Sunset

[florianschild]

The tents and rides are all dismantled, the ground is littered with peanut shells, and the natural quiet of the fairgrounds is overtaking the cacophony that had been ever present just a few days ago. It's a calm quiet as well all go about packing up and getting ready to set off on our next adventure.

It's hard to believe this is the very last day of July 2025. The month may be over, but hopefully you found enough summer vibes to carry you through August and well into September (you know it's technically summer until September 21st)!

I know I personally had an absolute blast this month. I got to read so many lovely posts, reflections, poems, and more shared by all of the wonderful participants. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who participated and to the entire mod team for the amazing, amazing job they did. If I can be a bit self-indulgent, I'd encourage you to comment below with your impressions of this challenge. We'll take all thoughts! Let us know what you liked, what could have been better, and whether you'd like to see this challenge happen in July 2026. Maybe you want to suggest a theme for next year? The Carnival will surely have moved on by then. :)

You might also choose to write your own wrap-up post for the Sunshine Revival. It's not an official challenge, but consider it a bit of a bonus prompt:

Which challenges did you participate in? Did you find any new journals to follow? Did you learn anything, either about yourself or someone else? How did you feel this month? Maybe leave a note for your future self reminding them of the little, everyday memories that sometimes get blurred out with the passage of time.

If you do write a personal wrap-up, feel free to link to it in a comment as well!

If you're just finding the Sunshine Revival, you can still participate in the challenges. Just drop a comment linking to your post. There's no deadline and no pressure. Also, don't forget to follow snowflake_challenge for the winter-themed big sister to this challenge. It's cozy and gingerbread-y and very fun.

Thank you again, everyone! I can't say it enough! It's amazing that you're here; you make this community really nice to be a part of. Have a lovely summer. <3

Comments

[kitarella_imagines]

Thanks so much for organising this! I've had a rollercoaster month personally but the challenge has been very nice to join in and read. I'm usually too busy in January for Snowflake with my own challenge and I had July off work so Sunshine fitted in perfectly. I enjoyed the individual challenges. The most nerve-wracking one for me was the Friendship Meme, I tend to lurk in the background rather than socialising. But I managed to meet a few new people.

Once again, thanks🥰

[author_by_night]

Thank you for organizing this!

I did the fandom rollercoaster and the snack/food prompt.

I think if I had any suggestions, it would actually be for a few more prompts. :)

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Gosh yes, more prompts would help. Every four days meant I kept missing things because I'd forget which days were active. Or I'd check midday and it wouldn't be up yet, the I'd forget to check again.

[zenigotchas]

I did all the challenges and felt so happy!!!! It was a lot of fun and I met new people.

I appreciate this challenge, thanks for helping it happen!

[walgesang]

Thanks so much! I did all the challenges and made a few new friends. ♥ I wasn't as good at reading posts as I'd like to, but maybe that's for next month. :D Events like this always get me posting more after a dry spell, so I do appreciate it. Have a wonderful rest of your summer!

[haunted_cherries]

BRB CRYING MY EYES OUT WHILE I TRY TO SNEAK BACKSTAGE TO GET PACKED UP WITH THE CARNIVAL xD

Jokes aside, this was such a lovely challenge, and I would ABSOLUTELY love to see it again next year!! I participated in all the challenges at least once, and it was so nice getting to come across everyone's entries, including the mods!!

A big thank you to everyone for making this as awesome as it was!! ; u; 💕

Feel free to check out all of mine under my Sunshine Revival event tag, and definitely don't be a stranger!! ^ o^)/ I never mind folks coming by to say hi!!

[lumiosecity]

Thank you so much for organizing this whole shebang! It’s been a whole lot of fun and I already can’t wait for next year.

I got all the way up to the fourth set of prompts and then lost steam for a little while— but the summer isn’t over, and I fully intend to finish out everything before we head into autumn. Whether that takes me another week or the whole of August remains to be seen, but I don’t have plans to leave the challenge unfinished.

[lightbird]

Thanks so much for reviving and running this summer challenge! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

[pauraque]

Thank you for doing the work to put this together and make it happen! I did all the challenges and had a great time.

I really liked that you offered both journaling and creative prompts, and I think they struck a good balance of being neither too specific nor too vague. I wonder if next year you could consider making the creative prompts open to any medium, rather than "write a story" or "create a graphic" etc. The prompt could just be a theme or subject and the participant picks whether to create something written or visual (or compose a song or choreograph an interpretive dance, who knows what people would come up with!)

I hope to see you next summer. :)

[author_by_night]

I wonder if next year you could consider making the creative prompts open to any medium, rather than "write a story" or "create a graphic" etc. The prompt could just be a theme or subject and the participant picks whether to create something written or visual (or compose a song or choreograph an interpretive dance, who knows what people would come up with!)

Ooh! I love that idea! Yes, seconding.

[autodach]

Thank you so much for running the challenge! See you next year!

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>The tents and rides are all dismantled, the ground is littered with peanut shells, and the natural quiet of the fairgrounds is overtaking the cacophony that had been ever present just a few days ago. It's a calm quiet as well all go about packing up and getting ready to set off on our next adventure.<<

Yeah, that's the feeling. <3

One more for the road: we attended a great fair today.

>>I know I personally had an absolute blast this month. I got to read so many lovely posts, reflections, poems, and more shared by all of the wonderful participants. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who participated and to the entire mod team for the amazing, amazing job they did.<<

Thanks to everyone who made it happen. You really went all out.

>> If I can be a bit self-indulgent, I'd encourage you to comment below with your impressions of this challenge. We'll take all thoughts! Let us know what you liked, what could have been better, <<

I had lots of fun with it. I think this version was more social, more like the Snowflake Challenge, compared to previous Sunshine that were more "create something based on this prompt" but it did inspire plenty of interaction and there were creative prompts too. Looking back at the original Sunshine Challenge, the first one was largely social (I'd forgotten that), then 2020: Colors, 2021: Greek Mythology, 2022: Gemstones, 2023: Flowers.

>> and whether you'd like to see this challenge happen in July 2026. <<

Yes, please!

>> Maybe you want to suggest a theme for next year? The Carnival will surely have moved on by then. :)

* Aesthetics (light academia, cottagecore, etc.)
* Beach Scenery
* Gardening / Summer Vegetables
* Nature Activities (birdwatching, creek hike, etc.)
* Road Trip / Roadside Attractions
* Solar Deities

>>If you do write a personal wrap-up, feel free to link to it in a comment as well!<<

My sunset post is here. It includes links to all my Sunshine posts in case anyone missed some.

[thatjustwontbreak]

I loved it! It really got me back into dreamwidth and I enjoyed interacting with everyone and finding new people to follow.

[winterfirelight]

Thank you so much for putting this on! I had such a good time, and threw together a little wrap up post here.

[smallhobbit]

I've written a brief wrap up here

[linky]

Thanks so much for running this!

[yourlibrarian]

Wrote an additional bit at my blog. Thanks for reviving this, I thought it all went very well.

[dr_zook]

Thank you guys so much for organizing this show! I had fun and made new friends, what more could I have hoped for? ✨

I had been missing the old comm sunshine_challenge very much; that did not feel like a copy of snowflake_challenge (which is much more navel-gazy-er) and did not work that way, at least for me.

I found the gentle pacing of the prompts just right, and would not look forward to more within a month. I struggled with some prompts, but then just took what I could from them and ran with it; that worked excellently! :D

[svgurl]

Thank you for running this! I didn't get around to doing all the challenges, but I enjoyed seeing other people's answers and participating when I could. :)