There’s still time to offer your two cents on some of the things you feel represent the Best of Whidbey.

Nearly 55,000 individual votes have already been cast in the annual Whidbey News Group contest, which was started by the Whidbey News-Times several decades ago.

Winners receive full bragging rights for the coming year and the top vote-getters will be recognized at an awards banquet July 27.

It is being held at the Whidbey Golf &Country Club this year, which is proving to be a gracious partner in this endeavor.

The premise of the contest is simple: It is open to nominations in all categories. The entries that receive the highest number of reader votes are deemed the winners.

There may be some nominees who actively seek votes from their customers and friends, either in person or via social media. There are no rules precluding this.

Intent of the Best of Whidbey is to have fun and engage people and recognize those who are most deserving of kudos.

To find the ballot online, go to www.whid beynewstimes.com or www.southwhidbeyrecord.com and click on the “Best of Whidbey” banner at the top of the page, or you can type www.bestofwhidbey.com directly into your search bar.

Voters are required to register. There is no charge, and private information is not shared.

The contests tracks entries to ensure each person votes only once.If you registered last year, you can type in your email address and password, or request a new password if you’ve forgotten yours.

This year, you may notice that there are already a number of nominees carried over from last year’s ballot — these were last year’s top vote-getters.

Each category, however, remains open to additional nominations. A minimum of five nominations are required to appear on the ballot.

Last year’s Best of Whidbey banquet was a big hit. This year’s theme, however, is top secret, but promises to be just as fun. Have fun and order tickets early.