While traveling this summer with his wife, Monika, longtime magazine friend and contributing writer Art “The Dude” Woodward picked up several city publications. He stopped by our offices last month to visit and deliver a package, including one of his finds: the July 2025 issue of Boston magazine — the Best of Boston issue. His timing couldn’t have been better. We were deep into work on the 2025 Best of Evansville issue, and reviewing peer publications always sparks inspiration.
Boston’s feature package — wrapped around the 50th anniversary of the movie “Jaws” — differs from Evansville Living’s in that Editor’s Picks comprise the majority of the feature (and we don’t have sharks in the Ohio River … maybe). Boston’s editors possess the voice of authority in selecting the “best” and note they “spent the last year circling Boston like sharks on the hunt … for your annual guide to everything worth your time and money in the city and beyond right now.”
For 24 years, Evansville Living has polled readers on the best places to eat, drink, shop, and play. At the same time, our team discusses possible Best of Evansville editors’ picks. We select up to 10 honorees in categories we create to shine a light on things, organizations, or people we think are deserving but would not likely fit a typical readers’ poll category.
Brainstorming this year on editors’ picks, we came up with a few categories that were a tad snarky. Talking it through, we realized that choosing things that were annoyances would appropriately go in a “Worst of Evansville”-type story. Some city magazine colleagues counter their “Best of ” competitions with an ancillary story on the “worst.” In fact, we noted after we received Art’s package of magazines, Boston closes its issue on a page called “On the Other Hand …” with a roundup of the “Worst of Boston.”
It’s not in our mission to focus on the worst of Evansville — though if we did, traffic woes would top the list. With the city in the midst of a $10 million-plus plan to improve and pave streets, the massive Lloyd4U Project to overhaul the east/west corridor, the full-block construction Downtown on The Vault at Fourth and Main streets, and the sinkhole that formed on Riverside Drive in late February, driving in Evansville has been challenging. Certainly no one would have disagreed if traffic challenges had made a “Worst of Evansville” list.
This summer’s weather also would be an entry. I’ve felt a bit cheated by summer 2025. First, June was extraordinarily rainy; then came the heat. As of Aug. 25, Evansville had recorded forty nine 90 degree-plus days. As this issue went to press, the heat dome stalled above us and a huge swath across the U.S. finally broke, and we were treated to nearly fall-like temperatures.
But you won’t read about any of that in this issue. We’ve stayed with the original playbook to recognize truly the best, direct from Evansville Living readers. Our list isn’t created by influencers or an arbitrary social media account. It is tabulated from the choices of folks with skin in the game — people who live, work, and play here in the River City. I hope you enjoy this issue.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you!
Kristen K. Tucker
Editor & Publisher
Instagram: @kristenktucker
Email: letters@evansvilleliving.com
