Cary Art Daze is proud to recognize outstanding artists at Lazy Daze through two award programs: The Jerry Miller Awards and the Best of NC Award presented by Our State Magazine. Learn more about each award program and the winners below!

	Jerry Miller Awards  In 2001, to commemorate the 25th annual festival, the Lazy Daze Committee instituted the Lazy Daze Invitation Awards, now named the Jerry Miller Awards. The awards honor the Lazy Daze founding father, local artist Jerry Miller. The Jerry Miller Award winners are judged to be the "best in the show" for the Lazy Daze Festival. They represent a wide range of artistic forms and styles. Each award winner is automatically invited to participate in Lazy Daze the following year and is also exempt from festival fees that year. In 2025, seven artists were honored with this award and have been invited to participate in Lazy Daze 2026.
	Best of NC Award - Presented by   The Best of NC Award is presented to the North Carolina artist who receives the highest score from the Lazy Daze judges. In addition to this honor, the winning artist will receive an automatic invitation to participate in the Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival held each April at Bond Park. This festival is a celebrated showcase featuring exclusively North Carolina-based artists.

2025 Award Winners