Summer is the best time of year, by far—and that is a sun-drenched hill we will die on.
Longer days, better weather, and much-needed vacations mean the energy is truly palpable.
Summer is all about having a good time—soaking up long afternoons in the park, spending time with family and friends, and buying tickets to all of the events. Hibernation mode is well and truly over.
But with high demand for fun times comes stiff competition for event organizers. So how do you make your event stand out and be remembered by your guests? By channeling those good time vibes into a summer party theme to remember, of course.
Here at Eventbrite, we know a thing or two about capturing that summertime magic and we want to showcase some of the ways our community of summer-savvy event organizers are nailing summer party themes.
To help you get started, we’ve rounded up 22 of the best summer party themes to inspire your next event. We’ve also included plenty of real-life examples and tips on how to make your theme come alive. Let’s dive in.
Why choose a summer party theme?
A lot of us spend all year waiting for the summertime—which is why summer is the perfect time to capitalize on that seasonal joy to make your next big event pop.
According to TRNDS 2025, our annual event forecasting guide, the appetite for spending on experiences over material things is still going strong. Three-quarters (76%) of consumers want to spend the same or more on events this year, Gen Z spending intentions are strongest, with 36% looking to spend more on events in 2025.
But if you really want to wow your friends and guests, you should theme your event. After all, 64% of organizers believe people will be looking for more niche events in 2025, according to TRNDS 2025.
To help you get started, we’ve rounded up 22 amazing summer party themes that are perfect for event organizers trying to build unique experiences around their events.
We’ll also take some inspiration from real event organizers who use our Eventbrite platform to organize the best summer parties with sizzling hot themes to inspire you.
Classic American summer parties
1. 4th of July blowout
Independence Day is like summer’s main event. That makes it a fantastic summer party theme for events of any size.
Start with some red, white, and blue bunting—then add plenty of American flags, balloons, and garlands of red, white, and blue flowers. An all-American 4th of July party menu can be as simple as hot dogs, burgers, mac and cheese, and apple pie.
Your entertainment should include fireworks, music playlists full of American Classics, and lawn games for the children (if this is a family event).
To learn from the best, look no further than event creator Mer Events and their July 4th Cruise. They’re hosting an unforgettable fireworks watch party from an unbeatable position on the Potomac River. They’ve also got five hours of bottle service, a delicious buffet, and a patriotic dress code. What’s not to love?
And if you need some more 4th of July party ideas, we’ve rounded up some pro tips.
2. Classic BBQ
Nothing screams “summertime” like a BBQ.
To capture those traditional summer vibes, decorate your venue with earthy shades, bunting, and loads of gingham. Serve your drinks in mason jars, and make sure your catering doubles down on your theme.
Just remember to offer some meat-free options so your event is inclusive. The BBQ theme is great for families as it lends itself to classic garden games like tug-of-war and other light outdoor activities.
Want to see how to do the BBQ theme on a large scale? Townsquare Media is hosting a Basin Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival. The event brings 15 of the most famous barbecue restaurants in Texas together for a day of delicious food, great music, and good vibes. Count us in.
3. Backyard dinner party
Summer is the best season for alfresco dining—which is why so many of us throw outdoor dinner parties. But this theme lends itself to larger parties too—recreate the backyard dinner party theme at a large venue with outdoor seating capabilities for many.
To make it easy, look for a venue in the great outdoors with their own catering facilities. Then you can decorate with classic garden furniture, natural tones, and even a fire pit for after-dinner cocktails. Entertainment could include some evening jazz, boules, or dancing.
As an example, Edible Nashville has totally nailed the brief with their 2025 Edible Nashville Creek Dinner. This exclusive foodie event takes alfresco farm-to-table dining to a whole new level: guests will dine with their feet submerged in the cool waters of a creek. Chef’s kiss.
4. Ice cream social
Sunny days sure are hot and if you’re looking for a simple party theme to cool down your guests, go for an ice cream social.
Your decor should include a pastel palette, balloons, and streamers to create an old-school atmosphere.
💡Pro tip: Your entertainment can double as your theme. Set up a deluxe ice cream sundae bar. Add in some live music (like a barbershop quartet), and you’ve created the ultimate 50s summer vibe.
Elegant and sophisticated gatherings
5. Cocktail party
Looking for an event theme for a summer party? Nothing is more fun than an evening making and drinking cocktails.
Tons of bars offer great cocktail masterclasses that show your attendees how to make their favorite cocktails. You can make it even more interactive by playing games in between and giving prizes for the best cocktail.
Check out the New Holland Brewing Co for their Taste Of The Tropics Cocktail Class to bring some real vacation vibes.
It’s also a great event theme if you’re on a budget. Simply ask your attendees to bring their favorite bottle of spirit; you supply a range of mixers and have guests experiment to come up with their own cocktails.
Get a great summer playlist together and finish the night off with some dancing.
6. Summer Soirée
The secret to a successful summer soirée is ambiance. Create the right vibe for your event and you’re almost guaranteed a night to remember.
