DOGS & DUGOUTS. Every year, the Volume One staff and contributors come together at the Eau Claire Express stadium to celebrate the best parts of summer. Community, creativity, good food and drink, and the chance to cheer on our local baseball team. (Photo by Ian Jacoby)

A seat in the shade, the champagne of beers as my beverage, and the Eau Claire Express gettin’ after it at Carson Park: That’s a pretty OK Tuesday evening. But that scene was taken up a notch for me, last Tuesday evening, thanks to a healthy dose of quality time with fellow V1ers and contributors.

Each year, Volume One sends out an invite to our contributors – writers, illustrators, photographers, and Soren Staff (you can stay on the email list bud, no worries) – over the summer to let them know, the next Express game is on us. This year, it was the Tuesday, July 29 game. And while the free entry, burgers, and mac ‘n’ cheese may be enough to get people to come by, we also hope attendance is at least partially due to the simple joy of hangin' out.

While handing out drink tickets (why Bossman left me in charge of those, who knows), contributing artists Cari Raynae Jacobson and Mindy Huntress told me that coming to V1 get-togethers made them “feel like we’re part of a community.” That was enough to turn an A-OK evening into an awesome one – because that’s what this is all about anyway: community. 

I cling to whatever stroke of good luck brought me to the point where I get to spend summertime evenings with fellow creatives laughing at a local baseball game. I’ve put out a call or two through my staff notes the last few months, and I’m doing it again: If you’re ever looking for a creative outlet and think Volume One’s pages could be just that, shoot us an email at editorial@volumeone.org. We’d love to keep building this little community.

P.S. Order mac ‘n’ cheese at your next Express game. Thank me later.

The man, the myth, the distribution coordinator — Matt Novacek — enjoys a full lineup of hot dogs in the Wipfli Zone at Carson Park. (Photo by Ian Jacoby)

It doesn't get better than this: contributing photographers, illustrators, writers, and V1 staff smiling for the camera! (Photo by Evelyn Nelson)

The photo in question, with McKenna Scherer (left), Tom Giffey (center) and Ian Jacoby (right); the 'slightly out of frame' was an artistic choice. (Photo by Frank H. Robinson)

Win or lose (on July 29 they lost 0-3 to the Waterloo Bucks) we'll always cheer on our Eau Claire Express players. (Photo by Ian Jacoby)