ORA seeking nominations for tourism awards

“Last year’s inaugural Tourism Awards were about reminding people of just how much the Oil Region has to offer despite the pandemic,” said Emily Altomare, the communications and tourism manager for the Alliance. “Now we’d like to keep the positivity going by with even more nominees and new winners.”

There are eight categories.

Best Dish is for the best restaurant meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) available in the Oil Region. Nominations must include the restaurant name and the menu item.

Best Drink is for the best cocktail, coffee or other beverage and will need to include the menu item name and location in the nomination.

Last year, both Best Dish and Best Drink were won by the Villa Italia Restaurant in Oil City for its Italian sub and peanut butter milk shake, respectively. These menu items won’t be eligible for 2022 awards, but anything else on the Villa Italia menu is eligible.

Best Room can be for a specific room or suite at a B&B or homeshare or any room at a specific lodging establishment such as a hotel or motel. The Caboose Motel in Titusville was the 2021 winner.

Best Shop is for retail locations of any kind and doesn’t have to be directly related to the tourism industry. Cross and Co. Boutique won in 2021.

Best Industry Partner/Organization can go to a specific hospitality industry business or an organization that contributes greatly to the offerings of the region. The Be Here program of the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce won in 2021.

Best Must Do Activity or Attraction requests nominations for the best places to go and things to do in the region, such as a museum, festival, or bike path. The bike trails were named the Best Activity for 2021.

Best Landmark will honor a specific location that guests shouldn’t miss during a visit, such as a monument, oilfield relic, architectural feature or selfie site. Drake Well Museum and Park was named the Best Landmark in 2021.

Locations should be within the Oil Region National Heritage Area, which includes all of Venango County plus Titusville, Oil Creek Township and Hydetown in Crawford County.

The nomination period concludes Monday, Sept. 5. Nominations can be made via email to Altomare at ealtomare@oilregion.org or by commenting on Oil Region Tourism Awards posts on the Alliance’s social media.

Nominations will not be taken by telephone but can be mailed to the Alliance office at 217 Elm St., Oil City.

Voting will occur via an online link available through the Alliance’s social media as well. Voting will be open from Tuesday, Sept. 6, through Friday, Sept. 16. Winners will be announced the following week.

There are no cash prizes for the winners, but nominees and winners will be promoted through the Alliance’s social media and other marketing efforts.