26 May 2021
This week, I’ve signed off the 20th edition of Maryport Matters, a community magazine that was designed to connect local residents to opportunities and showcase all the brilliant people living and working in the area. This free magazine goes through the doors of over 7,000 homes in Maryport town and the surrounding villages, and includes info on health & well-being services, useful news and most importantly, is packed full of local voices. We have a range of regular columnists covering all sorts of things from Arts & Culture to Nostalgia to Gardening and all content is community led. It is beautifully designed, bursting with colour and demands to be read!
Every deadline, my colleagues and I joke that this one must be #thebestoneyet. We consistently challenge ourselves to create something special each edition. It’s only a quarterly magazine so it can be hard to ensure that it feels fresh and exciting, and that content isn’t tired and out of date by the time it goes to print. We are ridiculously lucky to be surrounded by a supportive community who want to be involved – from local businesses who want to advertise, organisations who want to share their news, schools who want to showcase their learning and residents who want to celebrate their achievements and talents. We've worked hard to establish relationships, deliver on promises and build up trust. We now have volunteers helping with proofing, distribution and providing regular columns, as well as ad hoc contributions from all ages and sectors of the community.
So, as we put this latest edition to bed, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve achieved over the last 4.5 years.
... And hopefully, countless happy readers.
We'll soon be starting on the next edition - bring on the next 20!
If you would like a media pack, would like information on sponsorship opportunities, would like to submit content or just want a chat about how a community magazine could serve your area please get in touch.
Previous editions can be downloaded here.
Maryport Matters is kindly funded by Ewanrigg Local Trust who contract me on a freelance basis to project manage this initiative.
I work in partnership with DSG Design to deliver this project.