With the back-to-school season, comes the back-to-work season for many of us as August is easily the busiest vacation month of the year for our regional businesses. Even if you don’t have kids in school, very likely your colleagues do, so if you’re not prepping your own kids, then you are potentially covering for other employees on the team who are under that pressure — so it affects us all.

With this being our “first week back to work” collectively, I thought it was appropriate to do a 10×100 for September to give you 10 updates in a hundred-ish words or less on a variety of topics. Here we go:

2nd Friday, Sept. 12

Though many of the summer event series are coming to a close, we still get to have some summer fun next week as the Brunswick Downtown Association completes its 2nd Friday Artwalk series on Sept. 12. With the remodeled sidewalks making for a perfect showcase space, come on over to downtown Brunswick and catch a performance, roam the artisan displays and much more. For more information, check out the newly revamped BDA website at brunswickdowntown.org.

Take a bow: Thanks for the concerts and summer shows

This week marked the end of many of our regional weekly concerts, and two other performance series closed for the year. Thank you to Main Street Bath for its Summer Concert Series, the Brunswick Downtown Association for Music on the Mall, the organizers behind Harpswell’s Bandstand by the Sea and Wiscasset’s concert series, and the Bowdoinham Sunday Concert series, too.

Additionally, congrats to Bowdoin International Music Festival (BIMF) that wrapped its summer series in mid-August after another wonderful year; and congrats to Maine State Music Theatre that wrapped its Brunswick season with the closing of “West Side Story” last week. You will be able to catch some BIMF concerts this fall and winter, and MSMT is performing “The Irish and How they Got That Way” this week and next in conjunction with The Public Theatre in Lewiston — so go find them there. For more information, check out bowdoinfestival.org or msmt.org, respectively.

12 @ 12, Sept. 17

After an August hiatus, 12 business leaders will be gathering for lunch on Sept. 17 at the Residence Inn of Bath/Brunswick to learn about each other. Interested business leaders should email cory@midcoastmaine.com to sign up — seats are limited, so you must RSVP.

Save the date: Drinks with Neighbors, Oct. 28

Drinks with Neighbors is heading into its fourth year on Oct. 28. This annual event invites Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Chamber members to meet with Bath-Brunswick-Topsham Regional Chamber members at Olive Pit Brewing brought to you by the Lisbon Economic and Community Development office. Mark your calendars for this 5-7 p.m. mingling event.

Volunteer opportunities for five organizations

Last week in this column, I featured ways for people to engage in community through volunteerism. This week, I found out that five local organizations are combining volunteer recruitment efforts by collectively making a call for volunteers over the next two weeks. Their goal is collectively to get 25 more volunteers before 2025 ends. The organizations are United Way of Mid Coast Maine, Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, Tedford Housing, Midcoast New Mainers Group and Midcoast Literacy. Contact them directly for opportunities.

Chamber After Hours, Sept. 24 in Topsham

Sylvan Learning Center in the Topsham Fair Mall will be the host for our next open-house-style mixer from 5-7 p.m. on Sept. 24. We are super excited to see the space and hear about how Sylvan supports lifelong learners in our region and throughout New England. This is a great place to mingle with 50–65 business leaders or more. Non-members are welcome, so just bring a business card and show up!

Nor’easters concert, Sept. 13

I love that our chamber has a member that is a community chorus — it just shows so well that chambers of commerce can support all businesses. With that, the Nor’easters Barbershop Chorus and the Fairwinds Barbershop Chorus are holding their 59th Annual “Music You Love to Hear” concert a week from Saturday on Sept. 13 at the Water of Life Lutheran Church in Newcastle. Tickets are $20 apiece and the concert begins at 2 p.m.

Brunswick Landing newsletter

We don’t discuss it much, but our chamber, along with our regular weekly e-newsletter, has a bi-weekly e-newsletter for business and community news on Brunswick Landing. It is open to the public and is called the Brunswick Landing News & Notes. To get on the distribution list, please email brittany@midcoastmaine.com.

Community BBQ, Sept. 13

A busy month for the Brunswick Downtown Association continues with the ever-popular Community BBQ on Saturday, Sept. 13. This celebration features free food and drink (while supplies last), a bounce house, a dunk tank, and music from The Door Yarders. The event is from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Brunswick Mall and all are invited to attend. There will also be some big trucks and emergency vehicles to explore.

Back-to-school kudos

Finally, this week, I had the first experience as a dad of bringing a child to their first day of school. I wish I could say I remember my first day of school, but I don’t — however, I don’t think I will forget this one. Our 4-year-old began his school year at Durham Community School, and I have to say, seeing the teachers and school staff in action is a sight to behold. Managing the excitement, anxiety and energy of those first moments was something to behold. Too often, we overlook the extraordinary because it is routine; we shouldn’t do that. We should celebrate the extraordinary. Thus, thank you to the Durham Community School team and all of the local schools who welcomed brand-new students through your doors this year with open arms and smiling faces. You do vitally important work, and we appreciate you.

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