Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - There's always so much going on in Puerto Vallarta and around the bay, it can be hard to keep up with it all. This week's news brief is a must-read as, in addition to Vallarta news headlines and this weekend's events, we're announcing the winners of our 2013 'Best of Banderas Bay' restaurant awards!

2013 Best of Banderas Bay Award Winners

From February 4-December 31, 2013 thousands of BanderasNews.com readers voted for the city’s greatest tastes in our Best of Banderas Bay Awards, the first edition of an annual poll to encourage BanderasNews.com readers to vote for their favorite Puerto Vallarta restaurants. To stand out in a city with ever-more dining options, earning your customers' vote takes consistent excellence, ambition and determination, but now the people have spoken, the votes have been counted, and it's time to raise our glasses... Presenting the best restaurants in Puerto Vallarta as voted by you, the public, and the winners of our 2013 Best of Banderas Bay Awards:

• Breakfast - Fredy's Tucan
• Fine Dining - La Palapa
• Inexpensive - Ernesto’s Good Grub
• International - Archie's Wok
• Margarita - Daiquiri Dick's
• Mexican - No Way Jose!
• Moderate - Joe Jack’s Fish Shack
• Romantic - La Palapa
• Service - No Way Jose!
• Takeout - Mikey's Deli at Los Mercados

Third Puerto Vallarta Jazz Festival

Scheduled to take place February 14-17th, the Third Puerto Vallarta Jazz Festival will feature free jazz concerts by five award-winning school groups with featured professional soloists, including Ruben Álvarez, a Chicago-based professional conga player, and keyboardist Tom Coster, who played with Carlos Santana in the 70's and 80's. The school groups are from the United States and will perform a variety of jazz styles, from pop to Latin. Public presentations will be performed at Lázaro Cárdenas Plaza on Friday, February 14th at 7:30 pm and at Los Arcos Amphitheater on Saturday at 7:30 pm. The Third Puerto Vallarta Jazz Festival is sponsored by the school groups and American Classic Tours/Festivals, the Sister Cities of Puerto Vallarta/Highland Park, the Mexico Tourism Board, the Jazz Education Network, and the city of Puerto Vallarta.

20 Vallartenses Win Big in National Lottery

Twenty Vallartenses split the National Lottery's $7.5 million peso Premio Gordo (jackpot) on February 7th. After investing in a $30 peso ticket, each of these lucky winners walked away with $348,500 pesos last Friday. Out of the 60,000 National Lottery #2380 tickets that were issued in two series to different cities around the country, the winning ticket was sold at the National Lottery module in Plaza Caracol by employees Yesenia Mercado and Gabriela Rocha. The winning ticket had a 17394 series number, but the names of the winners were not announced for security reasons. This is not the first time that a "Premio Gordo" has been won in Puerto Vallarta, since a large number of tickets are sold in this city, and now there is also a large number of lucky winners!

Lucille Shipley's Painting Workshop Art Exhibition and Sale

This "One-Day-Only Event" will be held on Sunday, February 16th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Casa Shipley, located at Zaragoza #414 (next door to Casa Kimberly pink bridge in Gringo Gulch.) There will be one-of-a-kind original paintings, artists on hand to discuss their work and techniques, and lots of great values. Please note that 10% of all the sales will be donated to the Puerto Vallarta International Friendship Club's Cleft Palate Program. Please join us to browse, shop, enjoy a glass of wine, and help us raise money for a most worthy cause - helping to put smiles of joy on children's faces! For further information, email IFC member Edwige Pelletier at edwigepelletier(at)hotmail.com

• ART VallARTa 'Romance in the Zone' Opens February 14

• Valentine's Day at the Marriott for Corazón de Niña

• Second Annual Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Fair

• San Blas Carnival Continues through March 4th