Summer reminds us to get together with the people we enjoy and gather in real life!
What we really crave are the warm connections, real conversations, and experiences that stick with us. That’s exactly why this season is the perfect time to talk about in-person events. Over the next few weeks, I’m sharing a series of summery reflections, stories, and practical tips for anyone dreaming about (or planning) an in-person retreat, workshop, or community gathering. Let’s use these sunny days to dream big and plan well.
There’s something about summer that pulls us outside and into each other’s company.
Maybe it’s the longer evenings. Those casual dinners and extended happy hours. Chairs are pulled up to a fire pit once it gets dark.
Even the simplest gathering, whether it’s a last-minute potluck or a neighborhood movie night, feels easy and right when it’s face-to-face.
We spend so much of our time racing from one Zoom meeting to the next. Our schedules are packed and our color-blocked calendars have little white space.
Our inboxes overflow and getting through emails is like a daily trudge through the mud trying not to lose your boots. I’ve been tempted to hit DELETE ALL more times than I can count. What’s the worst that could happen?
Even our friendships are reduced to a text thread or a funny meme in a group chat.
Summer slows us down just enough to remember that real connection still happens best in person.
Remember the Feeling?
Some things seem to fit at this time a year.
Someone brings cold lemonade (or Sangria). You grab a seat on the deck. The conversation rolls from work stress to vacation plans to a new idea you’ve been dreaming about.
There is no pre-planned agenda disquised as a brainstorming session. There may be lively conversation or extended moments of quiet contemplation. Both fit and feel just right.
You see their body language. You hear the inflection in their voice. You feel understood.
You laugh more and listen better.
You don’t just “catch up”—you connect.
That’s the same kind of magic you want your retreat attendees to experience.
You can’t force it to happen at your retreat any more than you can force it on your front porch, but it doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.
Make Summer a Season of In-Person Connection
People crave real-life interaction more than ever, but they don’t always realize it until they’re in it.
Once they feel it, they remember. Trust is built, learning sticks, and transformation begins. And it feels great, like this is how it’s supposed to be.
Summer makes that tangible. Think about a front porch conversation that goes deeper than expected, a family road trip that sparks phone-free discussions, or a poolside heart-to-heart between friends.
It reminds us that in-person moments hit differently.
So what if your workshop or retreat could recreate that kind of gathering?
Retreats Are More Than Teaching Events.
They’re memory-making spaces.
The mistake I see entrepreneurs make too often is thinking their in-person event has to be packed with content. More sessions, more slides, more workbook pages, more value, right?
These may be great assets and bonuses, but also easily replicated virtually. People want to feel like they belong to something that matters, a heartfelt connection to something that stirs them up and invites them to open up. And all six of their senses (your intuition is #6) know and confirm it.
In the same way a summer picnic creates space for lingering conversations, a well-designed retreat makes room for those in-between moments:
It’s the casual chat at the breakfast buffet. Or the ah-ha moment during a nature walk. The spontaneous roundtable that wasn’t even on the schedule but someone opened another beverage and no one wanted the discussion to end. Things that can happen when you put your phone away and don’t worry about the clock.
That’s the secret sauce. The wonder and awe of certain seasons, relationships, and moments in time that can’t be duplicated. There is nothing that compares to being in the room.
As a retreat planner, my job is to help you build something that bottles up that feeling and sets the stage to make those unintentional moments possible.
If You’re Dreaming of Hosting Something Tangible…
Now is the perfect time to start.
Before the school year rush. Before the pumpkin spice shows up and Costco starts clearing the coolers beach towels and lawn chairs to make way for Christmas decorations.
While summer is still whispering, what if…
Imagine welcoming your people into a real space where they can experience you, your work, and each other in a deeper way.
If you’re ready to explore what it could look like (and don’t want to figure out all the moving parts alone), that’s exactly what I’m here for.
Because summer might be slower—but it’s not standing still.
Let’s get your next retreat on the calendar.
➡ Start with the first 3 questions from my free workbook: How to Plan Your Profitable Retreat
Or let’s schedule a call and talk through your vision.
Next week we’re diving into some red-white-and-true nostalgia (including sparklers, Popsicles, and planning lessons from childhood summers). You won’t want to miss it!
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