Last week we attended the DANI Awards in Belfast where we had been shortlisted in the competitive Best Food & Drink / Travel Blog category. The DANI Awards is the premier digital awards in Northern Ireland, recognising the work of companies, agencies and individuals alike in the digital space. From websites and apps to blogs and social media campaigns, and everything in between, the 2017 DANI Awards was the biggest to date, with several new categories created.
This meant for the first year there was an award for the Best Food & Travel Blog, and we were delighted to just make the shortlist along with fellow foodie bloggers Swankfood, Eating Ideas and The Sugary Peach. The awards evening itself took place in the impressive Whitla Hall building at Queen’s University in Belfast, and with over 300 people in the room, it was a great event and a credit to all involved in organising it.
With 20 awards to be handed out, it was going to be a long night, but with great food and fab company, that wasn’t really a problem. Truth be told, the awards ceremony itself was over relatively quickly, but the food and pre-awards entertainment ensured a great night was had by all.
And The Winner Is…
And so to the big moment, and the announcement of winners for the various categories. There were a number of industry awards handed out first, some of which had Nial’s attention as he works in the digital industry with Belfast agency The Tomorrow Lab. As it approached the Best Food & Drink / Travel Blog category, the butterflies were certainly working their way around our stomach, and then the big moment came. The winner was announced and to our surprise, Pikalily was called out as the winner.
We launched this blog back in January 2014 as a hobby to share our interests, and over time we have managed to build up a good online following both through our monthly visitors to the blog, and our social media following. We’ve been
We’ve been shortlisted for a number of awards in the past, but this was our first win and something we are extremely proud about. It also gives us a little boost to start focusing, even more attention on the blog over the coming months, and with our wee baby and a new house on the way, we’ll have plenty to share with you over the coming weeks, months and hopefully years.
We’d like to thank the regular readers of our blog, and indeed those who interact with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, because your regular input into what we blog about keeps Pikalily going.
Also, big congrats to Nial’s colleague Jess Orr who picked up the award for Best Young Digital Person.
Thanks for reading, and until next time, happy travels and happy eating.
Nial and Helen
Welcome to Pikalily, an award-winning food, travel and lifestyle blog. We are Nial and Helen, a happily married couple from Northern Ireland, who share a passion for food and travel among many things. We became parents to our beautiful boy Lewis in 2017. Follow our adventures through the blog.
