About Family Friendly Fort Lauderdale
Here's where we came from and why we exist... for you.
The short version (if you only read this)
Every Thursday, we send a curated list of 10 to 15 things worth doing in greater Fort Lauderdale this weekend. Events, restaurants, hidden gems, local history, the occasional weird and wonderful discovery. Scan it in ten seconds. Pick the thing that grabs you. Get your family out the door.
We added a few features, local history, and then some fun quotes and thoughts that might change the trajectory of your day.
Over 1,300 local families already get the Wednesday email. It’s free.
Why We Exist (and what’s in it for you)
Five years ago, our family moved to Fort Lauderdale and knew almost nobody. We started collecting a list of cool things happening around us, the stuff that doesn’t show up when you Google “things to do in Fort Lauderdale” and get the same ten tourist attractions.
We figured other families were in the same spot. Maybe you just moved here. Maybe you’ve been here for years but got stuck in the same rotation of spots. Maybe your kids are glued to screens and you need a reason to say “we’re going out, get your shoes on.”
So we started writing it down and sending it out. That was 2021. We’ve sent over 200 newsletters and recorded over 50 podcasts since.
What You Actually Get Each Week
The Thursday newsletter is a quick-hit rundown. No filler, no fluff. Each item gets a short description and a link so you can dig deeper if it catches your eye.
You’ll find things like:
Weekend festivals and outdoor events
Restaurants and food spots worth the drive
Free and low-cost activities for families with young kids
Local business spotlights
Bits of Fort Lauderdale history and trivia you probably didn’t know
The occasional oddball find that doesn’t fit any category but is too good to skip
We do the digging so you don’t have to. Dozens of local sources, event calendars, community pages, and word-of-mouth tips get filtered down to the stuff that’s actually worth your Saturday.
The Acton Academy Connection
Full disclosure: by day, we run Acton Academy Fort Lauderdale, a small independent school in its fourth year. Family Friendly Fort Lauderdale started as a learner-led media project, and the long-term vision is still to hand the editorial reins to our learners. Research, writing, interviews with local business owners, all of it. Real work, real audience, real stakes.
That handoff is a work in progress. Right now, the newsletter is mostly produced by our team. But the goal hasn’t changed. We want our heroes (we call our Acton learners heroes because they are on a Hero’s Journey as part of their school experience) to learn what it means to show up for a community every single week and deliver something people count on.
That said, this newsletter is ultimately for the community. It is not a school publication. You won’t find fundraising drives or classroom updates here. If you’re curious about Acton, that’s a different conversation and we’re happy to have it. But FFFTL is all about the greater Fort Lauderdale we love.
Who Writes These
Tobin Slaven is the co-founder of Acton Academy Fort Lauderdale and the primary voice behind the newsletter. He moved to Fort Lauderdale in 2021 with his partner Martina, fell in love with the city, and has been cataloging its best-kept secrets ever since.
Our Big Local Event
Did you know we also host the local Children’s Business Fair? The newsletter is a gathering ground for many of the families who participate (or shop) each year. So keep an eye out for our annual updates.
Please Share (And Subscribe!)
The newsletter is free and lands in your inbox every Thursday morning. If it’s not for you, you can unsubscribe anytime with one click. No hard feelings.
But if you’ve ever opened your phone on a Friday afternoon and thought, “What should… what could we do this weekend?”... this is the answer to that question, every single week. With a little bit of entertainment and local flavor built-in. 😎
