Annual awards acknowledging the “hard work and outstanding contributions” of those in the Aberystwyth area, will be held virtually this year.

Menter Aberystwyth’s Aber First Awards ceremony will be held virtually on 19 November from the Aberystwyth Arts Centre and with “the amazing team at Haka Entertainment” assisting them.

The Aber First Awards are delighted to acknowledge the hard work and outstanding contributions displayed by individuals, organisations, and businesses in the Aberystwyth area.

There are 12awards in total each designed to reward a different category of outstanding performance together with a further Overall Business of the Year Award.

Up to three finalists in each category are selected through a rigorous process of application, short-listing and final judging by an independent panel of experts. You can submit a self-application or nominate someone else one of our ten award categories.

A spokesperson for Menter Aberystwyth said they opened the applications in March, before lockdown, and these were carried on with over summer while they decided what they could do.

They added: “After a lot of thought and watching a lot of the announcements and updates from the Welsh Government, we’ve decided to move the awards online.

“We really didn’t want to miss the chance to celebrate the amazing businesses, organisations and individuals in the Aberystwyth area, so cancelling the event would have been a very hard decision to make!”

Nominated for the Environmental Award are The Treehouse and Tyfu Aber Grow.

Going up against each other for the Shopping Experience Award are Probert & Williams Eyecare, Cakes for Special Occasions, Closet and Rob Rattray Butchers.

On the shortlist for the Food and Drink Award are Y Ffarmers, SY23 Cwtsh, and Dragonfly Bistro.

For the Encouraging Community Award, The Well, Penparcau Community Forum, Jubilee Storehouse, and BMO Coaching have been nominated.

Nominated for the Celebrating New Business Award is Dragonfly Bistro, Syrian Dinner Project, Bottle & Barrel, and BMO Coaching.

On the shortlist for the Championing the Arts Award is Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch, Charlotte’s School of Dance and Aberration.

The Wonder Bar as well as Signature Hair & Makeup are nominated for the Happily Ever After Award.

For the Championing Welsh Award, Academi Gerdd y Lli and Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch have been nominated.

Geoffrey Vickers, Alysha Scarrot, Aberystwyth First Responders and Teresa Wilkin have all been nominated for The Everyday Hero Award.

A Menter Aberystwyth spokesperson added: “We’re super excited for the event, and can’t wait to see who wins each of the categories, and to hopefully spread some positivity about our amazing area.”