One look at our fantabulous calendar (beginning on page 56), and you’ll know it’s festival season. And costume season. And all things crisp and autumnal season. Heck, Christmas will be here before we know it! (I know, bite my tongue!)
This is the time of year when I wish RFM a happy anniversary – we’re at the 8-year mark now! To commemorate this momentous occasion, we printed 10,000 extra copies of this issue and mailed them to some families around town, so if this is the first time you’re seeing RFM, welcome!
To give you a little background (and a recap for the rest of you loyal readers), we’ve been inspiring, entertaining, and informing Richmond-area families of all shapes and sizes since 2009. Our readers pick up this free (that’s right, free!) magazine every month at places like Kroger, Wawa, Food Lion, and Wegmans. Or they see it at the doctor’s office, nail salon, or their gym or library. It might come home in their kid’s backpack or in their relocation packet from the realtor.
Once you read one issue, chances are, you’ll be hooked, and I’ll tell you why as I give props to our great team: Our editor, Karen, who has been with RFM since day one, knocks it out of the park each and every month, working with the best writers in RVA (that’s a must for us – you gotta be a local to write for RFM), and putting together a mix of content that is sure to make you dog-ear page after page for future reference. Marcia, our calendar editor extraordinaire, searches far and wide for events for the whole family – for date nights, gal-pal outings, and lots of kid-friendly fun. Scott, RFM’s creative director, has made our pages pop since the very beginning, and may I add that he does it all by himself (no, he doesn’t sleep). Kim, my dear friend since just post-college, keeps the books in order, and I wouldn’t trust anyone else with all of the details of keeping the business side running smoothly. We were fortunate enough to add Anne to our team last year – if you’ve visited our table at the many area events we attend each month, you’ve likely met her. She can whip up a fun craft for the kids and make our display look festive like none other, all while keeping a sunny smile on her face (even when the sun is beating down on her, as often is the case!). And we welcome two new faces to the RFM family this month – Christiana Roberts and Jack Smith are bringing in some high-quality businesses that we can show you in our pages and in our digital space, so please be sure to check out the places and events you see in our ads. They’re the ones who allow this great team to bring RFM to you each month!
Once you’ve devoured this issue, be sure to check out our website, where you can access all eight years’ worth of our content, along with even more events than you see in print, finders for private schools, summer camps, and birthday parties, and our legendary RFM reader contests. And sign up for RFM eNews while you’re there, and you’ll get a weekly recap of events, local news, and more, delivered straight to your inbox.
Enjoy all that an RVA fall has to offer (and that’s A LOT!) – we’ve never been more proud to be part of this community that we all call home.
