. and running through the end of August. Their schedule is at brunswickdowntown.org.

• Bath Heritage Days, June 30- July 4: Of course, no Midcoast summer event article would be complete without mentioning the largest Independence Day celebration in the region with Bath Heritage Days. The events begin the Friday before and run through the weekend. The highlights include Smokey’s Greatest Show & Carnival running all five days, live music entertainment all five days, the Chicken BBQ Kickoff event on Friday, June 30, the Fireman’s Muster at noon on Saturday, Antique Car Show on Sunday, the Chili-Chowder Cookoff on Sunday, Kids’ Day on Monday, and the events on Tuesday, the 4th of July, including the road race, parade and fireworks display. For a full itinerary of events, check out the event dedicated website at bathheritagedays.com.

And these events barely scratch the surface. There are so many venues running daily and weekly events including: Maine Maritime Museum, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Maine State Music Theatre, Topsham Public Library, Curtis Memorial Library, Patten Free Library, Orion Performing Arts Center, Bowdoin International Music Festival, The Theater Project, the historical societies, the garden clubs, the Topsham Fairgrounds, and so much more.

If you have questions on any of these events, look them up by name on the internet or always feel free to call the SMMC office for assistance. Enjoy your summer.