Sorry, Range readers: We're taking a few days off from blogging. We're going to spend the next four days bundled up, drinking some hot chocolate and reading books. We'll be back to business on Monday. Until then, you'll just have to satisfy your Weekly reading (and hate commenting) with the stories from the print edition:

Get started with this year's Local Heroes cover story, where you'll learn the stories of six incredible Tucsonans. If you're looking for something to love, hop over to Heather's food and music year-in-review pieces. Not sick of the Star Wars hype yet? Bob Grimm loved it and he'll tell you why in a spoiler-free review. 

Need more? Sorry. Check back tomorrow for Casa Video's weekly Top 10. We'll see you on Monday.

Until then, here's a video of some bengal cats fighting over an exercise wheel. 

It's Thanksgiving! That means our staff is free from the office and taking the day off to eat pie.

We (probably) won't be updating the Range today, but hopefully the stories from this week's Weekly will be enough to distract you during any boring family moments this evening. If things get too tense, turn up the Adele. 

See you on the other side.

First, a big thank you to everyone who joined us last night at Casino Del Sol—readers, local business reps, former interns, staffers and freelancers and those we love and care for—the party for 2015 Best of Tucson® was a great success. How do we measure that? Well, we had a hell of a lot of fun and those who appreciated being chosen by our readers had fun, too.

However going into the evening, we realized there could be some issues today and sure enough this morning we were told there was an unavoidable production issue. We anticipated that this year's Best of would be inserted in this week's paper. Not going to happen. It will be in next week's issue on Oct. 29.

We apologize. We're disappointed. But good news is that, as promised, the winners were released and you can read every reader and staff pick online. If you can't wait for a paper copy, we have a limited supply in our office. You are welcome to come by and pick one up.

Again, big congratulations to all the winners and finalists. Thanks for your patience. Chin up (that's what we're telling ourselves) and keep moving forward, Tucson.

You may have noticed that our beloved blog has been a little slow over the last few days. We are frantically finishing up this year's Best of Tucson® issue and, well, blogging takes second priority for a while.

The good news is: We're almost done! You'll be able to see the winners in the paper on Oct. 22, or (if you're feelin' fancy) you can party with us and find out a day early. We'll be at Casino Del Sol from 6 to 8 p.m.—eating, drinking and happy to be free from our desks.

You have to buy a ticket online, by Oct. 16—$25 gets you in the door, an early copy of issue, some hors d'oeuvres and a drink ticket—but don't worry, there will also be a cash bar. DJ Herm will be there to make sure it's a good time.

Come drink with us (it's been a hectic issue, we're gonna need a few glasses of wine), give us your thoughts on the paper and tell us what categories we need to add next year.

Dear Range readers,

Our office is mercifully closed today, which means things will be a bit slower on the blog. Like, this is probably the only post you're getting. 

To ease that pain, I am leaving you with some stock photos of animals sleeping. Need more to keep you happy? Maybe spend some time reading Brian Smith's excellent cover story on the rise and fall of Gentlemen Afterdark, crafting a Dust Devil for us to run in an upcoming issue or enriching your sex life with tips from our local expert.

See ya tomorrow.

Love, 

TW

Do you love drinking and buying things with other people's money? Of course you do, that's The Dream. It's also why you're going to want to get started on your Summer Passport. We've talked about this a few times, but here's the deal: We've got about $2,000 in gift cards and prizes from Tucson businesses. We're raffling them off in bundles (detailed here). To enter, you need to visit the 24 businesses who contributed to the gift total—tell them thanks for being so cool and participating in this giveaway! Each business will have you complete a task (take a picture kissing a Hawaiian skeleton! Eat a quesadilla! Sing on stage!) and send you on your way with their part of your "passport" stamped. Your destinations are listed in the paper (on Page 14 of the Aug. 6 issue, Page 13 if you snag a copy for the upcoming Aug. 13 issue).

Sure, 24 seems like a lot. But these prizes are hefty and we're going to need you to earn them.

Here's a secret: There aren't a ton of people who have the time, patience or will power to earn all 24 stamps on the passport. That means, there aren't too many people in the running—bettering your chances to win! So get on it. Spread it out over a couple days (You've got until noon on Sept. 4) or challenge yourself to get it done in the smallest possible amount of time. I believe in you. Now win this.

If you're reading this in your Monday morning newsletter, it's already too late. 

Somehow, August is here to make getting a table for brunch and driving near the UA completely impossible. 

To offset that impending misery, we've got something to look forward to: our annual Best of Tucson® guide.

Don't get too excited just yet: the issue won't be out until mid October. It's a big issue—in terms of both page count and readership—so we need to get started writing. Which means we need you to stop voting. Now, please.

The ballots are shutting down at midnight Sunday night. Use this weekend to taste test all of the ice cream finalists and commit to your favorite chicken wing spot. 

Remember, you don't have to vote in all 216 categories—just a minimum of 30, so we believe you know what you're talkin' about. 

Go vote. Or, if you missed the cut off, cheer yourself up internet-style—with some cats. Or our sex column. Or something. 
 

You guys are the best. Over at Weekly HQ, we've been pretty excited about the upcoming Best of Tucson® issue. About once a day—sometimes way more than that—I've been looking at the survey results, watching over how many ballots are cast and cheering on my favorite finalists.

Checking in this morning, I saw we had beaten last year's record number of votes. Hell yeah, Tucson! Thanks for voting!

Unfortunately, that also comes with a record number of uncompleted ballots. This year, we've got nearly a thousand not-quite-submitted forms. Not sure if yours is one of those left in limbo? Head over to the ballot, log in with the exact name/email combo you used the first time around, and be sure you vote in at least 30 categories. Then, hit the submit button. Email me ([email protected]) if you need help accessing your ballot. 

You've got until the end of the day this coming Sunday, Aug. 2, to start, finish, or completely redo your ballot. At midnight, your computer will turn into a pumpkin. Or something. Go vote.

Time flies. Vote now.

Vote. Everybody is else is doing it.