By: Jacob Justice

Since its founding in 1987, Folio Weekly has served as a guide for those looking for events, entertainment, music, art, and culture throughout Jacksonville. Being the only alternative newspaper and magazine in the River City, Folio engages its readers by providing stories and event coverage that isn’t found from other news sources. 

“Our main goal is to inform and entertain,” said Carmen Macri, the lead journalist at Folio, “we want to keep Jacksonville in the loop of what’s going on, but we don’t want to make it so it’s just kind of regurgitative of what you’re seeing everywhere else with other news publications.” 

A major staple of Folio’s storytelling is their continual coverage of Jacksonville’s ever-growing music scene. Interviews with local bands and artists, concert reviews, and new music releases are just some of the ways that Folio contributes to the growth of local music. 

“I mean, you have Limp Bizkit, Yellowcard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, we have these huge names, so don’t count us out, you know? We have entertainment here. We have an insane amount of artists that come out of this town, not just musically, but we have artists quarters. Like if you go to Springfield, Riverside, Jacksonville is just rich with history and culture.” 

But creating stories is just part of the job for Folio’s storytellers. Folio’s creative staff design a number of elements and layouts, both online and in print, to make each story pop out to their viewers. 

“Every day looks a little bit different,” said Ambar Ramirez, the creative director at Folio, “If I’m not working on deadlines for my articles, I’m working on ads for some of our advertisers or working on layout for the magazine. So yeah, a lot of design, putting in a lot of photos.” 

Folio Weekly currently writes to over 2 million readers across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, a large number that some believe could lead to Folio expanding to other areas outside of the river city.  

“We reached a new milestone on subscribers, so that’s really incredible to see,” Ramirez said, and I think, you know, maybe in the future we can go further than just talking about Jacksonville and going to other states.” 

Through creative storytelling and design covering events and culture stretching throughout Jacksonville, Folio Weekly proves that the fun side of Jacksonville has a lot to offer.  

“I mean, the proof is in the pudding,” Macri said, “Just pick up a folio magazine, and you’ll see.” 

For more information on Folio Weekly, check them out on their Instagram at @folioweekly or their website folioweekly.com