You can feel it starting now. Summer. The most legendary of Chippewa Valley seasons. It’s when it all spills out into the backyards and beaches, to the pools and parks, to the streets and splash pads. It’s when we somehow simultaneously speed up and slow down; both gear up and chill out. And it’s in this issue of Volume One that we officially kick it all off. Tucked inside you’ll find a whole separate publication – the Hot Spots Best of Summer Guide – filled with ways to maximize these next few months and soak up that summer sun. Use it to plan your jam-packed summer of festivals, sports, music, recreation, and much more. There are so many amazing individuals, organizations, and businesses planning hundreds of things to do these next few months, so you gotta pay attention. And we’ve got a few fun things of our own cooking, too. You’ve probably heard about our Thursday night concerts by the river in downtown Eau Claire, and our annual Chalkfest art explosion on the UW-Eau Claire campus on July 28. But this year we’ve also partnered with Visit Eau Claire and a bunch of retailers to launch the Downtown Summer Shop Hop, a way to explore the growing retail scene in our city’s center, and your chance to win a $1,000 downtown shopping spree (more info on page 12). We’re also taking our sister publication, Chippewa Valley Family, and in partnership with Prevea we’re launching a monthly series of kid concerts called the Saturday Morning Hullabaloo during the weekend Farmers’ Market in downtown Eau Claire (more info on page 2). And we’ve got at least one other fun thing coming you’re gonna love too, I promise – more about that coming soon. So stay tuned. In the meantime, you owe it to yourself to jump into summer and get out there – hard. Grab your family and friends and make this one count. See you out there!