Live music, divine food, and unique cocktails should be your top priority. You want your guests to feel a million dollars at your event, so focus on elegant tablescaping and mood lighting. You could set a dress code for your guests, whether that’s a color or theme.
The Travelling Café Culinary Studio are experts in hosting themed soirees. Their summer French soiree celebrates all things French, with fine wines and live music. Magnifique.
Create your summer event with Eventbrite
7. Afternoon tea party
A classic afternoon tea party is the height of sophistication. Make sure you deck out your table with vintage china pieces, silver cutlery, and dainty tea cups. It’ll make your spread of sandwiches, scones, and cakes all the more quaint.
For venues, you could really lean into the theme and find somewhere traditional, like a museum or grand building. Or, if you’re thinking outside the box, why not host an outdoor picnic with blankets?
Your afternoon tea can be followed by family-friendly summer games. Or, if you’re catering to adults, offer some gin or prosecco to enjoy a relaxing summer evening.
TN Golden Restaurants hosts an Afternoon Tea at Isabellas, which regularly sells out. Guests are encouraged to wear fancy outfits, including optional hats and gloves. Fancy!
8. Farm-to-table dinner party
Uplevel your alfresco dining events this year by partnering with local suppliers to create the ultimate farm-to-table event. It’s an opportunity to establish your values and champion sustainable ingredients and practices.
Farm-to-table is nothing new so to make yours stand out think of something to give your event the edge. Live music or a picturesque setting, such as a vineyard, can really set your event apart.
Pasture Grazed Regenerative Farm offers a Farm-To-Table experience. The intimate event includes a walking tour of the farm and “lively” sustainable farming discussion. Guests are then treated to a local charcuterie, wines and a custom-made pizza featuring farm-fresh ingredients.
💡Pro tip: Two-thirds of attendees overall (and 73% of 21 to 35-year-olds) feel happier knowing there is a conscious effort to make an event sustainable, according to our TRNDS report.
9. Paint & sip
There ain’t no party like a paint & sip party! And creativity really does flow once you’ve had a drink or two.
Why not choose a theme for the event and hire a professional artist to guide your guests to unleash their inner Picasso.
Design Hive is hosting a Neon Glow Party: Paint + Sip Event. The neon twist adds a whole new vibe to an already fun event with masterpieces that glow in the dark.
High-energy themed parties
10. Fiesta
You’ll find some of the best parties in the world in Spain, Mexico and South America—so why not capture the fiesta vibe and bring it home to your event?
For your decor, think bright colors, desert plants, and papel picado luminarias.
You can then bring in catering (or a food truck). For a Mexican event, think dishes like tacos, enchiladas, burritos, pozole, and mole. And don’t forget the margaritas!
If you’re going with a Spanish festival theme, a big paella is a great choice to feed all the guests at your event. Then, they can wash it down with a summery sangria.
💡Pro tip: Your fiesta entertainment might include a mariachi band, pinatas, a sombrero dance, or even a hot chili pepper eating contest.
11. Carnival
Summer is traditionally when the circus comes to town, making for a brilliant summer party theme.
This is a great theme idea for adults or families with kids, and your decor should center around a circus tent, bunting, and string lights. For a larger-scale event, you could rent out carnival games, circus performers, or fortune tellers as entertainment.
Your menu should focus on carnival and funfair basics like popcorn, cotton candy, churros, and snow cones. To create a festive atmosphere, you can rent food trucks to cater your party with these classics.
💡Pro tip: Eventbrite’s new timed entry tool is perfect for attractions and shows. It allows you to set up recurring events in minutes, with fully customizable time slots to suit your events. You can even use our AI tool to help write the event listings, which saves even more time.
12. Country barn dance
If you want to create a fun party experience, a barn dance is the perfect theme.
Start with country-inspired decorations like hay bales, gingham, quilts, and horseshoes. It’s ideal if you’re able to rent a venue with a real barn, but any space can be adapted to fit the vibe.
If you want to see how it’s done in practice, check out event creator Diamondback Music Hall and their Saddle Up Country Line Dance Party.
A great country barn dance needs plenty of Southern food like BBQ pulled pork, potato salad, beans, cornbread, roasted peanuts, and beer on tap. Meanwhile, your entertainment should include live music.
13. Summer derby party
What can be more exciting than a summer party at the races? It’s the perfect chance for guests to dress up to the nines, with hats and all. Your decor could be along the lines of the aristocratic touch and theme it around the famous Royal Ascot races.
Try to land a venue with plenty of lawn space—or maybe even a farm with horses. Your menu could include classic cocktails and finger foods, while entertainment could include an interactive racing event and pony rides for the kids.
If you need inspiration, look no further than event organizer Batavia Downs Gaming and their 2025 Kentucky Derby Gala. With a $20 wager, open bar, buffet and complementary t-shirt, it ticks every box.
14. Jazz speakeasy
Capture the excitement of the prohibition era and the roaring twenties by turning a venue into a jazzy speakeasy. Your entertainment should, of course, include live jazz, but also a cocktail bar and lots of swing dancing—while your decor could include loads of black and gold with whisky barrels.
