The ceremony will take place next Friday at Whitby Pavilion and the awards will honour the great and the good of the town.

The focus of the evening is to raise money for charity and this year the prizes are bigger and better than ever before.

Not only will there be an auction of otherwise unattainable prizes there will also be a raffle in which to try your luck.

There will be musical entertainment on show as well as a mouthwatering buffet of seafood organised by award-winning chef Rob Green and prepared by a team of chefs including some of Yorkshire Coast College's brightest talent.

Tickets are available from the Whitby Gazette office priced at £5 and every penny from the night goes to good causes chosen by the you, the readers.

The three nominees in the Astin's Sport Award are:

1) Fishburn Park 13s – did the league and cup double for the second season running, losing just one game in the process.

2) Adam Lyth – The Whitby batsman broke into Yorkshire County Cricket Club's first team, scoring his maiden century and winning the club's Young Player Award.

3) Maggie Kelly – Maggie has been instrumental in helping Whitby Rugby Club gain its Seal of Approval Status and works with the minis team.

The chosen three in the Black Horse Business Award are:

1) Mandy Coates – she started Town Country Care from scratch and now employs 15 people providing home care for the elderly and infirm under the New Deal Scheme

2) The Station Inn – in a little over 18 months Andy and Colin the owners have transformed this business into one worthy of inclusion in the Good Beer Guide.

3) Dave Ellis – started from nothing and has been a pioneer for Whitby, opening bars and restaurants and helping to improve the type of tourist Whitby now attracts.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway Community Award recognises those who make Whitby tick.

1) Graham & Anne Holmes – the pair work as volunteers in the Whitby Lifeboat Museum shop every week. They are also incredibly active on the Friends of Whitby Lifeboat Group and have raised many thousands of pounds for the RNLI.

2) Mark Liddell & Jean Scales – for the past 17 years, Mark and Jean have worked tirelessly for local music and put on the legendary Whitby Now concerts.

3) Tony Dominiak – Tony works for SBC Parks and Countryside Deptartment and has done most of his life. He takes a real pride in what he does for the horticultural standards in the town and is heavily involved in Whitby in Bloom.

The final category is the Whitby Gazette Lifetime Achievement Award which rewards an extended period of service benefiting Whitby and its people.

1) Jo Hoyle (nee Hampshire) – the driving force behind Whitby Gothic Weekend for a decade. It has brought so much to the town and is looked forward to by locals and visitors alike.