Shannon Rae Gentry | Local

Shannon Gentry is the Executive Director of Encore Magazine @encoreILM, our region’s longest-running alt-weekly. More than just a newspaper, Encore is a place where culture, civic life and local voices meet – serving as a connector to Wilmington’s artists, theater, small businesses and nonprofits.

Originally founded in 1985, Encore Magazine was a mainstay in our area for 35 years, with Gentry joining as an intern in 2011. Said Gentry, “You just fall in love with being involved, you’re just so heavily engaged and involved in your local community and arts and cultural scenes and everything beyond.”

She kept writing stories about the community and eventually moved into a part-time assistant editor role. Unfortunately, the economic downturn in ad revenue created by the COVID-19 pandemic forced the publication to shut down in November 2020.

But a few years ago, Gentry decided to bring Encore back to Wilmington, relaunching the alt-weekly with a core team of collaborators to bring forth both an online and a print edition, just like the old days.

While Encore isn’t a breaking news type of organization, Gentry says it is an important space for reflection, nuance and context for big issues. Encore will also be engaging the community around environmental topics.

Speaking on March’s theme of “local,” Gentry will talk about how Encore is for the people who are already active participants in our community – or are interested in becoming more active participants in our local Wilmington community.