You can absolutely do community engagement in the summer. Just don't do it the usual way.

Every year, I hear some version of the same comment.

"We can't really do public engagement over the summer. Everyone's away. Let's wait until September."

I understand why people say it. School is out. Vacations begin. And yes, I probably wouldn't schedule a traditional public forum the week of the Fourth of July either. That's a good way to spend an evening with a handful of attendees and a room full of empty chairs.

But I've always thought we confuse two very different ideas.

Not holding a public forum in July is not the same as not engaging the community in July.

When we treat them as the same thing, projects lose valuable momentum.

The real challenge isn't that people disappear for the summer. It's that our default engagement tools, evening meetings in municipal buildings, fit people's lives particularly poorly this time of year.

So instead of changing the schedule, change the approach.

Summer is actually one of the easiest times to meet people because they're already out in the community. They're at the farmers’ market. They're watching the Fourth of July parade. They're at outdoor concerts, library events, neighborhood festivals, beaches, playgrounds, and local parks.

Go where they already are.

Set up a simple pop up table. Ask one thoughtful question. Give people a quick way to participate, whether that's a sticky note, a dot exercise, or a QR code they can complete in less than a minute.

Those small interactions often reach people who would never attend a traditional public meeting.

Young families juggling activities. Renters. Shift workers. People who are curious about what's happening in their community but don't have two hours to spend at Town Hall on a Tuesday evening.

Those voices matter.

Then, keep an online engagement opportunity available throughout the summer and save your larger public meeting for the fall, when people are back into more predictable routines.

By September, you're not introducing the project for the first time. You're sharing what you've already learned, demonstrating that you've been listening, and inviting the community to help shape the next phase of the conversation.

Summer doesn't have to be a pause in community engagement.

It can be one of the most productive seasons of the year if we're willing to meet people where they are, instead of waiting for them to come to us.