Hundreds of scarves up for grabs in Old Market Square

WINNIPEG -

If you take a stroll through Old Market Square this weekend, you might notice hundreds of handmade scarves hung up all over the area.

Chase the Chill Winnipeg is a scarf bombing organized by a group of volunteers who work all year knitting free scarves for those in need. Then every year on the first Saturday of December the group hangs them up in the Exchange District for anyone to take.

“I think my final (scarf) count was 509 this year,” said Alana Spindler, coordinator for Chase the Chill Winnipeg.

Chase The Chill was started in 2010 in Pennsylvania to address the need for warm accessories for people who are vulnerable during the winter months, and in 2011 Chase the Chill Winnipeg became the second chapter in the world.

Spindler said there are few key elements to the project.

“(We want) to provide a charitable gift to anyone -- without any qualifier and without any payment,” she said.

The project is also designed to draw attention to yarn craft as an art that can be accessed by anyone, and to beautify a public space in the city that is accessed by all walks of life.

Spindler said Chase the Chill is a way crafters can serve their community while doing something they love, and they make sure no scarf goes to waste.

“There’s usually some left over, I try not to leave them beyond Monday morning. So if there’s anything left I do collect them, and historically I brought them to Main Street Project or Christmas Cheer Board,” she said.

People who want to get involved can find the group on Facebook at Chase the Chill in Winnipeg, or on Instagram at ctcwpg.