As every schoolkid knows, summer is a lot less regimented than the rest of the year - which adds to the festive feeling. But when it comes to the summer entertainment scene, the season is more organized than you might think. A variety of special series will help keep you on a schedule of fun. Here are some of our picks:

Nights in the Plaza

Arte Américas' annual Nights in the Plaza concert series has kicked back into gear. Each summer it brings Latin-influenced music of all sorts to the museum's outdoor concert stage, 1630 Van Ness Ave., on Friday nights.

It got started last week and continues tonight with a performance from violinist Patrick Contreras, whose repertoire varies from Latin jazz to rock. He and his band recently played the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas.

Tonight, they'll hit the stage at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $10, or $8 for Arte Américas members.

Coming up in the concert series:

June 11: Mariachi de la Tierra ($8-$10)

June 18: Mezcal ($8-10).

The series will take a break for July, then start back up in August.

Details: (559) 266-2623.

Movies in the Park

Free-movie Fridays are back at Eaton Plaza, 2400 Fresno St.

Tonight is the kickoff of "Movies in the Park," a weekly series put on by the City of Fresno and Comcast. For the debut, they'll show "Star Trek" (the 2009 version).

The movies start at dusk (usually 7:30-8:15 p.m.) Movie watchers should bring their own chairs or blankets.

Here's the schedule for the series:

June 11: "Monsters vs. Aliens"

June 18: "Land of the Lost"

June 25: "Fast and Furious"

July 2: "Where the Wild Things Are"

July 9: "9"

July 16: "Year One"

July 23: "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince"

July 30: "Transformers 2"

Aug. 6: "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

Aug. 13: "Blind Side"

Aug. 20: "G.I. Joe"

Aug. 27: "Hanna Montana: The Movie"

Sept. 3: "Norma Rae"

Sept. 10: "Princess and the Frog"

Sept. 17: "G Force"

Sept. 24: "Up"

Rock the Mall

Sierra Vista Mall's every-other-Thursday concert series in its community park has been going since mid-May.

Upcoming dates include local cover bands, plus on-the-rise rock band Shiver Fox.

The concerts are free and run 6-9 p.m. Note: The series takes a break for parts of July and August.

June 10: Papa Bear & Company

June 24: Midnight Run (Journey tribute)

July 8: Shiver Fox

Aug. 26: Shotgun Mary

Sept. 9: Wild Hare

Sept. 23: Big Hair ('80s tribute)

Summer Nights at Star Palace

Star Palace at the Warnors Center for the Performing Arts, 1420 Fulton St., has started a Friday night summer concert series.

It features a number of Christian-leaning music acts who range from rock to acoustic. It started last week with Seventh Day Slumber and continues tonight with Seattle alternative band Lybecker.

Here's the schedule:

June 4: Lybecker

June 18: Molly Jensen

June 25: JJ Heller

July 8: The Red Airplanes

Shows cost $10 in advance and $12 at the door, except the JJ Heller show is $12 and $15. More info and tickets are available at fultonstreetproject.com, or by calling (559) 264-2848.

The Poets of Fresno

Here's a summer series with a literary twist. A group calling itself The Poets of Fresno will hold a monthly summer reading series at Revue, 620 E. Olive Ave.

The first event is June 22, and the series continues on July 27 and Aug. 24.