A month-long celebration to bid summer adieu and welcome the cozy season with new traditions and celebrations.
It begins September 1 ↓
The days are still warm, but the mornings are crisp. Sweaters return to the backs of chairs. The first leaf turns. BERtember is a reason to notice it all, and to share it with your memBERs.
BERtember is a group sport. Choose your memBERs: your household, your family, the group chat. These are the people you will wager against, share the pot with, and crunch alongside all month.
Handwrite a letter to someone and share a favorite memory from this summer. Bonus points if you enjoy your first apple cider donuts or a pumpkin spice latte!
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Predict the date of the first proper rain and name the restaurant where you want to enjoy a cozy meal. This is known as the Rain Table. Write down or text your group with your date prediction and your restaurant. Bring written wagers to the First Ber to reveal together.
Whoever calls it closest wins dinner at the restaurant named in their wager. Everyone else pays.
the weather chooses the winner
One small celebration each week as September turns toward fall.
Read and discuss every rain prediction and Rain Table restaurant. Trash talk is encouraged.
The forecasts are now official. The first Golden BERet is awarded tonight.
Make the first chili, stew, or soup of the season. Serve it from one shared pot. Bonus points for sipping on hot cider or mulled wine.
Nobody makes plans afterward. That is the entire point.
Everyone gathers with an apple in hand and simultaneously takes a bite. The crunch is rumored to echo around the world and beckon the crisp air.
One bite. One world-rattling crunch.
Eat dinner outside, with blankets and warm drinks, stay out slightly longer than is comfortable, then retreat indoors. Outdoor dining is officially closed.
Indoor season is officially open.
The first proper rain summons dinner. Whoever made the closest Weather Wager wins dinner at the restaurant they named; everyone else pays. No rain by September 30? It becomes rain debt and must still be paid when the weather finally turns.
The blanket belongs to everyone. The Golden BERet goes to whoever contributed most to BERtember that week: making the pot, spotting the first leaf, or nailing a forecast. The Fourth Ber winner keeps the BERet until next September.
The fifth Sunday is the leftover glow of the season. Repeat your favorite tradition from the month and let it burn down slowly.
September also invites everyone to begin their annual rewatch of Gilmore Girls. Pour the largest cup Luke will legally serve, clear your Friday nights for dinner, and start talking a little faster.
not required. strongly encouraged. you know who you are.