Well, well, well — look what has snuck up on us. Warmer weather, no more snow, windy days and showers bringing flowers; could it be that spring has actually sprung? What’s more, summer seems to be galloping towards us at a break-neck speed. That means there’s no better time to start talking about the May events you need in your calendar.

Investing and Retirement Lunch & Learn at Union + Co., May 1

The month kicks off with friend of the chamber Anastasia LaMarca of Primerica at Union + Co. from 12:15-1 p.m. RSVP is requested for this event for a lunch head count, but if you think it’s too late, I would just bring your own food, as I know Anastasia would love having you there (you can try to RSVP on the Union + Co. website at unionandco.me).

Anastasia did this presentation for our chamber about six weeks ago, and though it discusses investment options, a key part of the conversation is the MERIT (Maine Retirement) program that is going to pertain to all employers of five-plus employees starting later this year. For businesses who don’t have a retirement plan or haven’t heard about this new state requirement, this workshop is essential for you. Even if you do have a retirement plan, you still need to log onto the State of Maine MERIT portal and register so the state knows. Need more information? Then attend this event.

Government Contracting Workshop with Apex Accelerator

When most people hear about government contracting, they think “I’m a small business” or “a service business” so “that’s not relevant to me.” Wrong. The U.S. government purchases over 85% of their goods from small businesses — it’s a focus of theirs — and it’s not just Department of Defense products, either. It’s toothpicks, chewing gum, scarves and even some services. The system of signing up is a little wonky and somewhat counterintuitive, and that’s where Apex Accelerator comes in.

They will walk you through the sign-up process, making sure you are registered correctly to submit bids for work and show you where to find the bids. It’s a little bit of work, but having the U.S. government as a client can be very lucrative for those that have the products and services they need (and you probably do).

The Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber is hosting Apex Accelerator at our office (8 Venture Ave., Brunswick, inside Maine Technology Institute on Brunswick Landing) on May 8 from 10-11a.m. It’s free to attend and members and non-members are invited. Please pre-register on the BBRC event calendar under the May 8 events at midcoastmaine.com, and please share this information with friends.

2024 Midcoast Calendar of Events accepting submissions

Annually, the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber creates the Midcoast Calendar of Events, which is basically a master calendar of events happening in the region between June 1 and Dec. 31. It’s a big task, but after several years of doing it, we know which community calendars to gather to get 80% of our listings. For example, we list all Maine State Music Theatre performances, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Chocolate Church, the various outdoor concerts and so on. There are some entities that have too many events to list them all, such as our local libraries, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Maine Maritime Museum, etc. In those cases, we will select the events that would most likely draw the public, such as their special events or, for the libraries, maybe one or two of their reoccurring weekly or monthly series.

The other 20% of the event listings come from organizations and people just like you. If you are part of a group that is putting on a public event that is open to the public, please let us know. Also, if you are a bar that has a stage, and you have some bigger bands or entertainment acts coming in, let us know. Or if you’re a business doing a customer appreciation day or a special sales day/business anniversary or a ribbon cutting, let us know.

We cannot guarantee everything will get into the printed version, but many events will get into the chamber’s online calendar (for which we have unlimited space). Certain events that likely will not get posted anywhere include garage sales at someone’s house, birthday party invites, daily happy hours or any event that happens with such regularity that it is indistinguishable from a regular day. For instance, Maine Maritime Museum runs cruises every day and they are fabulous, but they happen every day. Therefore, we don’t include them. However, if they have a special boat cruise that they only do monthly or a boat launch ceremony, for instance, then we would include that.

All submissions are needed by May 22, so that we have a week to compile the final list and distribute it. If you send us events after May 22, we may get them into the online calendar but not the printed calendar. Finally, we’re looking for events through the end of the year, so as soon as you have your autumn event dates, we need those, too!

The calendars end up being extremely useful in three ways. First, for visitors who want to know what’s happening on just the dates they are in town, they can easily find those. Secondly, for our locals who want to know which dates their favorite events are happening so they can invite family and friends to visit, this becomes a great planning tool. Finally, for those looking to plan an event, they will have a master calendar to check what else is happening on a specific date to ensure they get the best turnout at their planned event.

Look for the calendars on our chamber website available for download, on the BBRC Facebook page, on our online event calendar, in our local information centers and on local countertops, server stations and hotel concierge desks.

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

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