Sun Amok: Summer’s fun and all, but it’s not your friend

Mike Paulus, illustrated by Serena Wagner

I’m not sure why you all like summer so much. Because I’m pretty sure summer doesn’t like you. At least, not as much as you think it does. Especially the Sun. That big blazing ball of brightness ...

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On the Cover | June 13, 2018

learn more about V1's cover art from Derek J. Carlson

"The painting entitled “Somewhere on a Farm” is part of a series consisting of vintage pick-up trucks set in idyllic backdrops. This series is devoted to the shape, line, and contour of these beautiful machines and how they have survived, so far, the test of time. Far from being perfect ..."

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Opening Shot | June 13, 2018

photos by Rachel Worthing

SUPER CUTE PARACHUTE. This summer Chippewa Valley Family and Prevea Health are hosting free live music and activities in Phoenix Park during the Saturday Morning Hullabaloo. The first installment was June 9; the two remaining dates are July 14 and Aug. 25 ...

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4 Health Tips for Music Festival Season

keep safe while you rock out

Kirk Gunderson

Attending local or regional music festivals is an annual tradition for many people and can be a fun time to reconnect with friends while enjoying great music. I have staffed many first aid tents at music festivals ...

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Room to Breathe: Minnesota Nice is an adventure in ‘free electronics’

Eric Christenson

For the last 15 years, Ben Hinz has been making heavy experimental rock music with The Ronald Raygun and heading up his effect-pedal-making company Dwarfcraft Devices. If you’ve got a song in your heart ...

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A Hitt Performance: Jazz album inspired by family, big ideas

Lauren Fisher

She wore a shimmering black dress, nodding along to the improvisations of pianist Josh Gallagher, saxophonist Dr. Michael Schultz, drummer Jared Mondlock, and on bass, her son Eric Hitt. At times, especially when she introduced ...

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Music Quick Hits | June 2018

Eric Christenson, photos by Lee Butterworth

Upon the release of his forthcoming record People Are My Drug (which is streaming now), Phil Cook will make his way home to the Chippewa Valley to perform on Oct. 20 in the Jamf Theater ...

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Millenia of Melodies: New club sings old songs

Lauren Fisher, photos by Rachel Worthing

Two crows discuss whether to eat the eyes of a fallen knight. No one is able to find a girl’s head after her gruesome murder. A young couple is buried together beside the Chippewa River after they ...

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Blue Ox, Bluegrass: Fest will fill the forest with sweet sounds of roots music

Julia van Allen

From June 14-16, musicians specializing in good ol’ bluegrass, Americana, and roots will fill the forest with sweet music. The Blue Ox Music Festival combines the traditional music festival experience with a bit of hometown Eau Claire charm ...

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Three Days of Country: Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley among Country Fest highlights

Julia van Allen, photos by Luong Huynh

Put out your stetsons and grab your sunscreen, Country Fest is back. The gates will open for three-day fest-goers on Wednesday, June 20, with a kickoff party ...

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A Tale Fit for a Queen

religious theater group stages female-fronted biblical musical

Tom Giffey

Maybe it was divine intervention. Maybe it was just a stroke of good luck. Either way, a musical version of the biblical story of Esther arrived in the hands of TAG Ministries, an Eau Claire-based Christian theater company ...

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On a Lonesome Road

policeman turned attorney pens debut mystery novel

Haley Wright

Rick Pendergast – a lifelong resident of Eau Claire, a former Eau Claire Police Department officer, and a current local attorney – recently published his first novel, Stoney Lonesome Road. The novel (named after an actual road in Boyd) is a mystery ...

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An Evening With Music Journalist Andrea Swensson

Lauren Fisher

What is the Minneapolis Sound? How did it come to be? Author, radio host, and music journalist Andrea Swensson explores these questions in her book, Got to be Something Here: The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound ...

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Wisconsin Public TV Previews New Documentary About Eau Claire

Samantha Kobs

So how come we don’t put as much effort into researching the places in which we are working, raising families, and spending a good majority of our daily lives? Seems a little strange ...

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A Whistle of Sunlight

Alexander Zitzner

In the future we will have better / names for sadness. Our clocks will ring open / the midnight sky not as a pit of darkness / flaked with all the glittery yearnings out of reach ...

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Riverfront Revamp: UWEC Garfield Avenue project slated for fall finish

Rachel Helgeson

The UW-Eau Claire campus riverfront and Garfield Avenue will look and feel much different in a few months when the current reconstruction project concludes. UWEC’s lower campus along Garfield Avenue has been under construction since early 2017 as part of a long-awaited ...

