As we start to get back to our “normal” schedules in September, I wanted to start pointing out a few pieces you should probably be aware of as we say goodbye to summer and vacations. Before that though, I want to remind you of 11 events I’ve mentioned in the past two columns which are right around the corner:

Mark your calendars: 11 event reminders

Maine State Music Theatre’s production of “Something Rotten!”: Runs until Aug. 26, FMI or tickets MSMT.org.

Movies in the Park (Nathaniel Davis Park, Brunswick), Aug. 17: Join them at dusk for a showing of the “Super Mario Bros.” film (2023), (pre-show arrivals start at 6:30 p.m.); FMI: facebook.com/moviesintheparkbrunswick/.

44^th Annual Maine Highland Games and Scottish Festival, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Aug. 19: Grab a kilt and join your friends at Thomas Point Beach Campground in Brunswick for this one-of-a-kind celebration of Scottish heritage; FMI www.MaineHighlandGames.org.

18^th Annual Brunswick Outdoor Arts Festival, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Aug. 19: The BDA’s juried art show features 80-100 artists on Maine Street and on the Brunswick Mall; FMI: BrunswickOutdoorArtsFest.com.

10^th Kindness Day Bath, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Aug. 19: Kindness Day Bath is a decade old, and there will be numerous booths in downtown Bath for families to enjoy; FMI: facebook.com/kindnessdaybath.

Movies in the Park (Library Park, Bath), Aug. 21: Join Main Street Bath at the city park near the Patten Free Library (43 Summer St., Bath) at dusk to watch the classic, “Star Wars: A New Hope” (AKA the original Star Wars film from 1977); FMI: visitbath.com/events/movies-in-the-park.

Music Masts & Lobster Traps, Aug 27: A Mallet Brothers Band concert and silent auction fundraiser that’s happening at Maine Maritime Museum to support the Maine Lobsterman’s Community Alliance; FMI or for tickets: mlcalliance.org/events/music-masts-lobster-traps.

Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival, Aug. 31 through Sept. 3: The legendary Labor Day weekend music festival continues at Thomas Point Beach Campground in Brunswick with some of the biggest names in Bluegrass; FMI: thomaspointbeachbluegrass.com.

Pints on the Pier, Sept. 9: A craft beer lover’s delight, as Pints on the Pier is back at Maine Maritime Museum on Sept. 9 featuring live music, lawn games, beer, cider and more; FMI: mainemaritimemuseum.org/event/pints.

Brunswick Landing BLOC Party, Sept. 9: A fundraiser for the Midcoast Athletic & recreation Complex happening at Flight Deck Brewing and Wild Oats Bakery on Brunswick Landing featuring fun for the whole family. It brought in over 4,000 people in 2022.

Brunswick Naval Air Station Reunion Weekend, Sept. 15-16: Hundreds of families are expected to come back this year and celebrate the BNAS at the museum, and you’re invited too; FMI: bnamuseum.org.

Other items to know about

Eight ballot questions this November: How many of us knew that there were eight ballot questions on this off-year election of 2023? That is a staggering number of issues to get your head around in just three short months. The eight questions are split evenly between four ballot referendums and four proposed amendments to the Maine Constitution. In fairness to the amendments, it’s required that any change to the Maine Constitution goes to the Maine voters at the ballot box, so two of them (Questions 5 and 6) appear to be mere formalities that would make processing certain aspects of judicial review and Secretary of State projects simpler.

Question 3 is likely the largest one, asking about whether citizens want to create Maine Green Power which would then be authorized to complete a forced buy-out of the for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine, thus making our electric distribution run by an elected board of the state, also known as “consumer-owned.” According to the opposed sides, the buyout would require Maine to borrow anywhere from $5 billion to $12 billion to buy out the facilities, equipment, etc. and the takeover would happen somewhere between three years and 10 years from now (depending on litigation). Questions 1 and 2 are related to Question 3, in that Question 1 asks whether quasi-governmental entities and consumer owned utilities should be barred from taking on over $1 billion in debt for any project, which directly relates to the Maine Green Power proposal, but could refer to future projects as well. Question 2 asks about limiting foreign entity contributions for or against candidates and ballot questions, which is directly related to companies like Central Maine Power who are owned by international companies; thus, also related to Question 3.

Question 4 is about standardizing computer systems in vehicles so that independent mechanics can service certain vehicles, too. Question 7 asks about petition gathering and whether or not those who actually circulate and gather signatures need to be residents of Maine (this statute in the Maine Constitution apparently conflicts with national statutes). Question 8 asks about restoring voting rights to those who are under guardianship due to mental health illnesses, which conflicts with the U.S. Constitution according to the question.

That’s a lot of issues to grapple with and our chamber will be doing more this fall to educate our citizens on both sides of each issue going forward.

Enrollment open for grant-funded internship and business bus tours

Anthony in my office and I are actively registering businesses for both grant-funded internship opportunities and business bus tours for this fall and spring with students from Mt. Ararat, Brunswick and Morse high schools. If your business is interested in connecting about these programs, email me at cory@midcoastmaine.com.

Midcoast Tree Festival planning underway

We’re opening up registration for tree spaces, wreath spaces and sponsorships for the 2023 Midcoast Tree Festival this week. Many past participants have already been contacted, and we’ll be connecting with all of you by the end of next week. If you’re interested in your organization being a part of this year’s event, feel free to email midcoastTreeFestival@gmail.com or hit me up at cory@midcoastmaine.com. There are new sponsorships, some brand-new tree ideas, and much more we want to share with you about this growing event happening the weekends before and after Thanksgiving.

Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce.