After 18 years, Desert Magazine's reader-voted Best of the Valley is a stirring example of democracy in action. You have your favorites - whether it's dog parks, hiking trails, coffee hangouts, theaters, restaurants or celebrities - and, by heavens, you've done your part for them. Some of you voted often (you know who you are) and well. In fact, collectively you cast more than 1,230,656 votes for 1,419 entries. So many votes, in fact, that we stayed here late nights counting them... after all, we're journalists, not accountants.

See the results: Dining - Entertainment - Recreation - Schools - Services - Shopping

Contributors: Becky Bartkowski, Pamela Bieri, Larry Bohannan, Michael Felci, Henry Fenwick, Bruce Fessier, Amelia Hadley, Jim Kelly, Barbara Lowell, Beverly Maxfield, Michelle Mitchell, Patti Myers, Jamie Lee Pricer, Judith Salkin, Lorraine Whetstone