Providence makes it to next round in best community in America competition

PROVIDENCE – Providence has made it to the next round in Outside Magazine’s best town in America competition.
Providence beat out East Stroudsburg, Pa. with 76.4 percent of the vote to advance to the next round in the online competition. But now it has to get past Middlebury, Vt., which has captured 57 percent of the vote so far.
The magazine is asking readers to select the best town in America – “the kind of place with top-notch restaurants, vibrant farmers’ markets, friendly neighborhoods and unparalleled access to hiking and biking trails.”
The initial bracket was comprised of 60 towns selected by Outside editors and four wild card entries picked by Outside readers.
In the past week, more than 20,000 readers voted on their favorite towns, narrowing the competition down to 32, according to information from the magazine.
Over the next five weeks, readers will continue to vote once per round for each of the five remaining rounds of voting on Outside Online with each round of voting lasting five days. The winners of each round will advance until the final two towns face off to determine the “Best Town of 2015.”
The Santa Fe., N.M., magazine will feature the final 16 towns in its September 2015 issue.