You can excuse Tracy Stefanucci for the difficulty she experienced in trying to encapsulate a wide-reaching mission statement in one word.

The Port Moody native was in that boat four years ago when launching the first incarnation of her arts and culture magazine, which ended up being called one cool word magazine. Fast forward four years and the name has changed, albeit slightly, to OCW Magazine.

"I really wanted to have a name when we started. We just needed to think of one cool word -- all good magazine titles have one cool word," she said. "It grew to become the perfect title, and it stuck. There's a lot of spirit and cheekiness as well in it, so it works for us."

Four years after OCW's first edition, Stefanucci will trumpet the magazine's re-launch on Friday, July 23 at Vancouver's Rickshaw Theatre. The events kick off at 7:30 p.m., and will be filled out with live music, improv comedy and just about anything else that falls under the magazine's mantra of, "Don't just receive culture -- participate in creating it."

"We're refining what we're doing. We're trying to find new ideas, new voices and a new way of experiencing culture, and a big part of that is pushing the boundaries of various forms," Stefanucci said.

"I'm trying to be more than just a magazine in a lot of ways."

Having developed an interest in publishing and the creative arts while a student at Gleneagle Secondary, Stefanucci followed those instincts and skills into the publishing realm at the ripe age of 20.

She started the magazine in 2006 along with co-founder and former graphic designer Ken Yong, and relies solely on the help of about 15 volunteers to get four issues out the door per year. Focusing on off-the-beaten-path elements of arts and culture, Stefanucci's modus operandi hasn't changed that much, although her game plan has.

"When we started this we had absolutely no idea what we were doing and we were learning as we went," said Stefanucci, 24. "After four years of doing this, you really start to learn how these things work. Now we're at the point where we want to take everything we've learned and put it into the product."

What used to be a 32-page product grew to 50 pages, and the latest edition -- dubbed "5.1/#17" -- will feature 60 pages worth of "literary work, pieces of art and music."

"We are moving a bit more towards the feeling of a book in some ways -- it's going to be a sort of hybrid between a book, a magazine or a literary journal. And with that feel, we think it works to come out three times a year," said Stefanucci, who holds a BA in creative writing, Spanish and education.

Boasting a modest circulation of about 500 issues, OCW is well versed in the challenges of trying to keep a print publication viable. Since the magazine was established, Stefanucci has seen similar arts publications -- the Terminal City Weekly and The Nerve, for example -- fall by the wayside.

"[Keeping print viable] really is the question that is on everyone's mind. It's just like when music videos came out -- people didn't stop listening to the radio," she said. "Print has to have a real sense of quality, it has to offer something special. It has to be something you want to keep, collect and hold on to."

Each edition of OCW previously carried a compilation CD with local bands, though that freebie will now move to the online world exclusively after Friday's re-launch. The compilation CD will be available through the OCW website -- www.ocwmagazine.ca -- as a free download.

OCW's re-launch party kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday and features music by Parlour Steps, Vincent Parker and Elephant Train, and comedy courtesy of The Sunday Service, Bronx Cheer and Man Hussy.

Tickets are $15 each and include an OCW subscription. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.brownpapertickets.com.