Welcome to Charlotte, Creative Loafing style.
With the issue of immigration frequently dominating the national news, and with the Queen City’s own reputation as a destination for all manner of outsiders, we decided the time was right for Best of Charlotte: International Edition. Or if you prefer, CL‘s Immigration Nation.
Believing in the guiding principle that we can all get along, we’ve decided to select our own CL ambassador to guide us all through this very special issue, which annually is recognized as our biggest and best. For this awesome responsibility, we chose Charlotte’s very own Philippino Elvis impersonator, Rene Escarcha — better known as RenElvis. That’s him pictured on this page (as if you didn’t know), and you can also see him in photos throughout this issue, journeying around the world building diplomatic relations between CL and the rest of the globe (there’s no truth to the rumor that these pictures of RenElvis in distant lands were Photoshopped; they just look that way).
The critics who make up our illustrious panel for the 2006 Best of Charlotte had their say in selecting the best of the best, and the readers who make up our illustrious city followed suit. Some winners blew away the competition, while others snatched victory with a mere handful of votes. In all instances, though, the victors can take pride that either the critics or the readers — or, in some cases, both — hold them in sky-high standards.
As always, this issue wouldn’t be possible without the combined efforts of various people: the vote tabulators, critics, sales people, designers, writers, photographers, editors, bean counters and distributors.
Creative Loafing: Your green card to the best of the Queen City.
Critics’ Panel/Copywriters: Matt Brunson, Branna Calloway, Brittney Cason, Tricia Childress, Kandia Crazy Horse, Timothy C. Davis, Lynn Farris, John Grooms, Kristen Jennings, Mark Kemp, Little Shiva, Scott Lucas, Karen Martin, Jared Neumark, John Schacht, Jenica Sciranko, Tara Servatius, Karen Shugart, Samir Shukla, Perry Tannenbaum, Ann Wicker.
Editorial Assistants: Brian Ericson, Marta Ostrowski.
Photography: Catalina Kulczar, Angus Lamond, Chris Radok.
Design:Creative Services.
Online: Laura Fries, Lea Holland, Allison Keene, Alejandro Leal.
Best of Charlotte 2006
- Arts & Entertainment
Critics’ picks - Arts & Entertainment
Reader picks - After Dark
Critics’ Picks - After Dark
Reader picks - City Life
Critics’ picks - City Life
Reader picks - Consumer Culture
Critics’ picks - Food & Drink
Critics’ picks - Consumer Culture
Reader picks - Food & Drink
Reader picks - Media
Critics’ picks - Media
Reader picks
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2006.
hi. just wanted to make a comment regarding the best of. while some of the ‘best of..’ winners did match between the critics and the readers, i was a little disappointed that only the critics choice got the write ups…i understand that the critics are probably more aware of all the great places that charlotte has to offer, but there is a reason that the people might have voted differently…i would have enjoyed knowing why the average joe enjoyed going to a place and not just read why the critic thought the place they picked was so great. maybe next year you could go a little less one sided and put highlights for both sides. thanks!