Dear Ashwabay Alliance Community,
Can you believe we’re about to close out the 2025/2026 Mt. Ashwabay Alpine season? And what an incredible season it’s been!
It’s hard to wrap my head around how quickly it’s gone. The sun is lingering a little longer each evening, and we’ve already sprung our clocks forward. It’s this quiet shift toward spring that gives me a reason to pause and reflect on this past winter.
- An abundant snowfall
- Beautifully groomed downhill and Nordic trails
- A hugely successful Summit Ski Race
- Friday Youth Nights filled with laughter, determination, and pure joy
From the outside, it can all look seamless. But I want to take a moment to acknowledge the team who makes it happen.
The Mt. Ashwabay staff have shown up in every condition imaginable this winter:
- Clearing and maintaining parking lots of deep snow
- Keeping machinery running in frigid temperatures
- Fitting rentals with professionalism and safety as their top priority
- Serving curds and fries warming us from the inside out
And our volunteers, “thank you” hardly feels like enough. The pride and dedication they bring to this hill elevates Mt. Ashwabay from an ordinary ski area to a regional gem.
Soon, the chairs will come off the lift, the bumpers will be stored away, and the groomers parked until next year.
As one team starts to break down our winter “campus,” another team begins preparing our summer “canvas.”
While the snow melts, the entertainment team is hard at work. Zoe has created a wonderful summer lineup, which you’ll see soon, and the Big Top grounds are being thoughtfully refreshed.
We’re looking at adding food trucks, more picnic tables, and Adirondack chairs to make your summer evenings under the stars even more enjoyable. Small changes that can make a difference in your overall experience.
It’s part of how we think about this place. Honoring what’s been built here, while continuing to care for and improve it.
That’s the rhythm of the Ashwabay Alliance. We’re a year-round organization. While one season winds down, another begins to take shape. And it takes all of us to keep that rhythm strong.
Thank you for being part of this community and for showing up season after season.
Respectfully,
Garry Schalla
Wrapping Up the 2025/2026 Winter Season with Doug Olson, Program Director at Mt. Ashwabay
Doug Olson has been skiing at Mt. Ashwabay since he was five years old. In fact, he remembers as a kid he’d refuse to stop skiing and would pee his pants because he waited too long.
That love for skiing has never faded.
Doug went on to build a successful ski career in Colorado. But Mt Ashwabay is the place he wants to be.
“This is meaningful to me,” Doug said. “I’m doing what I should be doing.”
And you can see that same passion reflected in our community.
“People love this place,” he said. “You see it right in front of you.”
One snowy morning when school was cancelled, Doug noticed something unusual while driving up Ski Hill Road. Kids were walking up Ski Hill Road.
They weren’t in distress. No cars were stuck in the ditch. They had caught a ride from the BART bus and were walking up the road from the bus stop.
“They had no idea how they were going to get home,” Doug said. “They just knew they wanted to come skiing.”
That kind of story happens often at Mt. Ashwabay.
“Our first job is making sure everyone feels welcome,” Doug said. “There’s something here. We say the word ‘magic’ a lot, but it’s real. People feel it.”
You hear it when the lift operators talk about how great the kids are. Sometimes it’s as simple as seeing a young skier fly past wearing a full Batman outfit. Moments like that are part of what make this place special.
This winter season has also brought some meaningful changes behind the scenes.
The Mt. Ashwabay team revamped the Wednesday School Group Program, so students receive real instruction before heading up the chairlift.
Now each student moves through seven learning stations before earning their lift ticket.
“At first we weren’t sure how they’d respond,” Doug said. “Now they’re running from one station to the next. Then they come back at the end of the day and tell us all the runs they skied.”
Another area that has grown significantly is Nordic skiing. Grooming has improved dramatically, and the trails are gaining attention across the Midwest Nordic community.
“Ashwabay is getting on the map as a Nordic ski center,” Doug said.
Of course, no season comes without challenges.
Snowmaking was difficult this year due to staffing shortages, and equipment breakdowns are always part of the work. But early snow helped the team build a solid base to open the season on time.
