The second installment of the city awards for Kochi, Wtzupkochi City Awards 2016 presented by Tata Tiago and styled by Indigo Nation in association with The New Indian Express . ONE TV HD, Air Arabia, Red FM Cochin , Time Ads , ASDA and FWD Media House took place at Hotel Crowne Plaza on December 18th 2016 all of the city coming together to celebrate Kochi and its many facets. The city awards is the only one of its kind for Kochi and was a venture to identify Kochi’s favorite spots and show off the best the city has to offer. The categories varied from favorite food joints, to shopping outlets and talents.

The voting process of Wtzupkochi City Awards 2016 was open to all, and over 4 Lakh Kochiites voted to choose their event as compared to the 60,000 that voted last year. In dazzling battle for the top position in twenty three categories, nominees and went head to head since October 7 2016 to be chosen as Kochi’s favourite through the wtzupcity.com website. The second Wtzupkochi city awards presented by Tata Tiago and styled by Indigo Nation, set a milestone in Kochi’s progress and were a grand event that paid tribute to the talents in the city.

The event started off on a musical note with the band The Free Fall performing their original compositions followed by a few words by Mathew Antony, Director of FWD Media House about the event itself. The first three categories of awards were given away by Karthik Krishnan, Zonal Manager of Tata Motors and Babu Mangat, Head of Operations of Indigo Nation. The first category was Changemaker of Kochi, won by Kochi Metro Rail and was received by Mr. Hari, Additional GM, KMRL. This was followed by the award for the favorite college campus, won by Maharaja’s college and the award was received by Professor N L Beena, Principal of Maharaja’s college. The third category was for Kochi’s favorite Residents Association won by Panampilly Nagar Residents Association and was accepted by Hansa Johny, President Panampilly Nagar Residents association.

The second set of awards was presented by actors Anson Paul and John Kaippallil, Teddy Johns from Red FM and Arun Balachandrana, Vice Chairman of FWD Media House. Kochi’s favorite café category was won by Tonico Café and the award was accepted by Mr.Tony Jose, CEO and founder of the café. The award for the favorite bakery was received by Mr. Biju Joseph, the Managing Director of Navya Bakers.

The third set of awards given by Ganesh Raj, Anarkali Marikar and Arun Kurien (Anandam fame) and Divya Mary Cyriac, Director of FWD Media House. The category for favorite Lunch spot was won by Ootupura, and was received by Mr.Madhu PA, Managing Director of Ootupura. The category of favorite non vegetarian restaurant was won by Paragon Hotel and the award was received by V.Rajesh, the corporate head of Paragon Hotels. The category of Kochi’s favorite gang was won by the facebook group Eat Kochi Eat and it was received by Mr. Karthik Murali, founder and admin. PVR Cinemas received the award as Kochi’s favorite theater and it was received by Nikhil Sebin Sunny, Duty Manager at PVR Cinemas. Kochi’s favorite spa was won by Aroma Thai for the second time and the award was received by the store manager John George.

Actress Muthumani, Anthony George, F&B Manager of Hotel Crowne Plaza and Divya Mary Cyriac, Director of FWD Media House gave away the next set of awards. The category of favorite salon was won by Toni & Guy and the award was received by Sheikh Adam, Store Manager of Toni and Guy. The award for favorite shopping experience was won by Lulu Hypermarket and the award was received by Mr Madhan and Mr Joe, Deputy General Manager of Lulu Hypermarket.

Actor Vinay Forrt, S A Noushad, Director of One TV and Mathew Antony gave away the awards for the next set of winners. This included Kochi’s favorite gym which was won by Fun Family Fitness and was received by Anil Marakkar, Managing Director of Fun Fam Fitness. The category for Kochi’s favorite adventure club was won by Redrawlife and the award was received by Joel K, Redrawlife. The award for Kochi’s favorite CSR was won by Subash Scaria, Chief Operating Office, VPS Lakeshore.

The categories of Kochi’s favorite builder and band were given away by actress Aparna Balamurali and Datta Naikanavare, Chief Brand Manger of Indigo Nation. Skyline Builders won the award of Kochi’s favorite builder and it was received by Mr.Verghese P.A., Vice president, Marketing, Skyline builders. The award for Kochi’s favorite band was won by Thaikkudam Bridge for the second time in a row and the award was received by Gayathri, wife of Vipin Lal and Rashmi, wife of Anish Krishnan. Vinay Forrt, along with Aparna Balamurali and Datta Naikkanavare presented the award for Kochi’s favorite instagrammer to Thasveer Muhammed.

The winner with maximum referral was given a ticket to UAE from Air Arabia by actors Sharanya Ramachandran and Vishak Nair. The maximum referral winner of Wtzupkochi City Awards 2016 was Riswin M Habeeb, while Ansal CA was the maximum referral winner of FWD Lifestyle Awards 2016.

WtzupKochi City Awards 2016 was presented by Tata Tiago along with style partner Indigo Nation and venue partner Crowne Plaza Kochi, in association with The New Indian Express, ONE TV HD, Air Arabia, Red FM Cochin, Time Ads, ASDA and FWD Media House. The WtzupKochi City Awards is one of the biggest celebrations of Kochi. It is a platform for the public to appreciate the hard work of many people who are making Kochi an exciting destination, and the goodwill was evident throughout the event with many touching moments and speeches. With an innovative promotional activity using the currently viral Mannequin Challenge amidst the never stopping city, the event managed to pique the public’s interest. With an easy to use voting process and a scintillating event, the WtzupKochi City Awards 2016 was a successful initiative. The annual awards will continue with the support it has garnered to keep celebrating Kochi’s Favorites.