All we can say is “WOW.” Presented by Geek Support, our 2024 Bestie Fest, an annual party at which we honored the winners of this year’s Capital Region Living Bestie awards, was the biggest and best one yet. On June 11, the CRL team welcomed more than 300 guests—all of whom were Bestie winners and their employees or friends and family—for a night of food, drink and fun at The Hangar at 743. Upon arrival, guests headed for the bar, where Curamia Tequila was slinging signature drinks, with wine from Freixenet, spirits from Higher Ground Distilling and beer from Brown’s Brewing and DeCrescente Distributing also available. Dinner was a hodgepodge of dishes from Bestie-winning restaurants Illusive, Sake, Gershon’s Deli, West Ave Chicken and Pizza, D’Raymonds, Yanni’s Too, Cardona’s Market, Fin Your Fishmonger, Stacy’s Scratch Kitchen, Prima Pizza and Swifty’s, with treats from Bella Napoli for dessert.
After dinner, Bestie-winning singer (and rising high school senior!) Kelsey Dodd took the stage to sing two songs: “I Can Go The Distance” from Hercules and “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Bestie-winning news anchors Lydia Kulbida and Christina Arangio from NEWS10 ABC took it from there, presenting plaques to all the winning businesses in attendance. Before the night ended, guests made sure to pose for photos in the Music Man Entertainment photo booth; stop by tables manned by representatives from CDPHP, Enchanting Escapes and Trustco; and get their glass of Champagne filled by aerialists from Bestie-winning Good Karma Studio, who were seen twirling on silks and lyra hoop all evening. On their way out the door, guests grabbed a swag bag filled with goodies from—you guessed it—more than 30 Bestie-winning local businesses.
See photographer T.R. Laz’s full gallery of images from the evening here:
