Letter from the Publisher

Letter from the Publisher

I really love this time of year. It just feels right. It makes me nostalgic and reminds me of where we are and how far we’ve come. We have so much to share, and I get asked a lot of things as we move through the motions each and every month. So this issue, I’ve decided to take a little time to share with you the answers to some of the beautiful questions we encounter while putting together this magazine.

Yes, we do keep back copies of The LocaL. People call us up quite often looking for a previous issue for whatever reason. Maybe they’re a fan of a previous feature or just want to add to their collection. We have copies of each and every one of our issues we’ve produced, so if you’d like an issue, just give us a call. CSU also keeps an archive of all previous issues.

We started publishing the LocaL in June of 2017. This is our 54th issue.

We not only publish the magazine, but we also help local businesses through our parent company, Sweet Gum Marketing, where we put together comprehensive ad campaigns and work with local advertising resources, including graphic designers, videographers, local media outlets and local writers, with a goal of keeping as much money in our local economy as possible.

We also help run a ‘foodies’ page on Facebook, where you can learn about the eateries all the locals love, and of course share your experiences. Find that on Facebook at ‘LocaL Foodies of Columbus/Colga’.

We also produce many local events, including: The LocaL’s Choice Awards, The LocaL Foodie Fest and various local comedy shows and fashion shows, on top of helping others with their own events. We even partnered with a global ticketing company, Evvnt Ticketing, to offer a free ticketing source for local organizations to maximize their effectiveness, legitimacy and to share our resources to help them get more exposure, all for free.

You can learn about upcoming events, buy tickets or sell your own tickets through this resource, which can be found on multiple outlets, including: getlocaltix.com, thelocalcolumbus. com., and our social media outlets. Just look for our handle @ thelocalcolumbusga on both Insta and Facebook and @getlocaltix as well.

Each issue, we share how to write the word ‘Free’ in different languages on our cover. It’s an idea our design editor came up with and something we’ve been doing since our Halloween issue in 2017.

Not only is the magazine a free publication which you can pick up at over 300+ businesses across our region (find a full map listing of locations on our website), you can also read us online, for free and ad-free. We welcome subscribers at issuu. com/thelocalcolumbus, where you can be the first to know when we drop our latest issues and article stories.

It takes about 15 hours to put our calendar of events together. Every issue.

There are currently 5 very talented individuals who help put this magazine together each and every month. Myself, our design editor, Mat Cornett, our consulting editor Scott Berson, and our two amazing writers, Natalie Downey and Sarah Algoe. And yes, we welcome freelance writers. If you wish to share your work or would like to be considered for a future issue, submit your work to our publisher at publisher@thelocalcolumbus.com.

We all still work out of our vehicles.

We are amazed by the support and how the community has received us. It is an honor to be here and we look forward to continuing. Many thanks to you for picking up this magazine, to our amazing business partners and for those who simply share our work. It truly means the world to us

Thank you for reading,

Monica Jones

Bethany by Nathan Kersey - Oil on Canvas

Insta: @nathanrkersey Website: nathankersey.com

What We Are All About

The mission of the LocaL magazine is to bring you the best in art, music, food and fun from Columbus and the surrounding area. Locally owned and operated, we work to improve and expand community relationships through promoting positive events, people and stories. When good things are happening, we will be here to help you get involved. Our monthly print issues feature stories and events that comprise and drive the ongoing surge toward a more beautiful community. This magazine exists because we who work on it believe in actively engaging with community improvement, and we invite you to join us, not only by reading these pages, but also by taking part in any of the many wonderful events we feature.