The results are in, and we’re pleased to present you with the top five vote getters in each category of the 2015 Artvoice Best of Buffalo Awards. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the thousands of you dear readers who took the time to fill out our automated online poll. It’s you, the public, who have spoken here—and you have some interesting things to say.

For example, you maintain an appreciation for zombies. Which is perfectly normal. You also love your sports teams. While this year you didn’t have to offer your opinion as to who the next owner of the Buffalo Bills should be, you still have strong feelings on where the team should build a new stadium. And, like true Buffalonians, you offer your thoughts on the upside of never winning a championship.

You love to eat, drink, and be merry. From late night bar food establishments to sun-drenched patios to enjoy brunch, you’ve advocated for your favorite casual dining spots. You know which chefs and bartenders you prefer, and you’re still absolutely mad—mad, I tell you—about chicken wings. Yet at the same time, you appreciate the places with a great vegetarian menu. You praise a good bottled beer selection, but you’re even more impressed with a wide-range of craft beers on tap. From food trucks to wood fired pizza, you’ve shared your viewpoints on everything from soup to donuts.

You like to take in live music at the great venues around town, and you support local musicians—who are among the best and most varied in style anywhere in the country. You also enjoy going out to dance, and you like to watch all kinds of dancing—from ballet to modern to burlesque to pole.

Lots of you enjoy the finer things—from the embarrassment of riches that is our local gallery scene, to our other cultural gems like our museums and theaters. You love our parks and public spaces. You also support local artists like painters, photographers, poets, comics, and filmmakers. Without that support, we’d live in a much drearier place.

In some categories, you may be puzzled by the absence of familiar names like Wegmans and Tim Horton’s and the like—establishments that are as deeply ingrained in our sense of place as a good beef on weck sandwich. We don’t mean to offend. It’s just that Buffalo has embraced your successful chains so thoroughly that there is very little our humble contest could do to add or detract from the place you hold in our hearts. Instead, we hope to shine a spotlight on the homegrown ventures that are blooming where they were first planted, in our own hometown.

Please join us for the big party on Monday, May 18, at 6pm in the Town Ballroom, where we will be announcing our Best of Buffalo winners for 2015. Wonderful food, great music, and noted celebrities will be on hand to bask in the glow of our annual local love fest. Thank you again, Artvoice readers, for sharing your sentiments and letting us recognize all that is truly exceptional about Buffalo and western New York. You are the best.

> Buck Quigley