Each summer, Eau Claire comes together to cheer on Mayo Clinic Health System’s Half Moon Dragon Boat Festival. No matter which team comes in first, the community wins because the fest is a fundraiser for cancer support services. Try to remember the feeling of summer sun on your skin if you’re one of the 500 participants in the second place-winning Polar Plunge, which benefits the Special Olympics. A brisk dunk in the icy water is a small price to pay for the grins you see on the athletes’ faces. Want to feel like a super hero? The theme for Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids, the Chippewa Valley’s third favorite rec event, is “Be a Super Hero.” All these events make our community a better place to live. — Diana Peterson