Summersgiving

Thanksgiving is wonderful, but it comes with baggage: travel stress, seating charts, family politics, and that one uncle. Summersgiving keeps the feast and ditches the friction. As founder Robert Solomon likes to say, “This is a celebration without obligation.” No presents to buy, no attendance required, no obligatory relatives. Just your best friends, your favorite foods, and a long summer evening that does not end with anyone doing dishes in a bad mood.

The whole thing started in 2009, when Solomon, an attorney from Norwood, New Jersey, decided his favorite meal should not be rationed to a single Thursday in November. He loved Thanksgiving food so much that he hosted a summer barbecue for his friends starring roast turkey and all the rich side dishes, washing it down with cranberry martinis late into the night. Fifteen guests showed up to that first cookout. Word spread, the guest list grew, and a tradition was born.

Summersgiving might have stayed a private party if Solomon had not met entrepreneur Eva Shure on a flight from Boca Raton to Newark in 2018. When he told her about his summer Thanksgiving, she was ecstatic. “People love Thanksgiving. People love summer. This is something that could spread,” she told him. The two teamed up, built a website, and started spreading the word. In 2019, the Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed Summersgiving an official national day, to be observed every year on the Saturday after the summer solstice.

The timing is the whole point. The Saturday after the summer solstice lands in the season of the longest days and warmest nights, made for eating outside under string lights. In 2027, the summer solstice falls on Monday, June 21, which puts Summersgiving on Saturday, June 26, prime backyard season. And as a bonus, June is National Turkey Lovers Month, so the day arrives right in the middle of a month already devoted to the bird. Americans eat the vast majority of their turkey at Thanksgiving; Summersgiving gives the mighty gobbler a well-deserved summer encore.

Celebrating is deliciously low pressure. Most hosts make it a potluck, which fits the no-obligation spirit and keeps the cook from spending the whole party in the kitchen. Grill the turkey, smoke it, or roast it on a rotisserie spit. Reinvent the classics with a summer twist: watermelon next to the mashed potatoes is not a crime on this day. Then eat slow, laugh loud, and say thanks out loud, because gratitude tastes better in sunshine.

THE STORY BEHIND SUMMERSGIVING

🦃 A Lawyer Who Could Not Wait for November
In 2009, Robert Solomon, an attorney from Norwood, New Jersey, decided his favorite meal should not be rationed to one Thursday a year. He invited friends to a summer barbecue starring roast turkey and all the rich side dishes he loved, washing it down with cranberry martinis late into the night. Fifteen guests came to the first one, and the idea caught fire from there.

✈️ The Chance Meeting at 30,000 Feet
In 2018, Solomon found himself on a flight from Boca Raton to Newark seated next to entrepreneur Eva Shure. When he told her about his summer Thanksgiving tradition, she was ecstatic. “People love Thanksgiving. People love summer. This is something that could spread,” she told him. The two teamed up, built a website, and started spreading the word.

📄 Proclaimed Official in 2019
In 2019, the Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed Summersgiving an official national day, to be observed every year on the Saturday after the summer solstice. What began as one man’s backyard barbecue was now on the calendar for the whole country.

☀️ Why the Saturday After the Solstice
The date is no accident. The Saturday after the summer solstice lands in the season of the longest days and warmest nights, made for eating outside. In 2027, the solstice falls on Monday, June 21, which puts Summersgiving on Saturday, June 26, prime backyard season.

🦃 A Double Celebration in June
June is also National Turkey Lovers Month, so Summersgiving arrives right in the middle of a month already devoted to the bird. Americans eat the vast majority of their turkey at Thanksgiving, and this day gives the mighty gobbler a well-deserved summer encore.

So what actually goes on the table? Solomon, who comes from a family of chefs, set the bar deliciously high at his own gatherings with creations like sweet potato mousse with marshmallow, Broccoli Supreme casserole, cornbread stuffing with Andouille sausage, and turkey roasted over charcoal on a rotisserie spit. But the beauty of the day is that there are no rules. Many hosts make it a potluck so nobody is stuck cooking all day, and the menu happily mashes up both holidays: deviled eggs next to dinner rolls, corn on the cob beside the green bean casserole, and cranberry martinis clinking in the sunshine instead of by the fireplace.

The idea slots perfectly into a tradition Americans already love. Plenty of families celebrate Christmas in July, and Summersgiving is simply the Thanksgiving equivalent: the comfort, the gratitude, and the feast, minus the frostbite. It also borrows the best trick from Friendsgiving, the beloved tradition of celebrating the big meal with chosen family. The through line of all three is the same realization Solomon had back in 2009: the food is just the excuse, and the people are the point.

👥 From 15 Guests to a Movement
The first Summersgiving hosted just 15 guests around Solomon’s table. These days he expects upwards of 75, and the idea has traveled far beyond one backyard: the day is listed on the National Day Calendar website and has been picked up by hundreds of families sharing their own celebrations on social media. Not bad for a barbecue.

🎂 The Thanksgiving Answer to Christmas in July
Summersgiving did not invent the out-of-season holiday party. Families have celebrated Christmas in July for years, and Friendsgiving turned the November meal into a friends-first tradition. Summersgiving completes the set: Thanksgiving food, summer weather, and the people you actually chose.

And then there is the signature sip. From the very first Summersgiving, Solomon’s table has featured cranberry martinis, the ruby-red cocktail that bridges both holidays in a single glass: Thanksgiving’s most iconic flavor, served ice cold for summer. It is the perfect emblem of the day, familiar and festive, but turned toward the sunshine. Mix a pitcher, clink glasses with your favorite people, and let the longest evening of the season do the rest.

🍹 The Cranberry Martini Standard
Every Summersgiving origin story mentions the same detail: Solomon and his friends drank cranberry martinis long into the night at that first 2009 barbecue. The cocktail has stuck around as the day’s unofficial drink, Thanksgiving’s signature flavor served summer style. If you serve one thing besides turkey, make it this.

WAYS TO CELEBRATE

🍗 Grill the Bird
Roast, smoke, or rotisserie a turkey over charcoal and serve it picnic style. Nobody will check whether your stuffing is traditional, so make the version you actually love and let the long daylight do the rest.

🥘 Host a No-Rules Potluck
Invite your best friends and have everyone bring a favorite holiday dish with a summer twist. Watermelon next to mashed potatoes is not a crime on Summersgiving. Paper plates encouraged, neckties banned.

🥂 Toast Gratitude at Sunset
As the day winds down, gather everyone for a sunset toast. Go around the circle and name one thing you are grateful for, Thanksgiving style, then raise a cranberry cocktail to friendship, sunshine, and second helpings.

Celebrate Summersgiving

On June 26, 2027, pull the turkey out of the November box and give it the summer party it deserves. Fire up the grill, call your favorite people, and be grateful out loud. Thanksgiving is too good to happen only once a year.