Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador

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To all the bright places. Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador

It is easy to call a place remote. It's harder to understand what that really means—until you stand on Fogo Island in Newfoundland and Labrador. With just over 2,000 residents spread across 11 tight-knit outports, life here moves to its own rhythm. From Tilting to Joe Batt's Arm, these settlements were founded by Irish and English fishers centuries ago. The traditions they introduced can still be witnessed in the island festivals like mummering in winter, boat launches in summer and kitchen parties year-round. Fishing was the backbone for generations, and even now, the sea's pulse is never far off.

What sets Fogo apart isn't just its setting—it’s how its people responded to change. When the cod fishery collapsed in the 1990s, they didn't leave. Instead, they built something new. The Shorefast Foundation, led by Zita Cobb, helped turn the island into a model for place-based sustainability. The Fogo Island Inn became a symbol of that shift, designed by Newfoundland-born architect Todd Saunders and built by local hands. The island is a place where the past is not polished—it is lived.