The 2022 Strange Carolinas Best Of NC Awards Winners

For three weeks, readers of Strange Carolinas were invited to nominate their favorites for each of the categories below. From March 7th to March 25th, readers were invited to vote for their favorites from the ten entries that received the most votes for each category during the nomination period.

Here are the winners of the 2022 Strange Carolinas Best Of NC Awards:

MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
BEST MUSIC FESTIVAL
Winner: MerleFest
2nd Place: Hopscotch Music Festival
3rd Place: Dreamville

BEST RADIO STATION
Winner: 95.7 The Ride
2nd Place: Rock 92
3rd Place: 106.5 The End

BEST MUSIC VENUE
Winner: PNC Music Pavilion
2nd Place: The Orange Peel
3rd Place: Greenfield Lake Amphitheater

BEST BAR
Winner: The Fat Pelican
2nd Place: The Burger Bar
3rd Place: The TApp Room

BEST PODCAST
Winner: Carolina Haints
2nd Place: The P.E.E.P. Podcast
3rd Place: Cape Fear Unearthed

ART
BEST MURALIST
Winner: Jenna Rice
2nd Place: Kathryn Crawford
3rd Place: Autumn Cobeland

BEST CITY FOR MURALS
Winner: Asheville
2nd Place: Carolina Beach
3rd Place: Charlotte

FOOD & DRINK
BEST BBQ
Winner: JD's Smokehouse (Rutherford College)
2nd Place: Lexington Barbecue (Lexington)
3rd Place: BBQ King (Lincolnton)

BEST BREWERY
Winner: Front Street Brewery (Wilmington)
2nd Place: Booneshine Brewing Company (Boone)
3rd Place: Wrightsville Beach Brewery (Wilmington)

BEST BURGER
Winner: Come Back Shack (Boone)
2nd Place: Island Burgers and Bites (Carolina Beach)
3rd Place: Little Big Burger (Charlotte)

BEST COFFEE SHOP
Winner: Bitty & Beau's (Wilmington)
2nd Place: Caffe Driade (Chapel Hill)
3rd Place: Crush And Grind (Carolina Beach)

BEST CUPCAKE
Winner: Liv For Sweets (Pilot Mountain)
2nd Place: Burney's Bakery (Southport)
3rd Place: Cupcake Delirium (Pineville)

BEST DONUT
Winner: Britt's Donut Shop (Carolina Beach)
2nd Place: Krispy Kreme (Multiple Locations)
3rd Place: Donut Life (Hickory)

BEST FOOD TRUCK
Winner: Rockin' Moroccan Food Truck
2nd Place: Cousins Maine Lobster
3rd Place: El Tacorriendo

BEST FRIED CHICKEN
Winner: Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack (Asheville)
2nd Place: Mountain Fried Chicken (Winston-Salem)
3rd Place: Mama Dip's (Chapel Hill)

BEST TACO
Winner: Taco Boss (Maiden)
2nd Place: Kai-Joe's (Oak Island)
3rd Place: Nollie's Taco Joint (Carolina Beach)

SHOPPING
BEST BOOK STORE
Winner: Old Books On Front Street (Wilmington)
2nd Place: Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe (Asheville)
3rd Place: Foggy Pine Books (Boone)

BEST ODDITIES STORE
Winner: Dark And Deviant Oddities (Asheville)
2nd Place: Madame Meerkat's Cabinet of Curiosities (Wilmington)
3rd Place: Crap-O-Rama (Burlington)

BEST RECORD STORE
Winner: Gravity Records (Wilmington)
2nd Place: Dead Wax Records (Lenoir)
3rd Place: Static Age Records (Asheville)

BEST THRIFT SHOP
Winner: Second Skin Vintage (Wilmington)
2nd Place: Anna Banana's (Boone)
3rd Place: The Groovy Goose (Mount Airy)

STRANGE NORTH CAROLINA
BEST ROADSIDE ATTRACTION
Winner: The Berry Patch/World's Largest Strawberry (Ellerbe)
2nd Place: Mystery Hill (Blowing Rock)
3rd Place: Wally's Service Station/Mayberry Courthouse (Mount Airy)

BEST GHOST STORY
Winner: USS North Carolina (Wilmington)
2nd Place: Pink Lady Of Grove Park Inn (Asheville)
3rd Place: Appalachian State East Hall Ghost (Boone)

BEST URBAN LEGEND
Winner: Brown Mountain Lights (Brown Mountain)
2nd Place: Devil's Tramping Ground (Bear Creek)
3rd Place: The Seneca Guns

BEST PARANORMAL TEAM
Winner: The Ghost Guild
2nd Place: Charlotte Area Paranormal Society (CAPS)
3rd Place: Off-Grid Paranormal

BEST GHOST WALK/TOUR
Winner: Old South Tour Company (Southport)
2nd Place: Haunted Hillsborough Tours (Hillsborough)
3rd Place: Ghost Walk Of Old Wilmington (Wilmington)


Questions or comments? Please contact us at StrangeCarolinas@gmail.com or 336.907.2393.