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City Life Readers’ Pick Winners: Best in the Nest 2021

Best of Charlotte's city life chosen by the readers of Queen City Nerve


Best in the Nest Readers’ Picks were chosen exclusively by readers through a one-month nomination process followed by a one-month voting process. The nominations were not tampered with by Queen City Nerve staff at all — save for removing ourselves from a few categories to proactively dispel any notions of favoritism. In other words, if you disagree with these ones, that’s on your fellow reader, not us.

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CITY LIVING

 

BEST APARTMENT COMPLEX

Winner: The Vue
Runner Up: The Gibson

 

BEST AREA TO LIVE

Winner: Plaza Midwood
Runner Up: NoDa

People perusing outside of Common Market in Plaza Midwood
Plaza Midwood (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST CHURCH

Winner: Myers Park Baptist Church
Runner Up: The Cathedral of St. Patrick

 

BEST CITY IMPROVEMENT

Winner: Greenways
Runner Up: Parkwood Avenue bike lanes/traffic calming – CDOT

Little Sugar Creek Greenway
This portion of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway is located at Cordelia Park in Villa Heights, but following Route 7 from the greenway will bring you to Plaza Midwood. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST CO-WORKING SPACE

Winner: Hygge
Runner Up: Advent Coworking

 

BEST HOTEL

Winner: Grand Bohemian
Runner Up: Dunhill Hotel

 

BEST LOCAL COLLEGE

Winner: UNC Charlotte
Runner Up: Central Piedmont Community College

UNC Charlotte
UNC Charlotte (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

Winner: CityLYNX Gold Line
Runner Up: The Line South End

City LYNX Gold Line
A CATS CityLYNX Gold Line stop at Johnson C. Smith University on West Trade Street. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST PARK IN CHARLOTTE

Winner: Freedom Park
Runner Up: Romare Bearden Park

 

BEST PLACE FOR A STAYCATION

Winner: Grand Bohemian
Runner Up: Ballantyne Hotel

 

BEST PLACE TO GET HITCHED

Winner: McGill Rose Garden
Runner Up: Mint Museum Uptown

McGill Rose Garden
McGill Rose Garden (Photo by Ryan Pitkin)

BEST PLACE TO HOLD AN EVENT

Winner: Camp North End
Runner Up: The Barrel Room at Triple C

Camp North End
Camp North End (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST PLACE TO PEOPLE-WATCH

Winner: U.S. National Whitewater Center
Runner Up: Optimist Hall

U.S. National Whitewater Center (Photo by Jayme Johnson)

BEST PLACE TO WORK

Winner: Tip Top Daily Market
Runner Up: UNC Charlotte

Tip Top Daily Market
Tip Top Daily Market (Photo by Ryan Pitkin)

BEST BUILDING IN THE UPTOWN SKYLINE

Winner: Duke Energy Building
Runner Up: Bank of America Tower

 

BEST WAY TO GET AROUND WITHOUT A CAR

Winner: Biking
Runner Up: Walking

Biking in Charlotte
Biking in Charlotte (Photo by David Flowers)

WORST PLACE TO WORK

Winner: Any restaurant owned by Jim Noble
Runner Up: Amazon

 


SPORTS & LEISURE

 

BEST BIKE CLUB

Winner: Ales and Trails
Runner Up: Bitches of Chaos

 

BEST CAMPING SPOT (IN STATE)

Winner: Stone Mountain State Park
Runner Up: Mount Mitchell State Park

 

BEST DISC GOLF COURSE

Winner: Reedy Creek Park Disc Golf Course
Runner Up: Renaissance Disc Golf Course

 

BEST GOLF COURSE

Winner: Pine Island Country Club
Runner Up: River Run Country Club

 

BEST GROUP WORKOUT

Winner: Kahli Yoga
Runner Up: Bloom Movement Artistry

 

BEST HIKING TRAIL

Winner: Crowders Mountain
Runner Up: High Shoals Falls (South Mountain)

 

BEST LOCAL MASCOT

Winner: Sir Purr
Runner Up: Chubby the Checker

 

BEST LOCAL SPORTS FIGURE

Winner: Christian McCaffrey
Runner Up: Steve Smith

 

BEST LOCAL SPORTS TEAM

Winner: Carolina Panthers
Runner Up: Charlotte Checkers

 

BEST PLACE TO GET BACK TO NATURE

Winner: Crowders Mountain
Runner Up: Grandfather Mountain

 

BEST RECREATION CENTER

Winner: Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center
Runner Up: Eastway Regional Recreation Center

Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center
Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST RUN CLUB

Winner: NoDa Run Club
Runner Up: Black Men Run Charlotte

 

BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY

Winner: Asheville
Runner Up: Charleston, South Carolina

 


NEWS, POLITICS & ENTERTAINMENT

 

BEST FREE EVENT

Winner: Charlotte Pride
Runner Up: Friday Nights at Camp North End

people in the streets for the Charlotte Pride parade and festival
Packed streets are a regular site at the Charlotte Pride festival and parade (Photo by Rob Harmon)

BEST HERO/HEROINE

Winner: Jamie Starks
Runner Up: Kaitlin Rothweiler

 

