City Life Readers’ Picks 2020

Readers’ Picks were chosen exclusively by readers through a two-month nomination process followed by a two-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.

All categories

Best Activist

Braxton Winston
Runner Up: Kristie Puckett-Williams

Best Activist Group

Charlotte Uprising
Runner Up: Charlotte for Choice

Best Apartment Complex

The Village At Commonwealth
Runner Up: Novel Stonewall Station

Best Area To Live

Plaza Midwood
Runner Up: East Charlotte

Best Bike Club

Ride And Destroy
Runner Up: P-Ride Charlotte

Best Blog

Charlotte’s Got a Lot
Runner Up: Pachyderm Music Lab

Best Business Instagram

Suarez Bakery (@suarezbakery)
Runner Up: Black Wednesday (@blackwedco)

Best Camping Spot (in state)

Pisgah National Forest
Runner Up: Blue Ridge Parkway

Best House of Faith

Unitarian Universalist Community of Charlotte
Runner Up: Temple Beth El

Best Co-Working Space

Hygge
Runner Up: Advent Coworking

Best Disc Golf Course

Reedy Creek Park
Runner Up: Kilborne Park

Best Event For A Good Cause

RAINN Bingo
Runner Up: Joyride @ Goodyear Arts

Best Facebook Page

Camp North End
Runner Up: Burt Savage

Best Free Event

Friday Nights at Camp North End
Runner Up: Juneteenth in Plaza Midwood

Best Golf Course

Charlotte Country Club
Runner Up: Highland Creek Golf Club

Best Group Workout

Charlotte Free Skate
Runners Up: THE JAM: CLT, Bloom Movement Artistry (tie)

Best Hero/Heroine

N.C. Sen. Jeff Jackson
Runner Up: Braxton Winston

Best Hiking Trail

Crowders Mountain
Runner Up: Little Sugar Creek Greenway

Best Hotel

The Dunhill Hotel
Runner Up: Kimpton Tryon Park

Best Instagram Influencer

Sydney Duarte (@traveling_gypsy)
Runner Up: Katie Levans (@katie_levans)

Best Investigative Reporter

Joe Bruno, WSOC
Runner Up: Jeff Taylor, indie journalist

Best Local Celebrity

Brad Panovich
Runner Up: Luke Kuechly

Best Local Festival

Charlotte PRIDE
Runner Up: Yiassou Greek Festival

Best Local Mascot

Sir Purr
Runner Up: Hugo the Hornet

Best Local Sports Figure

Christian McCaffrey
Runner Up: Bubba Wallace

Best Local Sports Team

Carolina Panthers
Runner Up: Charlotte Checkers

Best New Thing

Black Lives Matter Mural
Runner Up: Charlotte FC

Best News Anchor

Morgan Fogarty, WCCB
Runner Up: Erica Bryant, WSOC

Best News Story of the Last 12 Months

Black Lives Matter Protests
Runner Up: Black Lives Matter Mural

Best Nonprofit

Charlotte PRIDE
Runner Up: Girls Rock Charlotte

Best Personal Instagram Account

Onya Nerves (@onyaofficial)
Runner Up: Jennifer Austin (@jenniferaustinphoto)

Best Photojournalist

Logan Cyrus
Runner Up: Alvin C. Jacobs Jr.

Best Place To Get Back To Nature

Blue Ridge Parkway
Runner Up: Crowders Mountain

Best Place To Get Hitched

McGill Rose Garden
Runner Up: Petra’s

Best Place To People-Watch

Plaza Midwood
Runner Up: Optimist Hall

Best Place To Take Out-Of-Town Visitors

U.S. National Whitewater Center
Runner Up: Camp North End

Best Place To Volunteer

Time Out Youth
Runners Up: Jail Support, Crisis Assistance Ministry (tie)

Best Podcast

WFAE She Says
Runners Up: Mouthin’ Out, The Bad Seed Podcast (tie)

Best Politician

Jeff Jackson
Runner Up: Braxton Winston

Best Radio Personality

Mike Collins, WFAE
Runner Up: Woody from Woody & Wilcox

Best Radio Show

WFAE Charlotte Talks
Runners Up: The MRL Morning Show, KISS 95.1; The John Boy and Billy Big Show, 99.7 The Fox (tie)

Best Rec Center

YMCA Dowd
Runner Up: West Charlotte Rec Center

Best Run Club

NoDa Run Club
Runner Up: Charlotte Running Club

Best Support Group

Time Out Youth
Runner Up: Safe Alliance

Best TikTok

@CharlotteforChoice
Runner Up: @alexthefeminist

Best TV Personality

Brad Panovich, WCNC
Runner Up: Larry Sprinkle, WCNC

Best TV Sportscaster

Ashley Stroehlein, WCNC
Runner Up: Matt Harris, WSOC

Best TV Station

WSOC
Runner Up: WBTV

Best Twitter Account

@cltdevelopment
Runner Up: @katie_levans

Best Twitter Account for Humor

@clt_updates
Runner Up: @gussirBEEF

Best Use Of Tax Money

Affordable Housing
Runner Up: Parks & Greenways

Best Virtual Event

Girls Rock Charlotte Virtual Summer Camp
Runner Up: SkillPop

Best Way To Get Around Without A Car

CATS Blue Line light rail
Runner Up: Walking

Best Weekend Getaway

Asheville
Runner Up: Folly Beach, Charleston, SC

Local Issue That Needs More Attention

Affordable Housing
Runner Up: Homelessness

Thing We Need Less Of

Luxury Apartments
Runner Up: Expensive Housing

Thing We Need More Of

Affordable Housing
Runner Up: Arts Funding

Worst Politician

Sen. Thom Tillis
Runner Up: Tariq Bokhari

Worst Use Of Tax Money

Funding CMPD
Runner Up: Funding Political Trips

All categories