By Michael Durand

I was headed to day one of the Outside Lands Music Festival, walking from the N-Judah along 34th Avenue toward Golden Gate Park. I saw a group of friends up ahead and they happened to start walking in the same direction just as I was passing by.

Ally, one of the friends, was as nice as she could be. She asked if I was headed to the concert. I said I was and told her I was going to take pictures for the Sunset Beacon.

Ally ran over to her friend and said, “Vy, he’s with the Sunset Beacon!”

It turns out, Vy is a huge Sunset Beacon fan and was thrilled to meet its editor. I was equally thrilled to meet such a sweet fan of our community newspaper. Vy is fairly new to San Francisco and said the paper helps make her feel connected to the neighborhood.

After the concert, I messaged Ally and told her I have some gifts for Vy. She came by and picked up a Sunset Beacon hat, an SB tote bag, an SB T-shirt, an SB coffee mug and an SB pen.

To thank me, she made a batch of extra delicious garlic knots.

Thank you for being such a great fan, Vy! And thank you to all of our wonderful readers. You inspire our work every month.

Michael Durand is the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers and the RichmondSunsetNews.com website. He can be reached at Editor@RichmondSunsetNews.com.