Dear City Paper Readers,

At the beginning of February in what feels like an entirely different era we launched the voting for Best of D.C. and you responded in force to tell us your favorites for everything, from outdoor concert venues to local restaurants: More than 100,000 ballots were cast in a record-breaking year.

We would have shared the results and started the festivities this week. However, with all of D.C. stuck indoors for the foreseeable future, we don’t think it’s an appropriate time to celebrate. Our team wants to produce the best possible guide to our city, but that’s just not possible with so many of our favorite neighborhood spots currently closed.

So, we are delaying the Best of D.C. until a more appropriate time when we can all unite again in honor of the places and people that energize our city and make it feel like home.

Once we have clear guidelines about when local businesses can reopen and it’s safe to re-emerge, we plan to announce the results widely and loudly in celebration of the winners and our city.

In the meantime, we will continue to bring you to-the-minute updates on what’s happening in our city and the best virtual activities to keep from going stir crazy while quarantined. 

If You’re Interested in Supporting Us…

Know that we need you—we really need you. Best of D.C. is our most important source of income each year. With the current delay and an unclear outlook for the future, we have lost a lot of money from canceled events and lost ad sales.

Please help us remain a resource for EVERYONE in our community by becoming a member. Not only does it feel great to support your local paper, but you’ll get some fun City Paper swag, too.

We know we’re in the same financial boat as many other industries right now, but we can’t just shut our doors or stop the presses. We want to keep our readers informed, and feel a responsibility to keep printing our paper for the 25 percent of Washingtonians who lack broadband access, and the 17 percent who lack access to a computer. They deserve the same access to information, connection, and distraction as everyone else. 

If You’re a Small Business Owner…

Washington City Paper has established a $100,000 Advertising Match Program to assist locally-owned small businesses. A local newspaper can’t thrive without a thriving small business community. We have stepped forward to support the community that has supported us for nearly 40 years.

Washington City Paperwill provide $100,000 in matched advertising this May and June. Every dollar spent on advertising will be matched with a dollar of free advertising. Matches are available for a minimum of $200 and a maximum of $5,000 of matching funds each month, for a maximum of $15,000 in matching funds.

If you’re a Best of D.C. finalist–or any other small business owner–who is interested in learning more, please contact Ads@washingtoncitypaper.com.

Duc Luu, Publisher