(BELMAR, NJ) — With much of the state in the shadows of New York City and Philadelphia, it’s easy for people to overlook the amount of arts and entertainment throughout the Garden State. New Jersey Stage wants to change that. Voting for the First Annual New Jersey Stage awards is underway and will run until November 5.
Voting is done at www.newjerseystage.com/awards
People can vote for the best places to view art; best place to see live comedy; best place to see live dance performances; best film festival; and best town for an arts night out. Multiple categories for music (best place to see a national act; best place to see emerging artists; best place for classical music; and best annual music festival) and theatre (best place to see a World/NJ premiere; best place to see a touring production; best place to see non-equity theatre; and best place to see children’s theatre) round out the categories.
“We’re taking a different approach with our awards,” explained Gary Wien, publisher of New Jersey Stage. “Users are allowed to vote once per day, rather than one vote overall. This allows the nominees to showcase their social media prowess — something that is instrumental for successful arts organizations these days.”
Users can vote for as many or as few categories as they wish, and are allowed one vote per category per every 24 hours. Thousands of votes were cast in the first few days, coming from throughout the state as nominees shared the news about the awards on their social media pages. Roughly 60% of the votes were placed on a mobile device.
Winners will be announced in the next to last issue of New Jersey Stage digital magazine for the year. Issues are available for free at www.NJArtsMag.com and can be read on any PC, tablet, or smart phone. It is the first arts publication in New Jersey to incorporate the best features of the Internet (audio, video, and interactivity) with the traditional design of a magazine.
New Jersey Stage is a daily website and monthly digital magazine covering the arts throughout the Garden State. Launched in 2014, it is published by Wine Time Media.
