College of Charleston alumni and athletes racked up awards in the Charleston City Paper’s annual “Best of Charleston 2013” review.

Cary Ann Hearst ’01 was honored with a Reader’s Pick for Best Female Vocalist. Hearst is the lead singer for Shovels and Rope, which also appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in January. For this, the band was given a Critics Pick for Best Late Night TV Performance. Read more about Cary Ann.

Ryan Eleuteri ’02 grabbed the Reader’s Pick for Best Local Cocktail Mix for his Charleston Bloody Mary Mix. Eleuteri is the owner of Charleston Beverage Company, LLC.

Jackson Holland ’10, beverage director at the Cocktail Club also took home a Reader’s Pick for Best Cocktails.

Charles Carmody ’11 is the general manager of the Charleston Music Hall and was the Critics’ Pick for Best Downtown Music Venue Reboot. Writer Paul Bowers says, “Since coming on board, he’s already put the Unchained Tour, Wyatt Cenac, Jeff Mangum, and Shovels & Rope on the marquee, quietly building the Music Hall into a gem of a venue, which the center city has been without for some time.” The College and students are also helping to produce Live at The Charleston Music Hall, which will be held March 30, 2013, with two TV shows produced from the event.

Colleen Condon ‘92 was voted the Best County Council Member by City Paper readers.

Watkins Little ’09, a.k.a. Ridiculously Photogenic Guy, was the Critics Pick for Best Hottie on Reddit for the viral meme in which he was featured. Read more about Watkins.

Leon Stavrinakis ’88 was the Critics’ Pick for Best “Will He or Won’t He?” The S.C. Representative is said to be the candidate waiting in the wings for nearly every available Democratic seat from mayor of Charleston to U.S. Congress.

The critics were enamored with College of Charleston athletics this year, naming Andrew Lawrence and Juani Mageli Best Olympians. Lawrence was the only collegiate member of the Great Britain men’s basketball team and Mageli competed in his second Olympics for Guatemala (sailing). Read more about their Olympic journey.

The sailing team was named Best Collegiate Sailing Team by the critics for their ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship. The Critics’ Pick for Best First Year Basketball Coaches went to Men’s Basketball Head Coach Doug Wojcik and Women’s Basketball Head Coach Natasha Adair. Read more about them.

The critics’ also gave the College and award for Best Leap of Faith for their decision to move to the Colonial Athletic Association in fall 2013.  Read more about the move.

The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in the School of the Arts also received two Critics’ Picks. Best Artistic Use of a Seasoning was received for Motoi Yamamoto’s Saltworks exhibit, which was an official visual arts selection of Spoleto Festival USA. Watch a video of the making of the exhibit. The Critics’ Pick for Best Proof that Art Matters is Htein Lin, who visited the College and spoke with students.