BEST BAND First Place: The Evening Shades Second Place: Slow Corpse Southern Oregon is neither short on bands, nor on good ones. But some bring that extra something special that goes beyond just kicking out the jams; they do it in a way that audiences don’t just passively absorb as

BEST FOOD TRUCK: Peruvian Point There is something truly magical about a good food truck’s ability to take our taste buds to a another place right from the convenience of a familiar street corner, and our winners for Best Food Truck have proven that there is no need to travel

BEST ROLLER DERBY GIRL: Naughty Maude 3000 The fear that Tiffany Maude, known in the derby world as Naughty Maude 3000 of the Southern Oregon Roller Girls, instills in her opponents can only increase with her declaration as the Messenger’s Top Roller girl of 2016. Naughty Maude 3000 has been

BEST DANCE: Dancing People Company With a reputation for innovative partnering, imaginative performances and collaborative community engagement, it’s no surprise to see Dancing People Company at the top of our Best Dance category. Not only has Dancing People Company been bringing exciting modern dance presentations to the Rogue Valley since

BEST BOOK/COMIC BOOK STORE: Bloomsbury Honorable Mention: More Fun   BEST GROCERY STORE: Ashland Food Co-op Honorable Mention: Shop N Kart   BABY STORE: Kid 2 Kid Honorable Mention: Growing Green Baby   SHOE STORE: Village Shoes Honorable Mention: Shoes Right Here   FURNITURE STORE: Garrison’s Honorable Mention: Ashland Recycled

BEST VITAMIN/HERB SHOP: Natural Grocers Okay, so not really a local company (owned by Vitamin Cottage out of Colorado), but Natural Grocers in Medford has some of the best deals on vitamins, supplements and groceries. This is partly due to the fact that they are a national chain, though they

BEST ARCHITECT: Carlos Delgado Architect Honorable Mention: Gene Abell Architecture Group   BEST GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Coleman Creek Construction   BEST DOG GROOMER/BOARDER: R&R Resort Honorable Mention: Just Great Grooming   BEST GYM: Ashland YMCA Honorable Mention: Superior Athletic Club   MOST TRUSTWORTHY MECHANIC: McClure’s Honorable Mention: Kelly’s Auto   BEST