We were delighted to be nominated for a York Mix Choice award and to be shortlisted for
the final was even better! we had the pleasure of attending the awards ceremony on the
24 th October at the Milner Hotel (formerly The Principal) in York — and what an
unforgettable night it was!

The evening kicked off with a warm welcome at the hotel’s drinks reception, where live
music set the tone for an exciting night ahead. It was a fantastic opportunity to mingle with
other nominees and share in the collective excitement before the big event began. After the
countdown to the awards on the screens hit zero, we were treated to a brilliant
performance by a Robbie Williams tribute act, which certainly got the crowd buzzing and
ready for a night we could ‘never forget’ – especially when we had just seen the Sherriff of
York dancing on stage to ‘Candy’!

The awards ceremony itself was filled with anticipation, with each category recognising the
top three nominees — bronze, silver, and gold. It was a joy to watch and listen to each of
the businesses react to their names being called out. Every gold winner was invited on to
the stage to collect the award and certificate and get the chance to talk about their win It
was inspiring to hear each of the winning businesses talk about what the award meant to
them, the incredible work behind their success and the impact it would have.

After a short interval, “Robbie” returned to the stage for a high-energy performance
including the long awaited for ‘Angels’ getting everyone in the room on their feet. It was a
fitting way to keep the energy up as we waited for our category to be announced: Best
Venue.

Finally, it was our category and we up against some tough competition: The Crooked Tap,
Theatre@41, York Grand Opera House and Riccall Regen Centre. As there were some big
names in there, we were hoping for Bronze so when The Crooked Tap took home that
honour, we were disappointed but still a little hopeful. Then, when the Grand Opera House
claimed the silver, it was anyone’s guess who would take the gold.so when our name was
read out, we were flabbergasted! After a few seconds to check they had said Joseph
Rowntree Theatre, we went on stage to collect the award and chat with the evenings and
The Breakfast Club host’s Leigh and Laura. We are as thankful now as we were on the night,
and as we said in our speech, the theatre is entirely run by volunteers who do what we can
in our spare time hoping to make a difference so to be recognised by our audience is
amazing.

Thank you once again for voting and for naming us “Best Venue”, we couldn’t have
done it without you!