BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Boca Raton’s yearlong centennial celebration is now in the running for one of Palm Beach County tourism’s top honors, and city officials are asking residents, businesses and local supporters to help push it across the finish line.
The City of Boca Raton announced that its Centennial Celebration has been named a finalist for the 2026 Providencia Award, an annual recognition tied to the county’s tourism and hospitality industry. The award is presented by Discover The Palm Beaches to an individual, institution, corporation or organization judged to have made an extraordinary and positive impact on local tourism.
For Boca Raton, the nomination puts a city-led milestone campaign into a countywide competition that extends beyond municipal pride. It also places the city alongside two other finalists, The Ben and Visit Palm Beach, in a public vote that will decide the winner. LINK: Cast your vote here.
City officials described the Centennial Celebration as a community-powered effort built with support from residents, businesses and local partners. The campaign has now been recognized as a finalist for what organizers describe as Palm Beach County’s most important symbol of recognition for the local tourism and hospitality industry.
That industry carries major weight in the county. According to the award information released with the public voting push, tourism in Palm Beach County generates more than $11 billion in direct visitor spending each year, welcomes 10.7 million visitors annually, and supports 95,000 jobs. Organizers also tied that economic activity to Florida’s broader tax structure, noting the industry helps maintain the state’s tax-free status.
The Providencia Award itself has been around for decades. This year marks the 34th edition of the honor, and more than 10 times in the award’s history the winner will be selected by public vote. That makes the outcome dependent not on a closed judging panel alone, but on turnout from people willing to watch the finalist materials and cast a ballot.
The three finalists this year are the City of Boca Raton, The Ben, and Visit Palm Beach. Each finalist has a short video and description explaining why it should receive the award. Voters are asked to review those materials and then choose the finalist they believe made the greatest contribution to tourism in Palm Beach County in 2025.
Only one vote is allowed per person.
For Boca Raton residents, the pitch is straightforward: the city’s centennial was more than a ceremonial anniversary. Officials are framing it as a tourism driver and community relations success, one that helped elevate Boca Raton’s profile within Palm Beach County while tying local identity to visitor activity and economic impact.
The public campaign language also makes clear that the city sees this as a shared accomplishment, not just a City Hall project. In urging supporters to vote, officials credited residents, businesses and community partners with helping power the celebration and bring it to countywide attention.
Voting is open online through April 17, 2026. The winner of the 34th Providencia Award is scheduled to be announced May 7, 2026, during Travel Rally Day + Providencia Award.
For residents, the immediate takeaway is simple. The voting window is open now, the City of Boca Raton is one of three finalists, and anyone planning to participate gets one ballot. The larger stakes, at least from the city’s perspective, are about how Boca Raton is represented in the county’s visitor economy and whether its centennial campaign will be formally recognized as one of the year’s strongest tourism efforts.
The result will be decided later this month by the public, then made official in May.
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