BEST OF DAYTON WINNERS: Arts, Entertainment and Music

SECOND PLACE: Troy Strawberry Festival

THIRD PLACE: Yellow Springs Street Fair

BEST FISH FRY

Jeff Hecht (from left), Paul Westhafer, Todd Post and Ted Hecht fry fish at the Alter Fish Fry in Kettering on Feb. 23. CONTRIBUTED

🥇WINNER: Kettering Alter High School

Website | Facebook

SECOND PLACE: Carroll High School in Dayton

THIRD PLACE: Our Lady of the Rosary

BEST FOOD TRUCK EVENT

Monthly brunch food truck rallies returned to the Yellow Cab in Dayton on Sunday, April 7. The food trucks in attendance included El Meson, Drunken Waffle, Twisted Taco, Greek Street Food Truck, Son of a Biscuit, EAT, Bricky Barrels Smoked BBQ LLC, Billie Gold Bubble Tea and Sweets on the Streets. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Photo: Tom Gilliam

🥇WINNER: Yellow Cab Food Truck Rallies

SECOND PLACE: Bites in the Heights at Rose Music Center

THIRD PLACE: Miami County Food Truck Rally

BEST GALA

Dayton Art Institute Art Ball 2019 took place on Saturday, June 8, 2019. (Photos by E.L. Hubbard, contributing photographer)

Photo: E.L. Hubbard

🥇WINNER: Dayton Art Institute Art Ball

SECOND PLACE: Humane Society of Greater Dayton Pet Afflaire

THIRD PLACE: Wright State ArtsGala

BEST GOLF COURSE

🥇WINNER: Yankee Trace

10000 Yankee St., Centerville | Website | Facebook

SECOND PLACE: NCR Country Club

4435 Dogwood Trail, Kettering | Website | Facebook

THIRD PLACE: Beavercreek Golf Club

2800 New Germany Trebein Road, Beavercreek | Website | Facebook

BEST HAUNTED ATTRACTION

Land of Illusion s Haunted Nights includes six haunted attractions in one Scream Park. CONTRIBUTED/E.L. HUBBARD

Photo: Contributing Writer

🥇WINNER: Land of Illusion

8762 Thomas Road, Middletown | Website | Facebook

SECOND PLACE: Lewisburg Haunted Cave

4392 Swishers Mill Road, Lewisburg | Website | Facebook

THIRD PLACE: Kings Island Haunt

6300 Kings Island Drive, Kings Mill | Website | Facebook

BEST HOLIDAY TRADITION

🥇WINNER: The Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill

75 Water St., Clifton | Website | Facebook

SECOND PLACE: A Carillon Christmas

1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton | Website | Facebook

THIRD PLACE: Rike's Christmas windows at the Schuster Center

1 W. 2nd St., Dayton | Website | Facebook

BEST INTERACTIVE GAMING VENUE

Bitter winter cold doesn’t slow the swing of one of the hundreds of happy duffers who made their way to West Chester Township’s Top Golf attraction. The three-story driving range includes state-of-the-art heaters that keeps golfers 20-degrees warmer than outside temperature.

Photo: Staff Writer

🥇WINNER: Top Golf

9568 Water Front Drive, West Chester | Website | Facebook

SECOND PLACE: Wild Axe Throwing

3251 Seajay Drive, Beavercreek | Website | Facebook

THIRD PLACE: Breakout Games Dayton

8120 Washington Village Drive, Washington Twp. | Website | Facebook

BEST LOCAL ARTIST

Leslea Hipp (right) of the Mural Machine works on a mural of cats on the side of Lily's Bistro in Dayton's Oregon District. CONTRIBUTED

🥇WINNER: Leslea Hipp

SECOND PLACE: Tiffany Clark

THIRD PLACE: Michelle Carr

BEST LOCAL BAND/MUSICIAN

🥇WINNER: Summer Highway Band

SECOND PLACE: Until Rust

THIRD PLACE: The Fries Band

BEST LOCAL PODCAST

🥇WINNER: Fifth & Ludlow

SECOND PLACE: The Brohio Podcast

THIRD PLACE: Hall Around Town (Scott Hall)

BEST LOCAL THEATER GROUP

Human Race Theatre Company's Sweeney Todd.

🥇WINNER: The Human Race Theatre Company

126 N. Main St., Dayton | Website | Facebook

SECOND PLACE: Dayton Playhouse

1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave., Dayton | Website | Facebook

THIRD PLACE: Black Box Improv Theater

513 E. 3rd St., Dayton | Website | Facebook

BEST MOVIE THEATER

🥇WINNER: Cinemark at The Greene

4489 Glengarry Drive, Beavercreek | Website

SECOND PLACE: The Neon

130 E. 5th St., Dayton | Website | Facebook

THIRD PLACE: Cinépolis Dayton

10251 Penny Lane, Miamisburg | Website

BEST MURAL

Tiffany Clark, founder of the Mural Machine, is creating a new mural at the entrance of the Oregon District in Dayton. LISA POWELL / STAFF

🥇WINNER: Gateway to the Oregon District mural

SECOND PLACE: Love You — Suicide Awareness mural

THIRD PLACE: Dayton Funk mural

BEST MUSEUM

Students from the Yellow Springs Community Learning Center gathered around the Apollo 15 command module in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in July, shortly before the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing July 20. CHUCK HAMLIN / STAFF

Photo: Staff Writer

🥇WINNER: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

1100 Spaatz St., Wright-Patterson Air Force Base | Website | Facebook

SECOND PLACE: Dayton Art Institute

456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton | Website | Facebook

THIRD PLACE: Boonshoft Museum of Discovery

2600 DeWeese Pkwy., Dayton | Website | Facebook

BEST OKTOBERFEST CELEBRATION

The 49th annual Oktoberfest took place at the Dayton Art Institute at 456 Belmonte Park N. on Friday Sept. 27 through Sunday Sept. 29. The 3-day event, voted best festival in Dayton.com’s Best of 2018 contest, includes artisan booths, plenty of food, kid-friendly activities, music on two stages and lots and lots of international, domestic and craft beer and wine. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Photo: Tom Gilliam

🥇WINNER: Dayton Art Institute Oktoberfest

SECOND PLACE: Minster Oktoberfest

THIRD PLACE: Springboro Oktoberfest