Encore makes comeback with new issue, community celebration

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — After six years off the newsstands, Encore, a longtime fixture in Wilmington’s arts and culture scene, is returning to print with a new issue and a nonprofit mission.

Shannon Rae Gentry, a former staff editor for Encore, said the pandemic in 2020 forced the magazine to close, and she eventually decided to revive it. She’s now the magazine’s executive director.

“I really yearned to be back into alternative news,” she said. “At some stage I realized I could, that could actually be Encore itself. I started working at this and started collecting people along the way to help me.”

Tré Ricanek, chairman of Encore, said he became involved while discussing the magazine’s podcast and streaming audio services with Gentry.

“She needed some assistance with bringing this nonprofit news company to fruition,” he said. “With my background in nonprofit work, I was like, oh, I can help you with anything you need.”

Encore’s nonprofit status will allow the publication to expand its media presence, including outreach and events beyond print. Currently, the magazine operates under fiscal sponsorship with the Arts Council of Wilmington while awaiting official 501(c)(3) status.

The first issue in the relaunch will debut at Thalian Hall on Thursday, Jan. 29, during an event called A Culture of Connection. The evening will include an unveiling of the new issue, an auction of past Encore publications, and recognition of the 2020 Best Of winners, whose celebration was delayed due to the pandemic.

Ricanek described it as “a fabulous event” that will celebrate everything the magazine is bringing forward in the new year.

Copies of the relaunch issue will be available at the event and distributed for free at locations across the Cape Fear region the following week. Tickets for the Jan. 29 event are available here.