With its magazine-style glossy cover, great photographs, and insightful opinions on the BEST of everything this area has to offer, Best Of 2025 is the issue you don’t want to miss. Our critics will make their choices, and those winners will be announced in the Best Of 2025 special edition on Wed, Sep 24, but they aren’t the only ones who will be participating. Our readers get a say in all of this as well. (Yes, you!)
It’s Time to Vote!
Now thru Fri, Sep 12 at midnight, make your voice be heard by participating in our online-only, write-in ballot to determine the Readers’ Choice winners for the Getting & Spending, People & Places, Arts & Culture, Good Grub, and On The Town sections. Plus, help us decide which local bands will make the cut for our upcoming Music Awards season by also making choices in the Music Awards Nominations section. Below are the categories for each. But first, a quick refresher on the rules.
All nominees should be local. No national people, places, performances, or products. To nominate a person, please provide the name of their business or organization. To be counted, a ballot must contain votes in at least 10 categories and must include the voter’s full name and email address. One ballot per reader, please. A business may not offer customers incentives to vote, fill in any portion of a ballot for someone else, or require employees to vote. Any ballots considered fraudulent by the Fort Worth Weekly will be eliminated. All ballots must be received no later than midnight Fri, Sep 12. No exceptions.
Getting & Spending Categories
Antique & Vintage Finds, Barbershop, Beauty Service, Boutique, Car Wash, Place to Buy CBD or THC, Place to Buy Cigars, Place to Buy Coffee, Comic Book Store, Customer Service, Day Spa, Farmers Market, Place to Buy Gifts, Grocery Store, Hair Salon, Place to Buy Jewelry, Liquor Store, Metaphysical Shop, Music Store, Optical Shop, Pet Services, Record Store, Smoke or Vape Shop, Tattoo Studio, Thrift Store, Place to Buy Wine, and Wildcard.*
People & Places Categories
Place to Adopt Pets, Animal Rescue Group, Apartment Community, Athlete (College and Professional), Camp for Kids, City Councilmember, Dentist, Doctor, Dog Groomer, Facebook Group, Hospital, Lawyer, Place to Meet Locals, Nurse, Photographer, Radio Personality, Realtor, Social Influencer, Tattoo Artist, Teacher, Television Personality, Urban Farm, Veterinarian, Place to Work, Place to Work Out, and Wildcard.*
Arts & Culture Categories
Art Gallery, Art Gallery Exhibit, Artist, Arts & Crafts Event, Burlesque, Culinary Event, Cultural Event, Dance Troupe, Day Trip, Dog Park, Drag Performer, Entertainment Spot, Haunted Attraction, Kids’ Activity, Place to Take Kids, Place to See Movies, Museum Exhibit, Music Lessons, New Mural, Nonprofit Organization, Park, Podcast, Theater Production, Theater Troupe, and Wildcard.*
Good–Grub Categories
Bakery, Barbecue, Breakfast, Brunch, Burger, Burrito, Cajun Food, Catfish, Chef, Chicken-Fried Steak, Chinese Food, Coffeeshop, Deli Sandwiches, Empanadas, Food Truck, Fried Chicken, Hot Dog, Italian Food, Japanese Food, Mediterranean Food, Mexican Food, Pizza, Plant-Based Dish, Queso, Ramen, Restaurant, New Restaurant, Salsa, Seafood, Soul Food, Steak, Street Tacos, Sushi, Tamales, Tex-Mex Food, Thai Food, Vietnamese Food, Waitstaff, Wings, and Wildcard.*
On–The–Town Categories
Bar-Bar, Bartender, Beer Selection, Brewery, Place to See Comedy, Craft Cocktail, Place to Dance, Distillery, Dog-Friendly Patio, Drag Show, Happy Hour, Hotel Bar, Karaoke Night, Late-Night Food, LBGTQIA+ Bar, Margarita, Martini, Mixologist, Patio, Restaurant Bar, Sports Bar, Place to Drink Wine, and Wildcard.*
*About Wildcard Entries
Did we miss something in the categories above? It’s a big ballot, so it happens. Use the Wildcard field in each section to plug in your extra category idea, who you’d like to see win said category (locals only), and why.
About the Music Awards
We invite you all to nominate your favorite musicians and music places while we have your attention during the Best Of voting. First, a quick reminder about the rules for this section. All nominees should be local to Tarrant County, with the exception of the “Regional Act” category. (For this ballot, by “regional” we mean your favorite artists that are local to North Texas but based outside Tarrant County.)Votes for national artists will not be counted. The top selections from the music categories below will be included in our Music Awards ballot for 2025, which will go live online sometime in the late fall. (Translation: This is just phase #1. Those who make the cut will move on to phase #2.)
Music Nomination Categories
Album, Americana/Roots, Bassist, Blues Band, Country Band, DJ Artist, Drummer, Folk Group, Guitarist, Hip-Hop Artist, Keyboardist, Mariachi Band, Metal Band, Open-Mic Night, Punk Band, R&B/Soul Act, Regional Act (those North Texas bands you love that aren’t in The Fort), Rock Band, Song, Tribute Band, Vocalist and Place to Hear Live Music.
Attention Business Owners
Promote the Vote
Are you interested in campaigning for one of the categories above? Use the art in this article on your social media to invite your family, fans, followers, and friends to nominate you in the category of your choice at FWWeekly.com/Best-Of-2025-Ballot. Voters will need to vote in at least ten categories for their ballots to count, and it’s limited to one ballot per person. If you need help writing your post, email marketing@fwweekly.com, but here is an example FB post:
Best Bar? Joe’s Bar & Grill! To help us win the Readers’ Choice award for Best Of 2025, nominate us in the On The Town section. You must vote in at least ten categories for your vote to count, so show some love to your other favorite locals while you’re at it. Complete your ballot by 9/12 at FWWeekly.com/Best-Of-2025-Ballot.
Want Space in Best Of 2025?
As for advertising with us during the voting phase and in the Best Of 2024 special edition, contact your FWW representative. If you don’t have one yet, click here. With a publication date of Wed, Sep 24, the final deadline for space reservations is Fri, Sep 19, and the final art approval date is Mon, Sep 22.
Welcome to Best Of 2025!
