So here’s the deal: The Chippewa Valley is a fantastic place to be in winter, but it’s possible that a lot of us need a little help to realize that. And while a full-on Winter Festival on a specific weekend might be a little risky to pull off (No snow? Too much snow? Too cold? Too warm?), some impromptu, temporary celebrations might help do the trick.

So in an effort to get you off the couch this winter, Volume One will organize some unofficial gatherings we’re dubbing “Cold Flashes” – each focusing on getting together a bunch of people for fun, short-lived winter activities. Maybe it’ll be snowman building in Owen Park or snow sculptures on Barstow Street. Maybe a giant fort in Boyd Park or a snowball fight across the Eau Claire River. Or maybe a simple dog sled race down UWEC’s campus hill. You know, whatever.

Either way, we’re not telling just yet exactly how many we’ll do or what they might be (because we don’t entirely know). BUT, when the time comes, it’ll all go down like this:

• We’ll look out our office window, maybe poke our heads out the door
• If the timing and conditions seem right, sometime in the morning we’ll pull out our monstrous bullhorn
• We’ll blow into that bullhorn (which is actually our website, email list, and our Twitter and Facebook feeds), letting everyone within the blast radius know that we’re calling together a “Cold Flash” for that day or evening
• All of the information about said event (place, time, activity) will be spread via these electronic and social media channels, along with some old fashioned word-of-mouth. Then, we’ll hopefully see a few dozen hearty locals gather for some chilly outdoor fun.

What you need to do to ensure that you hear about these impromptu events is watch VolumeOne.org like a hawk, follow us on Twitter, befriend us on Facebook, sign up for our email newsletter, and tell all your friends/loved ones/coworkers/people you meet on the street to do the same. Let’s build a new Chippewa Valley winter.