Try to encourage your guests to dress the part in suits and flapper dresses. It’ll create an immersive atmosphere and engage attendees before they’ve even arrived.
💡Pro tip: Looking to theme your event even further? Check out our cocktail party ideas to shake up your next event.
15. Summer block party
A block party is a great way to build a big event and make everyone in the community feel included.
For example, take inspiration from Pink Block, an annual San Francisco Pride block party event from The Great Northern and Polyglamorous. As well as having world-class DJs and numerous stages, attendees are encouraged to wear—you guessed it—pink. As a result, the photos are epic.
Recreate the sense of community at your own event by offering a theme. Make sure you include lots of elements to keep people at your event for the whole day, including vendor stalls, a BBQ station, live music and maybe even a bouncy castle or face painting for the kids.
Water and beach fun
16. Beach party
Summer is the perfect time to flock to the beach. That’s why a beach party is a great idea for event organizers looking to provide attendees with a memorable experience.
You could hire out a beachside venue or use decorations to turn an inland venue into a hidden beach paradise. Just go for hues of blue and pink, sand, seashells, and fishing nets to create a sense of place.
If you’re serving food, stick with seafood and ice cream to stay on-theme and minimalistic—as the beach itself. In terms of entertainment, you could go for a bonfire, a toy boat race, or go all out with a fireworks display.
To see how the theme works at an actual beach, take a look at event creator Chicago Sport and Social Club and their Beach House event as the perfect example.
17. Pool party
This is one of the easiest summer party ideas for you to make a splash. Start by checking out venues with pools or renting out a community pool to host your party—just make sure you check the rules first! You’ll want to be able to offer alcoholic drinks and have loud music.
In terms of decor, the pool is your focal point. But you can add details like seashells, blue striped decor, and beach chairs, or even set up some cabanas to give it a beach feel.
The menu for a pool party is normally light (think sandwiches and finger foods). The entertainment should revolve around pool inflatables, pool games to get people in the water, or live music.
Daer Dayclub and Nightclub runs epic pool parties in Miami every Saturday and Sunday. They have listed events until the end of November to maximize summer ticket sales and enable people to book their VIP tickets in advance.
Plan a pool party like a pro!
18. Tropical island getaway
When the weather gets warmer, many of us fantasize about getting on a plane and heading to some faraway paradise.
As an event organizer you can recreate that just-stepped-off-the-plane feeling by bringing the tropical island vibes directly to your party guests.
To really make your event stand out, make sure the music is on point and serve authentic food and drinks. Oh, and remember, everyone loves a prop, so get those in abundance.
💡Pro tip: Want to learn how to market your summer events after nailing down a theme? Take a look at our ultimate event marketing guide.
19. Summer camp
Many of us have unforgettable memories of going to summer camp as a kid—so why not bring that nostalgia back in the form of a big party?
To scale this up, you could rent out a lakeside venue or an obstacle course and stage a series of “kidult” takes on classic camp activities. Toss up a few tents, light a campfire, set up a bug spray bar, and keep the menu basic (think hot dogs, trail mix, and s’mores).
To see how this party theme works in practice, check out Falconwood Park and Hullabaloo and their Camp Hullabaloo Adult Summer Camp 2025 event as a great example.
20. Summer scavenger hunt
This is another nostalgic theme that takes a lot of us back to summer camp—but you can create a highly engaging and exciting scavenger hunt to anchor your summer party.
Hire a venue with plenty of space so you can set up clues. You can choose different themes within this theme. It can be a pirate treasure hunt or an around the world hunt where you take them through different countries to find their clues. Scavenger hunts are great because your theme doubles as party entertainment.
If you need inspiration, event creators like Urban Adventure Quest are pros at this. Just take a look at their recent Amazing Scavenger Hunt Adventure-Tucson event.
21. Summer cruises
Is there anything more summery than being out on the water? Boat cruises—whether the sightseeing kind or pull-up-and-party category—really come into their own when the weather is good.
Elevate your event by offering tiered tickets, such as VIP packages and add-ons. Read our ticket-pricing strategies guide to learn more.
Enjoy Cruises certainly understood the assignment with their Freedom Friday Sunset Cruises. Epic NYC skyline? Check. Sundowners? Check. DJs? Check. Learn from them to make your own summer events sizzle.
22. Family fun run
Family fun runs are not just a place to settle sibling rivalries over who is the fastest. They’re an opportunity to bring the community together, often while raising money for an important cause.
And psst…they’re about more than just the run, too. The best events include a range of family-friendly activities for all ages, as well as plenty of food and beverage options.
Parkcrest Christian Family Church is hosting a Family Fun and Color Run. The Star Wars-themed event offers many family-friendly activities and a lunch. May the force be with you.
💡Pro tip: If your fun run is a charitable event, check out our extensive guide for unique fundraising ideas.
Picked your summer party theme? Let’s start planning
Once you’ve chosen the perfect summer party theme, it’s time to get to work creating your event—we’re here to help.
Draw inspiration from Eventbrite’s community of event organizers from all over the world. You can then use Eventbrite to set up a custom summer events page, sell tickets, create seating arrangements, promote your event on social media, and more.
