When it comes to content, we believe creativity is key. One of the challenges of producing stories for a local lifestyle publication is to come up with new ways to highlight our community and promote events that occur annually. As much of our content is event driven, we’re always trying to find a different angle or a fresh perspective. When events are not the focus of our feature or theme, we lean into what we know our readers like: recipes, entertaining, info about local places of interest, history, and visually appealing imagery. We enjoy “going down the rabbit hole,” so to speak, and doing deep dives into topics that might be off the beaten path but we think our readers would enjoy. During the many months of the pandemic, when there was no “lifestyle” to cover, these types of features became more frequent as a way to keep our audience interested, engaged, and entertained. Here we’re sharing some of our more off-beat ideas, dives into new territory, and forays focused on food. These issues are all available to view in the archives at elegantislandliving.net. If you’d like to revisit them for yourself, just click the links below to access articles.
During summer months, our goal is to appeal to island visitors and provide them with a source of information for discovering all that St. Simons Island and the surrounding area has to offer. The challenge in doing this is to not rehash the same old history and facts over and over again in a way that bores our locals. So, in June 2019 we stretched our imaginations to tell the story of Gentleman Jack, a pirate who unexpectedly found himself on the shores of our barrier island. We invited readers to join this sailor out of place and time on his adventures in “A Pirate Looks at 40 (Or So) Things to Do” in the Golden Isles.
COVID disruption caused us to produce a combined June/July Summer issue in 2020, and we dedicated our feature to men. In “It’s A Man’s World,” we introduced famous men hailing from Georgia, shared some interesting recipes from equally interesting men out of 1922’s The Stag Cookbook, and offered gift ideas from local retailers for Father’s Day. In this issue, we also shared the “Outdoor Classroom” scavenger hunt activities created by the St. Simons Land Trust and included a “Let’s Find It” exercise of our own for kids of all ages.
In June 2021’s “Let the Adventures Begin,” we embraced the upcoming “dog days of summer” and the canine-loving nature of our island in “Let the Adventures Begin.” In this feature, we gave our readers a “dog’s eye view” of St. Simons Island courtesy of our four-legged pooch pal Sidney and his family.
Furry and not so furry creatures combined with all the time spent in our own back yards inspired us to delve into new territory for EIL by focusing on wildlife in August 2021. Our “Nature’s Neighbors”feature highlighted wonderful photos of the creatures we see around the Golden Isles, including shots by Laurie Lohne, Debbie Dean, and Wayne Morgan. In this issue, we also created a special Kids Korner section of animal facts and fun activities to amuse the young ones in our community.
In February 2022’s “Stellar Celebrations” feature we focused every aspect of events and entertaining. From party planning to dressing for posh occasions, we offered information and tips from the industry. In this issue, we included a pull-out “Plan-It Connection” guide to local vendors offering party services from accommodations to event venues, and catering to cars for the occasion.
EIL broke new ground in March 2022 by devoting an entire feature to the vibrant community in Historic Downtown Brunswick for the first time. In “Takin’ It Downtown,” we shared the history and evolution of the Port City and its important role in our local economy. We highlighted new development that is taking place and the folks making that happen. We showcased businesses, restaurants, galleries, and historic homes in the Historic Downtown District with fantastic photography by Annaliese Kondo.
It’s quite possible that our craziness when it comes to combining food and facts can be traced back to the October 2017 feature, “How ’Bout Them Apples.” You see, in early September, just as we were gathering our articles and readying to go into the final stages of production, we had an unwelcome visitor coming to St. Simons Island: Hurricane Irma. Since our editorial staff is manned by Yankees who love nothing more than a visit to an apple orchard or a cider mill in the Fall, we decided that the universal appeal of an apple might just work to fill the pages when other planned stories may no longer be forthcoming. So, our readers learned about the various types of apples, Granny Smith herself, the legend of Johnny Appleseed, and were treated to recipes for cider donuts, apple wine chicken, and more. And the issue made it to the printer by deadline. How ‘bout them apples, indeed!
National Homemade Soup Day falls in February and since it also happened to be when the Super Bowl was being played, we devoted our February 2018 to “Soup or Bowl.” We asked our staff, friends, and neighbors to provide us with their favorite recipes for soups, stews, chowder, and chili. Boy, did we get some great submissions! Lisa Cenicola’s Pasta Fagioli, Lorena Harris’ Albondigas Soup, Kalista Morton’s Oyster Stew, and Gramma Neil’s Low Country Chowder from Landon Moorhead are just a handful that belong in every kitchen’s recipe box. It was also the perfect occasion to promote our annual Red Hot Rotary Chili Cook-Off in March and the Empty Bowls fundraiser supporting America’s Second Harvest Food Bank.
In 2019, when February rolled around, we embraced it as the month of love. “That’s Amore” became the title for a feature inspired by one of cinema’s most endearing romantic dinner scenes. Of course, I’m talking about the spaghetti and meatballs shared by the cute canine couple in Disney’s animated classic, “Lady and The Tramp.” But writing about romance is so cliché, so we focused on the meatballs instead. We collected recipes for meatball dishes from around the world and learned so much along the way!
We went a more traditional route in February 2020, spurred by seeing heart-shaped boxes of Valentine’s Day candy in stores everywhere since the days after (or maybe even before) Christmas. We indulged our “Passion for Chocolate” with recipes that included Nutella Banana Crepes, Filet with Chocolate Port Wine Sauce, No-Bake White Chocolate Cheesecake with Strawberries, and a classic Chocolate Mudslide cocktail. We also shared the history and health benefits of chocolate, its prominent place in pop culture, and how it became associated with Valentine’s Day.
January 2021 found us all cold and tired of COVID. What we wanted most was to create a warm and cozy feeling for our readers from the moment they saw the inviting cover. Our “Warm Up to Winter” feature highlighted anything and everything about coffee, tea, and other hot drinks—including recipes. And if that didn’t get you toasty enough, we also touched on fuzzy blankets, sweaters, and socks; DIY bubble bath and bath bombs; building fires, firepits, and fireplaces.
Similarly, in March 2021 we were ready for spring. We created a bright, sunny mood with the vibrant colors and and zesty flavors of citrus in our “When Life Gives You Lemons” feature. Again we combined history and facts with fun products from local advertisers and recipes, this time with lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, and more. Much to our delight, this issue is one that our readers bring up and recall fondly to this day.
In July 2021, in “Palette for the Palate,” we were inspired by the colors we see around us in nature from our brilliant sunsets to our verdant maritime forest. We featured stunning photos of our surroundings and recipes that that echoed their colors, such as the yellow flowers of Fried Squash Blossoms, the pink melon flesh in Watermelon Feta Salad, the deep purple skin of Mama’s Stuffed Eggplant, and the indigo-hued berries in the Blueberry Basil Goat Cheese Galette.
Some other extensive features worth mentioning are March 2020’s St. Patrick Day inspired “Celtic Roots” exploring the Scottish and Irish connections in our region, September 2021’s “On Location”look at movies and TV shows filmed in and around the Golden Isles, and October 2021’s “Color & Creation” art issue. The bottom line is that it’s ALWAYS an adventure with EIL and you never know where we’ll go!
