Your Campaign Needs to Be at Every Public Event This Fall

Fall in a small town is magical. The air is crisp, the weekends are full, and the calendar is stacked with street fairs, book festivals, parades, harvest events, chili cook-offs, and block parties. And yes, you should be at all of them. Or at least as many as your campaign calendar allows.If your campaign is built around kitchen-table conversations, these public events are where those conversations happen.

Why this matters

• People want to see you as a neighbor first and a candidate second. Eating a funnel cake or chatting about the high school band performance makes you relatable. Voters want to vote for someone who gets their day-to-day life.
• You’ll get to listen. These aren’t campaign events, so people let their guard down. It’s a perfect setting to hear what matters most to your community without the pressure of a stump speech.
• It’s content gold. A quick photo of you cheering on the local football team or chatting with a vendor gives your social media team something authentic to post. You’ll thank yourself when it’s time to batch content.
• It builds name recognition. People may not remember what you said, but they will remember seeing your name tag at the Fall Festival while you chatted with the guy at the cider stand.

How to show up the right way

• Wear your name tag. It helps with transparency and helps people remember your name when they see it on the ballot.
• Bring literature but hold it. Keep palm cards in your back pocket and only hand them out after you’ve had a conversation. Don’t be the candidate who works the event like a flyer machine.
• Be present to listen. Let folks know you're not there to give a speech. You’re there to hear what they care about. And when they tell you, connect it to your campaign later.
• Take good notes. After the event, jot down what you heard. Themes that keep popping up can guide your debate prep and even shape your platform.

A reminder to work with your Calendar Keeper

If you don’t already have a Calendar Keeper on your team, add one now. This is the person who scours town newsletters, community bulletin boards, and Facebook groups so you never miss a public event that could get you face-to-face with voters. Their job is to keep your campaign calendar packed with opportunities to listen, connect, and show up.

When you show up to community events and really show up, you build trust. And trust wins votes.