Looking ahead, Doug sees more opportunity:
- Expanding school programming so kids who don’t ski or snowboard can still experience winter at Mt. Ashwabay–building snow caves, snowshoeing, or ice skating
- Building an ice rink and skating trail through the woods where families could glide under twinkle lights on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon
- Adding a dedicated Nordic warming hut, something the Nordic community has been asking for
Beyond winter, Doug sees the grounds continuing to grow as a place for the community to gather. Planting more trees for shade and creating park-like spaces where people can relax after mountain biking or before a Big Top show.
There’s also momentum building around the Thunderbird Warrior Challenge. In its first year, the event drew 157 participants. Doug hopes to double that number and grow the event into something as meaningful to the region as the “Point to La Pointe” swim.
But what matters most to Doug is something less tangible.
“We work hard at building meaningful relationships,” he said. “A lot of nonprofits talk about mission and vision. I feel like we’re really nailing ours.”
The Marketing Work Behind a Big Top Show: Inside the Alliance Marketing Team
In the last newsletter, we shared what it takes to bring an artist to Big Top. But once an artist signs, another process begins.
That’s where the Alliance marketing team, Darcy Schwerin and Drew Kenny, step in.
After a show is confirmed, the artist’s team sends over their “assets.” In the marketing world, these include photos, descriptions, videos, logos, and tour graphics. From there, Darcy and the team begin building the story that’ll introduce the show to the public.
For bigger artists, the marketing team works within the artist’s existing brand, adding the Big Top logo to their materials. For shows featuring the Blue Canvas Orchestra, the creative process starts from scratch.
“We design everything,” Darcy explained. “Posters, videos, social media posts, email campaigns. Once those pieces are ready, we begin building the content around them.”
Drew, who leads much of the graphic design work, often starts by listening to the artist’s music.
“For every poster, email, or social media post, I turn on the artist’s music and try to translate their sound into something visual,” he said.
From there, each piece of content is mapped across a calendar so it reaches audiences at the right time.
One of the most powerful tools comes when artists participate in the process themselves.
“If we can get the artists to share posts, links, or content with their audiences, it helps generate excitement,” Darcy said. “That collaboration is hugely beneficial. It turns marketing into a story and an experience people want to be part of.”
Behind the scenes, the team is constantly measuring what works. Drew tracks analytics and studies engagement to guide the strategy.
“Digital marketing gives us the ability to see what’s working and what isn’t,” Darcy said. “That helps us course correct and focus on the audiences we’re trying to reach.”
Some marketing is easier to measure than others. Online campaigns can be tracked in real time, while billboards, posters, and print advertising are harder to quantify. Still, every piece plays a role.
“Marketing concerts is different from marketing a product,” Drew said. “You’re not just asking people to spend money—you’re asking for their time. Our job is to show them that experience will be worth it.”
The Alliance also works closely with local chambers of commerce to help share information about upcoming shows and events.
“They’re a great tool for reaching our local community,” Darcy said.
At the same time, marketing Big Top shows comes with its challenges.
Music in the Chequamegon Bay is everywhere, especially in the summer. With so many free concerts and events across the region, it takes thoughtful storytelling to stand out.
“We have to work really hard to share what makes Big Top unique,” Darcy said.
That uniqueness goes beyond the artists themselves.
“It’s about the experience,” she explained. “People aren’t just looking for another concert. They want something memorable.”
That’s part of what makes the Big Top tent so special. “It’s live music under a tent by Lake Superior,” Darcy said. “It’s not another arena or stadium show. It’s something completely different.”
For the marketing team, the most rewarding moments come when a show sells out or when an event draws people together.
And when a show doesn’t sell the way the team hoped, that matters just as much.
“Then we dig into all the layers to understand why it didn’t connect,” said Darcy.
One thing she wishes more people understood is how much work goes into the process.
“There’s a stereotype that marketing means you just make a poster,” she said. “But it takes time, strategy, and a lot of collaboration.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Darcy is excited about the range of artists coming to the tent this summer.
“This year’s lineup is really diverse,” she said. “And Zoe is bringing more of the Chautauqua spirit back into the programming as we celebrate Big Top’s 40th year.”
Like every part of the Ashwabay Alliance, the work is layered and collaborative. And when it all comes together, the goal is simple:
To invite people to experience a night under the tent.
