Stay up to date on this year’s inductees, honorees, events, panels, and more at the 2024 Western Heritage Awards.
This year’s annual Western Heritage Awards weekend kicks off April 12, celebrating the West’s most influential cowfolk, entertainers, books, films, TV series, and more. Along with the signature black-tie awards ceremony taking place on April 13, there will be panels, conversations, and a kick-off party for attendees to mix it up with honorees.
It all starts April 12 with the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's Western Heritage Awards Workshop. It is essentially a conversation between former McCasland Chair of Cowboy Culture and 2024 Chester A. Reynolds Award honoree Don Reeves and current McCasland Chair of Cowboy Culture and Curator of Western Collections Michael Grauer.
The two cowboy legends will discuss Reeves’ vast career as well as the history of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s famous exhibitions and curations. Free to museum goers, the event will give history buffs and fans a behind-the-scenes look into the curation process of one of the most famous Western legacy-keeping institutions in the country.
In the early evening on April 12, attendees and honorees will gather for the official Western Heritage Awards Kick-Off Party. The event will feature live entertainment, cocktails, and plenty of opportunities to mingle with this year’s inductees, honorees, and other Western movers and shakers.
Miss the first panel? The museum will be hosting another panel discussion on April 13 at 11:30 a.m. for museum goers to hear from more Western figures on the museum’s legacy.
The 2022 Western Heritage Awards panel featured a conversation with Kurt Russell.
Everything culminates with the main awards event on April 13. The Western Heritage Awards Ceremony is black-tie and features celebrity hosts honoring individuals who have made significant contributions to Western heritage. The ceremony will include a celebration of this year’s Hall of Great Western Performers and Hall of Great Westerners inductees, as well as the presentation of the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Check out the full list of this year’s inductees and honorees.
- Chester A. Reynolds Award: Don Reeves
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Reba McEntire
- New Horizons Award: Mo Brings Plenty
- Hall of Great Westerners Inductees: Jack LeForce, Buster Welch
- Hall of Great Western Performers: Keith Carradine, Noah Beery Jr., John Smith
View the books, films and TV series, and other media celebrations of the West being honored at this year’s Western Heritage Awards through the museum’s website.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
