We are proud to introduce our Brand New Rural Route Awards! We are accepting nominations now for your favorite businesses. We want to feature the businesses that stand out from the crowd. We want the hometown favorites and the ones worth driving for.

We want to feature all of the businesses, including all the home services. Do you have a plumber that goes above and beyond? How about chimney or furnace maintenance or repair? Auto repairs? We can’t go on our Rural Route Tours when a vehicle breaks down. (And they seem to always know the absolute worst time, too). We can’t forget farm stands/local producers, retail stores, restaurants, and more! We don’t want to exclude anyone!

Here’s some of the nitty-gritty.

• It is completely free to nominate a business. You can nominate as many businesses as you like in as many categories. You can even add a category, like funniest waitstaff, best breakfast, best tamales, best mocktails. Let your experience be your guide.
• It’s free for the businesses that are nominated. No upselling or sales-y contacts. This is just a fun, free way to recognize our favorite small, local-owned businesses.
• Ideally, the businesses should be located in a rural town somewhere within a 90-minute drive of Bear Creek, WI. But, let me worry about that part. You just need to tell me about your favorite business.
• You can nominate as few as 1 or as many as you like. (You might need to fill out more than one form, though.)
• None of your information will be sold, shared, or otherwise released.
• You won’t be signed up for e-mails, notifications, or anything else.
• We have taken steps to make sure that we don’t get nominations for businesses that have been closed for a decade or other weird situations. We want to recognize real local businesses.

Why are we doing this? We regularly travel to the outer boundaries of our area for events, and while there, we like to explore. We know that others do the same. Since we have events in the area, with maps, we want to make it easy to visit local businesses and see recommendations from our readers. Who better to give recommendations than actual customers and local families? And yes, you could give the review on their FB page, but if people don’t know they’re there, how can they look up a FB page?

Here’s an example from today: We went to the Plover Library today to see the REGI demonstration. While there, we checked out the rest of the library, and then the librarian gave us hints for ice cream shops. She even asked if we were in the mood for soft-serve or hand-scooped. Without her recommendation, we never would have known. How many of you would think to get your ice-cream shop recommendation from your local librarian?

–Where Local Finds Families and Families Find Local–

We list events within an approximate 90-minute radius Bear Creek, Wisconsin. We are supported by advertisers, sponsors, and affiliate partners.