Best Of the Lakes Region celebration at Lakeport Opera House

LACONIA — The Laconia Daily Sun will host this year’s Best Of the Lakes Region celebration at the historic Lakeport Opera House, Tuesday, July 13. Best Of the Lakes Region is presented by Bank of New Hampshire.

In 2019, the Best Of celebration at the NazBar drew one of the largest crowds for a business event the Lakes Region has ever seen, as The Sun revealed contest winners for the first time. Last year during the pandemic The Sun hosted a smaller, appropriately distanced observance.

With more than 2,100 local nominations drawing 198,179 votes cast by nearly 35,000 individuals, the 2021 Best Of the Lakes Region is the largest contest yet. This year, gold and silver awards will honor 249 businesses in 183 categories.

Each year The Sun partners with an independent third party — NERUS Strategies LLC — to ensure an impartial, transparent contest with equal opportunity for all participants.

“The Laconia Daily Sun operates a terrific ‘best of’ contest,” said NERUS President Bill Cummings. “It is definitely not a pay-to-play program. It doesn’t cost anything for a business to enter, and it doesn’t cost anything to win.

“It is truly a poll of public opinion.”

The Opera House completed a million-dollar renovation in early June and has opened its doors to capacity crowds each weekend since. Organizers of the Best Of celebration anticipate similar crowds for this event.

“To be sure we can accommodate everyone, we’re actually holding two separate events,” explained Adam Hirshan, publisher of The Sun. The events will begin at 11:30 a.m. and at 4 p.m.

“We are planning so much more than a celebration,” Hirshan said. This is an opportunity for attendees to experience the Opera House in a way most guests never will.”

Winners will receive their certificates and complimentary copies of The Best Of the Lakes Region magazine, network with other winners, enjoy live and great food, and tour the Opera House. They will also have the rare opportunity to stand center stage and be the star of the show.

Limited space is available for winners in the Eat & Drink categories to share their award-winning bites at the celebration. For more details, contact Rick Hopper at rickhoppper@laconiadailysun.com or 603-455-9123.

“When you come to the Opera House, you’re getting an experience, not just a show,” venue director Tim James Everett told The Sun. Every visitor to the Opera House is guaranteed “an absolute first-class” experience, Everett added. 

Best Of the Lakes Region, presented by Bank of New Hampshire, is an annual effort by The Sun to recognize and celebrate the region’s business community through the eyes of their customers.

Space for the 2021 Best Of the Lakes Region Celebration at the Lakeport Opera House is limited. Tickets are on sale now, visit rsvp4thebest.com to reserve tickets.