There are more than 500 categories available, with a whopping 63 new categories this year including:
Nominate your local favorites at vote.cltampa.com.
The nomination period opened May 15 and runs through June 11 at 11:59 p.m.
Nominations can be made once per day within each specific category—People, Places, Food & Drink, Arts, Entertainment, Beauty and Wellness, Goods, and Services—and only the top 10 nominees will move into the voting phase, which happens between July 17-Aug. 20.
The Best of the Bay party goes down Wednesday, Sept. 24 party at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino before the issue hits stands the next day.
Tickets for Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s Best of the Bay party happening Thursday, June 26 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa and will start at $60
For more info, visit botbtampabay.com.
“Of all the amazing things about this job, getting to see the community rally behind their favorite people and businesses every year always leaves me in awe,” said Ray Roa, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s Editor in Chief. “Life seems to get harder every day, but so many of our neighbors are out there pouring every ounce of themselves into the work they love—and there’s nothing better than getting to see them celebrated as being among the Best of the Bay.”
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This article appears in May 15-21, 2025.