Bartender
GOLD
KC at Clouds
SILVER
Brian Carey
BRONZE
Mike Collucci
Beach
GOLD
Seabright
Intersection of Seabright and East Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz. 831.685.6500
The warm rays from a springtime sun welcome in bonfire season. Lucky for Santa Cruz Eastsiders, Seabright is the perfect location for lighting up a pile of logs, sitting back and watching the waves crash on the shore under the stars. The generous spacing between fire pits allows for some far-flung games of Frisbee, Dionysian celebrations of life and room to practice the always-challenging sand cartwheel.
SILVER
Twin Lakes
BRONZE
Seacliff
Bike Ride
GOLD
West Cliff Drive
SILVER
Wilder Ranch
Hwy 1, Santa Cruz.
BRONZE
Nisene Marks State Park
Aptos Creek Rd and Soquel Dr, Aptos. 831.763.7063.
Boardwalk Attraction
GOLD
Giant Dipper
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St, Santa Cruz. 831.423.5590.
SILVER
Fireball
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St, Santa Cruz. 831.423.5590.
BRONZE
Carousel
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St, Santa Cruz. 831.423.5590.
Club DJ
GOLD
DJ AD
SILVER
Joe Apacado
BRONZE
DJ Bebo
Hiking Spot
GOLD
Nisene Marks State Park
Aptos Creek Rd and Soquel Dr, Aptos. 831.763.7063.
Thirty miles of trails to explore, plus a range of terrain leading from primeval redwood forest to hot sandy chaparral, make centrally located Nisene Marks a favorite for hikers all over the bay. In rain and hot sun the redwoods shelter the flat fire roads, making for a comfortable miles-long stroll. An excursion to the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, a peaceful zone of ferns and fallen trees, is well worthwhile.
SILVER
Wilder Ranch
Hwy 1, Santa Cruz.
BRONZE
Pogonip Greenbelt
333 Golf Club Dr, Santa Cruz.
Local Hero
GOLD
Kirby Scudder
SILVER
Pink Umbrella Guy
BRONZE
John Laird
Local Villain
GOLD
Pink Umbrella Guy
And you thought abortion was divisive. Let's take a brief look at the history of Santa Cruz's love-hate relationship with the slow-moving, beatifically beaming Pink Umbrella Guy, starting with 2005, when he took the bronze for Local Visionary. Cute, that! A year later, he surges to the fore in the Local Visionary category, handily capturing the gold and winning top honors for Local Hero. But what's this? Santa Cruz has also voted him into second place for Local Villain! Didn't he twinkle nicely enough? Was it the sagging stockings? In 2007 both the love and hate mellow as Pink Umbrella Guy takes second place in both Local Hero and Local Villain categories. Which brings us to the present, when Santa Cruz finds this walking enigma to be slightly more bad (or disturbing or scary) than good. He's our top Local Villain--and our second-most beloved Hero.
SILVER
Bruce Bratton
BRONZE
Robert Norse
Makeout Spot
GOLD
West Cliff
SILVER
Beach
BRONZE
Home
Neighborhood Park
GOLD
Oceanview Park
102 Oceanview Ave, Santa Cruz
SILVER
Frederick St Park
158 Frederick St, Santa Cruz
BRONZE
San Lorenzo Park
137 Dakota St, Santa Cruz
NonProfit Group
GOLD
Jacob's Heart
2007 Freedom Blvd, Freedom. 831.724.9100.
A beautiful mix of compassion and hard-nosed financial know-how has grown this small children's cancer support group into the county's most popular nonprofit organization. The group was founded in 1998 to provide financial and emotional support services to one child with leukemia, Jacob, but since then 264 families have been brought into the wide-open arms of these selfless caregivers.
SILVER
Friends of Carden
319 La Fonda Ave, Santa Cruz. 831.460.2600.
BRONZE
Planned Parenthood
1119 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. 831.426.5550.
Place for Quiet Contemplation
GOLD
Beach
SILVER
West Cliff
BRONZE
Natural Bridges State Park
Place to Get Married
GOLD
Beach
SILVER
Kennolyn
8400 Glen Haven Rd, Soquel. 831.479.6700.
BRONZE
Chaminade
1 Chaminade Ln, Santa Cruz. 800.283.6569.
Place to take Kids
GOLD
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
400 Beach St, Santa Cruz. 831.423.5590.
Frankly, it's a no-brainer. A brightly colored amusement park located directly on the beach? The Boardwalk is saturated with that old-school carnival feel that's increasingly hard to find. Between the Giant Dipper, the carousel, a host of spinning mechanical rides and all the junk food a pipsqueak could want, the Boardwalk means hours of fun for the small fry and hours of arm-pulling for adults.
SILVER
Beach
BRONZE
Roaring Camp Railroad
5355 Graham Hill Rd, Felton. 831.335.4484.
Place to Walk
GOLD
West Cliff
SILVER
Beach
BRONZE
East Cliff
Street Performer
GOLD
Morgani
SILVER
Pink Umbrella Guy
BRONZE
Mark the balloon guy
Sunset View
GOLD
West Cliff
SILVER
Natural Bridges
BRONZE
East Cliff/Seabright Beach
Surf Spot
GOLD
Steamer Lane
West Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz
SILVER
Pleasure Point
East Cliff Dr, Capitola
BRONZE
Cowell's
Pacific Ave at Beach St, Santa Cruz
Surfer
GOLD
Daryl 'Flea' Virostko
His highly publicized "wipeout of the decade" at 35-foot Waimea (Hawaii) in 2006, and then an equally death-defying plunge at Mavericks last December, has earned Flea a reputation as having the biggest set of cojones in the world of surfing. Flea, who recently told Surfer magazine that he "doesn't think any wave will kill [him]," proves that people love a guy who charges hard.
SILVER
Tyler Smith
BRONZE
Peter Mel
Waitperson
GOLD
Judy at El Palomar
1336 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. 831.425.7575.
SILVER
Toni at Gilda's
37 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz. 831.423.2010.
BRONZE
Phoebe at Clouds
110 Church St, Santa Cruz. 831.429.2000.
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