Shows

Folio Weekly: A spotlight on the fun side of Jacksonville 

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  

Fore Score Golf Tavern: A New Spin on Golf 

By: Evan Grimm

One of the major pastimes in Florida that the residents enjoy is the sport of Golf. With the entire state being riddled with hundreds on hundreds of courses, it is hard to go to a county without a golf club. 

With the sport becoming increasingly popular over the years, boosted with the fact that building a new golf course requires a lot of land and money. Fortunately, a local business has found a way to fix that problem. 

Fore Score is a golf simulator, bar, and restaurant rolled into one. Using new high-tech golf simulators, Fore score has taken the ingredients of Topgolf but swapped the simulator for the range. In your bay, you can be transported to any golf course around the world with the use of the application connected to the simulator. 

The food and cocktail selection are also above-par, bringing American classics right to your own private golf course. If golf is not your desired sport, the simulator also offers other sports such as baseball, basketball, and soccer. 

With summer approaching and the heat rising, Florida is only going to become more of a tourist destination in the coming months. With golf being a popular sport, the courses will soon be packed with out-of-towners looking for some fresh Florida sunshine. So instead of going out and sweating in the Sun for 4 hours on a packed course, go play 18 in the cool air conditioning in the comfort of your own bay. 

For more information or to book a bay reservation, go to Fore Score Golf Tavern | Premier Golf Bar & Restaurant in Jacksonville, FL 

The Corner at Deb’s Store 

By: Jordyn Walden

The Eastside of Jacksonville and surrounding Downtown areas are filled with culture and history, but there are not many grocery stores. Due to supermarket redlining, the Eastside is what social scientists call a food desert. A food desert is a community where residents lack accessible and affordable healthy food. In exchange, these areas are filled with fast food and convenience stores.  

The Corner at Debs Store, a newly renovated store, partnered with Goodwill to bring accessible, affordable, healthy food to the community. The family-owned grocery store on the historic Eastside served the community for 90 years before it was forced to close its doors due to its circumstances. This created a food desert, making it difficult for residents to access healthy and affordable food.  

LIFT JAX, Goodwill, and several other local partners recognized the need to address this gap. With a commitment to serve the same community that had relied on it for nearly a century, they renovated and expanded the original store, reopening it in its original location. After restoring the store, it reopened in September 2024.  

This offers a lifeline to the community. The Goodwill team was able to use its skills to help the residents of the Eastside neighborhood. Collaborating with local farmers, small businesses, and food vendors, the team has been able to keep prices low, making healthy food accessible to those who need it most.