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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, June 3, 2001

We'll honor your favorite restaurants

Official ballot (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)
Official ballot (JPEG graphic)
How to vote

Instructions: download the ballot file to your desktop, open it and print.

Advertiser Staff

Of the many threads that make up the tapestry of Island living, one of the most prominent and colorful,is our love of food — all kinds of food, from mea 'ai in Hawaiian to grinds in pidgin, from fine dining to okazu.

The Advertiser's annual 'Ilima Awards celebrates this aspect of Island life by encouraging readers to vote for their favorite restaurants in a wide variety of categories, and then honoring the top vote-getters with a special section that serves as a guide to our most popular eating places. The winners also are the focus of a gala fall event, including an awards show and a tasting — a benefit for Diamond Head Theatre.

This year, it will be easier than ever to participate in the 'Ilimas: You can clip a ballot out of the newspaper (they'll appear each Sunday in the Island Life section and Wednesday in the Taste section through July 7) or you can download and print out a ballot right here online. You'll also find a ballot in our O'ahu's 100 Best Restaurants guide, which is being updated and revised and will appear on July 1.

In an effort to keep the count honest, and prevent ballot-stuffing by fans of individual restaurants, we do ask, however, that all ballots be filled out by hand, that you vote only once, that each ballot be mailed in an individual envelope and that ballots not be photocopied. Ballots that don't meet this criteria will be disqualified.

Everyone who fills out a legitimate, legible ballot will be eligible for a prize drawing featuring a number of restaurant and theater packages. (We'll do the drawing Sept. 14 and will phone winners to alert them.)

The 'Ilima Awards section, in which the winners will be announced, this year is scheduled to appear Oct. 7 (it takes some time to tally the ballots and prepare the special section, so that's why the long interval between voting and announcement). The 'Ilima Awards gala — an awards show featuring spoofs of favorite show tunes honoring the various restaurants, singing and dancing by a talented local troupe, a tasting dinner and dancing afterward to Kit Samson's Sound Advice — will be Oct. 8, Columbus Day. This year, the event is sponsored by Visa for Diamond Head Theatre. In addition, the winning restaurants contribute the tasting menu and staff the booths under the stars.

If you've got questions about the 'Ilima Awards, call us at 525-8034. If you'd like to enquire about tickets to the Diamond Head Theatre 'Ilima Awards gala, which generally sells out, call the theater at 734-8763.