We all had a completely brilliant time on Thursday night at the TAWAs!

It was great to see so many of y’all along there, along with the awesome nominees and a few celebrity guests (not that Wellington has any actual celebrities, but, you know…)

Thanks to our fabulous sponsors who gave us swag and prizes

And thanks also to Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson for presenting the Wellingtonian of the Year award, which went to Callum Brown of Green Cabs.

After the awards, we relaxed to the lazy sounds of The Lonesome Cowboy, and then danced up a storm to Bunnies on Ponies, who ended their set with a v. swingorilliant cover of Dire Straits ‘Sultans of Swing’.

It was a super evening, and now that our Friday post-TAWAs fug has worn off, we’re looking forward to the 2009 TAWAs.

All that remains now is to celebrate this year’s winners. We encourage you to support these business and places (in fact, all the nominees are awesome), as they’re all part of why Wellington is such an excellent town.

The 2008 Wellingtonista Award Winners

BEST CHEAP EATS
Satay Kingdom

BEST UN-CHEAP EATS
Floriditas

BEST LATE-NIGHT VENUE
Mighty Mighty

BEST DRINK IN TOWN
The Mega Mai Tai at the Matterhorn

BEST PLACE TO SHAKE YOUR THANG
Mighty Mighty

BEST SUBURBAN DESTINATION
Maranui Cafe

BEST NON-DRINKING DESTINATION
The Botanic Gardens

BEST CLOTHING RETAILER
Ziggurat

BEST SHOP
Unity Books

BEST PUBLIC SPACE
Waitangi Park

BEST ART EXPERIENCE
The Luminous Stickers of Newtown

MOST NEEDED
A 24-hour diner

BEST COFFEE
Peoples Coffee, Newtown

BEST SERVICE
The McKenzie Brothers at the Hawthorn Lounge

BEST CONTRIBUTION BY A WELLINGTONIAN TO THE INTERNET
The Wellington Flickr group

BEST REGULAR ENTERTAINMENT
Films at the Archive

BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE
The Phoenix Foundation in Frank Kitts Park

BEST WELLINGTON-BASED EVENT
World of Wearable Art

WELLINGTONIAN OF THE YEAR
Callum Brown: Green Cabs

Update

Video blogger Mico from The Sidestrip has made a cool little video about the TAWAs. It’s just like being there, only without the sensation of having drunk too much.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhfEffnLC-s]