Introducing our all-new website!

It's another festive weekend across the Illawarra, with the Open Street Festival and Thirroul Music Festival, artists inviting guests to visit studios on the Northern Illawarra Art Trail, a Destash and Handmade Market in Kiama, a Rotary Domestic Violence Awareness Raising Walk, the Berkeley Community Fair and your last chance to see Crescendo 25 at Clifton.

And with lots on, we have good news. The Illawarra Flame has a fresh community calendar – to share your event, go to our What’s On webpage and click on the green ‘Add Event’ button at right. There are paid options for extra publicity, but the basics are FREE!

This new calendar is part of our sparkling website revamp. Unlike the Bureau of Meteorology, it didn't cost us $96.5 million and we think it's an improvement. But it did take about 96.5 million hours of work and has been in the pipeline for almost six months, a case of 'needs must'. The website move would not have been possible without the help of the amazing Adrian O'Hagan at the Local and Independent News Association (which is simply the best professional group we've ever been a part of). Coming soon: free digital business listings!

The Illawarra Flame's new website is hosted by Ghost, a carbon-neutral, open-source, not-for-profit foundation, which we like.

Because – and this is our other big news – The Illawarra Flame is now an officially recognised social enterprise, certified by Social Traders as a business operating in the best interests of people and planet.

Being a recognised social enterprise means we join an incredible array of local businesses for good, from Green Connect to Flagstaff, RoboFit, Chocolate on Purpose and Bus Stop Films.

One reason for our certification – aside from producing free, independent, public interest journalism across multiple platforms – is The Illawarra Flame truly is the Magazine the Community Made, as reported in our 10th birthday issue last year. Our team of volunteer contributors is huge, with more than 100 community writers on board, from nine-year-old Girl Guides to retirees in the Men's Shed. We love the diversity of voices and are always humbled by the depth of talent – Rob Brander, of Dr Rip's Science of the Surf fame, was recently up for a Walkley Award, one of journalism's highest honours.

This weekend, why not try our free Friday Crossword – it's a taste of the fun brainteasers we publish every weekday for subscribers.

Readers, you can support our social enterprise for the cost of a cuppa – $5 a month. Then save our website to your phone desktop and you'll always have something fresh to read with your morning coffee.

Or simply subscribe for free to receive our round-up of the week's news in your inbox each Friday.