Do you remember The Arlies?
The Arlies were a community awards program that ARLnow paused after 2021 because — to use the parlance of our time — the vibes were off during the pandemic.
Well nature is healing and we’re bringing The Arlies back under a new name: please give a warm Arlington welcome to the ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards.
Starting soon — we’re targeting mid-September — we’ll be running a weekly poll asking readers to select their favorite place, business or activity in a given category. The nominees will be selected based on online reviews and awards, previous voting results, and other factors.
Don’t see your favorite? No worries, there will be a space to write it in.
The top 3 vote-getters, determined after using AI and other methods to remove suspicious voting patterns, will be announced after 2-3 weeks of voting.
Is this just a souped up Morning Poll, with a logo attached? Maybe. But we think it’s the most ARLnow way to run the awards, with real time transparency and an opportunity for lobbying in the comments.
And yes, to answer your next question, Pet of the Year and Commenter of the Year will be included as annual end-of-year categories.
The first category up is Best New Restaurant (opened over the past year). Look for the voting post in the next few weeks and let us know in the comments here which nominees you would like to be included.
