Holy cow, another year has come and gone: It’s time once again for AV’s annual Best of Buffalo readers survey of all that’s strange and wonderful (and not-so-wonderful) about our fair city and its surrounding burgs.

The voting begins today. You can vote online or by US Mail. If you fill out a ballot at Artvoice.com, you can answer some categories and return later to fill out more or to change your earlier responses. But you must finish your ballot by Tuesday, April 5. Likewise, all mailed ballots must be sent to and received at Best of Buffalo, Artvoice, 810 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 by Tuesday, April 5. Finalists will be announced in our April 21 issue.

You must provide legitimate answers in at least 20 categories or we’ll toss your ballot. We encourage businesses to mount campaigns to earn votes from our readers, but there’s no ballot stuffing. Don’t even try. We can tell, and egregious offenders will be called out in these pages.

Vote local. No national chains. This is Best of Buffalo, not best of anywhere.

Voters, if you answer this year’s essay question, we’ll consider you in a contest for fabulous prize packages. Businesses, you need one of our coveted plaques to hang in your shop. So get cracking, everybody—the Best of Buffalo has begun.

Head to the Best of Buffalo Polls!