Waving the fun flag

Magazine-style website celebrates the people and places of Atlantic Canada

Stephanie Beaumont was visiting friends in Holyrood, Newfoundland, when she decided she wanted to go shopping. She used Google to try and hunt out cool places to shop in St. John’s – but didn’t have much luck.

“I thought, wouldn’t it be amazing to have a resource where all the cool people from this part of Canada weighed in on their favourite spots,” says Beaumont. That was the seed that grew into SeaAndBeScene, an entertainment magazine-style website that profiles the places, personalities and events of the four Atlantic provinces.

Since launching the site 18 months ago from her home in Chester, Nova Scotia, Beaumont has published a constant stream of articles, videos, event announcements and features. The production values are high; the updating regular.

The site is gathering momentum, thanks largely to an active social media presence and Beaumont’s long experience in the marketing, journalism, and entertainment businesses (some may recognize her as a former guest cohost of Breakfast Television).

The primary challenge ahead, says Beaumont, is “The same as any brand: to build awareness, through social media marketing and ideally mainstream communications outlets . . . we’re working to get the word out that we are here.”

Maintaining a website in today’s 24/7 news cycle can be a tall order, Beaumont admits, but for now, she’s enjoying the challenge – and the benefits – of running her own magazine.

Her favourite moment so far? “The fact that it was pouring rain the day I first interviewed Republic of Doyle star Allan Hawco on location still remains a highlight . . . it allowed me to hang out in the backseat of the GTO with Jake Doyle.”

It’s not just the celebrities, Beaumont says, but the wide-ranging talent and energy of this part of the country that will keep the site vibrant. That, she says, and “folks are some funny too.”

By Stephanie Porter