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UWEC Professor Earns Top Teaching Honor

UWEC Integrated Marketing and Communications

Dr. Martina Lindseth, professor of languages at UW-Eau Claire, will receive the 2018 UW System Board of Regents Teaching Excellence Award. Lindseth, who teaches German, will receive the award during ...

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Mabel Tainter Taps New Executive Director

Tom Giffey

The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts in Menomonie has hired an arts administrator from Illinois as its new executive director. Jeff McSweeney, who most recently was executive director of Youth Music Illinois in Peoria ...

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From Pavilions to Parks, the Chippewa Valley’s Best Rentable Party Spaces

V1 Staff

Whether you’re celebrating a graduation, a birthday, or a family reunion, nothing provides the pleasant, nostalgic fun of a party in the park. The sunshine peeking through gaps in the tree canopy ...

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Fire Away: Your guide to lighting up the night with fireworks

Julia van Allen, photos by Frank H. Robinson

With summer fully in swing and the nation’s birthday coming up in just a few weeks, we can’t imagine a world without fireworks. What better way is there for a backyard pyromaniac to kick off the summer ...

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Gather for a Party on the Prairie

new Altoona park at River Prairie offers outdoor and indoor space for summer shindigs and events

Lauren Fisher, photos by Branden Nall

When Wisconsin enters its too-few months of warmth and sunshine, it’s time to take the party outside. Which parties? All of them. The new River Prairie Park off Front Porch Place in Altoona offers seven outdoor ...

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6 Hot Tips for Safe Summer Dining

how not to get sick at the cookout

Eau Claire City-County Health Department

During this busy summer season of picnics, barbecues, and other activities involving food, the Eau Claire City-County Health Department would like to remind everyone about important ways to keep your food safe ...

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Elk Mound Spot Specializes in Cajun-Style Seafood

Tom Giffey, photos by Timothy Mather

When sisters Kay Vang and Yang Xiong decided to open a restaurant, they wanted to start something different. They found what they were looking for at the bottom of the sea – and deep in the bayou ...

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Local Brewery Collaborates on Limited Run Eaux Claires Beer

Emilee Wentland

When people think of the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, they probably think of, well, music and art. They may also think of collaborations, such as the collaboration between Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner ...

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Want to take your summer party to the next level? Hire a food truck ...

Tom Giffey, photos by Andrea Paulseth

Not keen on laboring over a hot barbecue to feed your summer soiree? Want to try something more interesting than a typical catered meal? Whether you’re planning a reunion, a graduation party, or even a wedding ...

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Carson Park’s New Playground Offers More Inclusive Fun for All Kids

Catey Leonardson, photos by Andrea Paulseth

Carson Park’s playground recently received a beautiful, lime-green upgrade as the past play structure reached the end of its 30-year life expectancy. The $480,000 project from Playworld Systems features areas designed for ...

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5 Common Mistakes Runners Make

and how to avoid them

Adam Condit, photos by Branden Nall, Kelsey Smith

You’re all fired up and ready to run! In fact, you might have a longer term goal you’re working towards and want to make this year your fittest year yet! Motivation is at an all-time high and you have daydreams ...

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Running Beyond the Norm: Teams push physical, mental, and emotional limits in 200-mile Ragnar Race

Emily Kuhn, photos by Emily Kuhn

If someone asked you to do something that’s out of the norm for you, what would your motivation be for saying yes? Say that something was part physical (running a 200-mile relay race from Chicago to Madison in two days), part social ...

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Hickory in Hallie

Lake Hallie Golf Course hosts second annual Hickory Classic

Rob Reid, photos by Rob Reid

A group of 16 golfers recently played 18 holes at the Lake Hallie Golf Course. What was different about this gathering was that all players in the Lake Hallie Hickory Classic on June 2 were using old-fashioned ...

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Commemorating Freedom: Culture, food, and community at Juneteenth gathering

Tori Johnson

Join Chippewa Valley residents on June 19 to commemorate Juneteenth, a holiday that celebrates the liberation of black people from slavery. The free event will kick off at 5:30pm and feature various uplifting presentations ...

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Getting Some Air

Chippewa Valley Air Show will turn your world upside down

Julia van Allen, photos by Carolyn Tiry

Things at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport will be flying high on June 16-17 when the Chippewa Valley Air Show comes in for a landing. The air show only happens every few years, so don’t miss out on the chance ...

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