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
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

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