BEST LOCAL CELEBRITY

Winner: Jeff Jackson
Runner Up: Joe Bruno

NC Sen. Jeff Jackson
NC Sen. Jeff Jackson appears on Nooze Hounds about a year before announcing his campaign for U.S. Senate. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST LOCAL FESTIVAL

Winner: Charlotte Pride
Runner Up: Festival in the Park

 

BEST LOCAL PODCAST

Winner: The Charlotte Podcast
Runner Up: Southbound

 

BEST NEW THING

Winner: Being vaccinated
Runner Up: Charlotte Gaymers Network

NC vaccine schedule
Sheila Lopez is administered a vaccine dose during a recent Atrium Health mass vaccination event at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. (Photo by Emily Barnes/Atrium)

BEST NEWS REPORTER/ANCHOR

Winner: Joe Bruno
Runner Up: Molly Grantham

Joe Bruno
Queen City Nerve Publisher Justin LaFrancois (right) and Joe Bruno, Reporter for WSOC-TV (left) cover the one year anniversary of a mass shooting on Beatties Ford Road at the site of the incident. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST NEWS STORY OF THE PAST 12 MONTHS

Winner: CMS requiring masks
Runner Up: Myers Park High School rape cover ups

 

BEST POLITICIAN

Winner: Jeff Jackson
Runner up: Braxton Winston

 

BEST RADIO PERSONALITY

Winner: Ace & TJ
Runner Up: Ramona Holloway

 

BEST RADIO SHOW

Winner: Charlotte Talks – WFAE
Runner Up: Matt & Ramona in the Morning – The Mix 107.9

 

BEST TV PERSONALITY

Winner: Brad Panovich
Runner Up: Larry Sprinkle

Brad Panovich
Brad Panovich (Photo by Ryan Pitkin)

BEST TV SPORTSCASTER

Winner: Steve Smith Sr.
Runner Up: Taylor Zarzour

 

BEST TV STATION

Winner: WSOC-TV
Runner Up: WBTV

 

BEST USE OF TAX MONEY

Winner: Parks and Greenways
Runner Up: COVID-19 relief

 

BEST VIRTUAL EVENT

Winner: Charlotte Black Film Festival
Runner Up: CreativeMornings/Charlotte

 

LOCAL ISSUE THAT NEEDS MORE ATTENTION

Winner: Affordable Housing
Runner Up: Homelessness

Home Again Foundation affordable housing
Home Again Foundation’s component-built cottage-style homes on Cochrane Drive. (Photo by Justin LaFrancois)

WHAT WE NEED LESS OF

Winner: Luxury Apartments
Runner Up: Traffic Congestion

Apartments under construction on South Boulevard
Apartments under construction on South Boulevard (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

WHAT WE NEED MORE OF

Winner: Affordable Housing
Runner Up: Kindness

 

WORST POLITICIAN

Winner: Pat McCrory
Runner Up: Tariq Bokhari

 

WORST USE OF TAX MONEY

Winner: I-77 Express Lanes
Runner Up: CMPD

 


SOCIAL MEDIA

 

BEST BLOG

Winner: The Queen City Style
Runner Up: North Carolina Rabbit Hole

 

BEST BUSINESS INSTAGRAM

Winner: IRIS Blossom (@irisblossomclt)
Runner Up: Lucky Dog Bark & Brew (@barkandbrewclt)

 

BEST FACEBOOK PAGE

Winner: Camp North End
Runner Up: One Voice Chorus of Charlotte

 

BEST INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

Winner: Allie Papajohn (@eatdrinkclt)
Runner Up: Onya Nerves (@onyaofficial)

 

BEST INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER

Winner: Spicy CLT Memes (@spicycltmemes)
Runner up: Wynee Bermudez (@wyneesworld)

 

BEST LOCAL FACEBOOK GROUP

Winner: NoDa Community
Runner Up: Queer Society Charlotte

 

BEST TIKTOK ACCOUNT

Winner: Wyneesworld
Runner Up: Blackguyscook

 

BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT

Winner: @JoeBrunoWSOC9
Runner Up: @CLTdevelopment

 

BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT FOR HUMOR

Winner: @StarMedCare
Runner Up: @clt_overheard

 

BEST TWITTER ACCOUNT FOR NEWS

Winner: @JoeBrunoWSOC9
Runner Up: @WBTV_News

 


COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT &
SOCIAL JUSTICE

 

BEST ACTIVIST

Winner: Ohavia Phillips
Runner Up: Cameron Pruette

Ohavia Phillips activist
Ohavia Phillips on the left (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST ACTIVIST GROUP

Winner: Block Love Charlotte
Runner Up: Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg

 

BEST EVENT FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Winner: Charlotte Pride
Runner Up: 24 Hours of Booty

 

BEST NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

Winner: Block Love Charlotte
Runner Up: Goodyear Arts

Block Love CLT
Deborah Woolard serves at Block Love CLT. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

BEST PLACE TO VOLUNTEER

Winner: Time Out Youth
Runner Up: Second Harvest Food Bank

 

BEST SUPPORT GROUP

Winner: Safe Alliance
Runner Up: Transcend Charlotte

 


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