This week, Everfest and XLIVE unveiled the first annual FestX Awards. While the European Festival Awards and UK Festival Awards have been going on for years, the first festival awards show in the U.S. had never materialized until now. More than just a great party, festivals are a slice of our world at large. They build year-round communities, delight all five of our senses, create inclusive spaces, and make magic year after year. Simply put, it's time the best established and up-and-coming worldwide festivals gained a nod from the U.S. festival community.

In 13 different categories, 57 festival finalists were selected after a monthlong public online submission period. From film to food to rock festivals, the finalists spanned nearly every size, vibe and genre. More than 120 global festival industry insiders submitted entries for consideration. Finalists hailed from four continents and thirteen countries including Mexico, the Netherlands, Canada, Romania, Poland, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Thailand, Japan, Costa Rica, Finland, and all over the United States.

Our illustrious judging panel included 14 industry experts, and was a mix of festival producers, journalists, agents and other festival industry players from SXSW, C3 Presents, CAA, WME, Billboard, and Country Music Association. The "Fan's Choice Award" winner, Vive Latino, received more than six thousand votes from festival fans on Everfest's community platform.

And the 2017 FestX Award winners are...

2017 FestX Awards Judging Panel

Best Production Design

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Everywhere you turn in the fantasy-inspired Sherwood Forest, there's something magical to behold. Electric Forest pays homage to Alice in Wonderland and other hallucinatory tales, and owes its otherworldly vibe to its mystical location and two weekends' worth of intergalactic, multi-genre lineups. While you don’t have to be on any substances to have a good time, the surreal sights and sounds are enough to give you a contact high. With curation and vision from Creative Director Nova Han at Madison House Presents, Electric Forest is part art installation, part light show and part pure, unadulterated nature. Sherwood Forest is a wooded chill zone in the day, bedecked with hammocks and art, and a living pulse of light by night. A walk amongst the trees reveals surprise performances, interactive art displays and extravagant, illuminated woodland parties.

Best Brand + Festival Pairing

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Panorama's THE LAB is one of the trippiest sights you'll see at any festival. For two years running, Panorama, HP, and META have brought attendees an interactive experience that combines technology, artistry, and design, created exclusively by New York City–based artists. THE LAB, curated by META, places experiential digital art at the heart of the festival, with six interactive installations and a massive 360-degree, virtual-reality theater. THE LAB, powered by HP, is a playground of music and technology that can only be experienced at Panorama.

Best Family-Friendly Festival

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Outstanding Social Impact

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Since its inception in 2005, AFROPUNK FEST has remained a constant trailblazer in its efforts to involve its growing community in progressive social change. The “AFROPUNK Global Initiative (AGI) “was created to disrupt and dismantle persistent bias in media by building positive identities of self and community." And AFROPUNK has truly taken its noble crusade across the globe, now with festivals in Johannesburg, Paris, London, and Atlanta, Georgia. By spreading its ethos of acceptance – "No sexism, no racism, no ableism, no ageism, no homophobia, no fatphobia, no transphobia, no hatefulness" is posted prominently everywhere at each event – AFROPUNK is changing the world fest by fest through music, film, visual art, storytelling, and other forms of expression.

Outstanding Green Event

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DGTL  – which takes place in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Tel Aviv – provides recycled cups to its attendees via deposit, with a cup return policy at all times. Plus, they’re cashless, 100% veggie, use carbon efficient transportation and boast an impressive “Trash Army,” to clean the grounds. In March 2017, the fest introduced ““Eco Coin” - the world’s first ecological currency. With this new digital currency, DGTL plans to reward all visitors for their sustainable actions. In the coming years, the festival aims to become "circular," meaning all materials used to build the festival can be reused year after year, further reducing the festival's carbon footprint.

Best Use of Technology at a Festival

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Obscura Digital was asked by Goldenvoice to build an epic experience for the 2017 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The company worked with Pacific Domes to build a 120-foot dome called The Antarctic — the largest geodesic projection dome in the world — and produced Chrysalis, an eight-minute audiovisual program to be projected at massive scale in full 360º for audiences of 500 throughout the weekend (and it was mobbed the entire weekend), creating one of the most impactful immersive experiences ever.

Best Beer + Wine Festival

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Best Fan Community

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Best eSports Festival

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Best Food Festival

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Best New Festival

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Fan's Choice Award

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Best Relationship with Fans

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