Prestigious Honors
2007
True West Magazine Honors "Festival of the West" for the fifth consecutive year for being named #1 of the Top Ten Western Festivals in the United States.
2006
Horsewoman Receives Award In Germany
al significance.Brown recently returned from Southern Germany where she was honored with the "Horse Spirit Award" at the first international Horse Movie Festival at Ungerhausen near Munich.
"I was honored and humbled by the award," said Brown, a resident of Phoenix. "The German people were absolutely fabulous. They made us feel very much at home and the German reining horse champion carried the American flag during the opening ceremonies each day in honor of their American guest."
Brown, a horse-lover all her life, was chosen for the award for her tireless promotion of horses and cowboy films. She received a classic bronze horse statue from International Horse Movie Festival founder Georg Miller.
Two honorees are chosen each year, one from Germany and one from the USA.
"Mary has set an example for our Horse Movie Festival because without her Festival of the West our event would never have been held," said Miller. "What better opportunity is there to present the Horse Spirit Award during the very first Horse Movie Festival and honor the lady who gave the people all over the world so much with her festival."
Brown was honored along with German actor Peter Tost at the Bavarian festivities, held in early October.
"They showed many Western movies and one of the TV shows that continues to be very popular in Germany is the series "Fury" from the late 1950s that starred Bobby Diamond and Peter Graves" said Brown. "They also showed a number of German horse movies. Also, an Octoberfest was a big part of the festivities."
Brown noted that horses are very popular in Germany.
"All the children in the region I visited ride horses and the breed that is the most popular in the country is the Icelandic horse which is a smaller horse that is very gentle," said Brown.
The 2007 Festival of the West is set for March 15-28 at Rawhide Western Town in Phoenix where music, artwork, film screenings, chuckwagon cooking, poetry, cowboy collectibles and other events will celebrate America's frontier heritage.
The Festival of the West annually attracts 50,000 to 60,000 people who delight in reliving the days of "yesteryear" throughout the four-day salute to all things Western.
The Festival of the West is a true celebration of the culture and heritage of the American West," said Brown. "I like bringing together people who live the Code of the West, those whose word is their bond. That's a wonderful way to live."
American Cowboy Culture Award
The
National Festival of the West received the American Cowboy Culture
Award 2000 recently at the National Cowboy Symposium in
Lubbock, Texas. The American Cowboy Culture Awards were 
established to recognize those people who
are keeping the spirit of the American Cowboy and the West alive.
The Award show was modeled after televised award presentations with Top Western performers and area dignitaries presenting the awards. The Cowboy Culture Event Award was presented to Mary Brown, director and creator of the National Festival of the West, by past Lubbock Mayor, Alan Henry.
Upon receiving the award, Mary Brown, emotional about the recognition, began her thank you by saying, "I'm truly at a loss for words, and those of you who know me, realize that doesn't happen too often." She continued to express her appreciation by indicating "It is a privilege to work at something you love - - it is a privilege to be surrounded by wonderful people who enjoy what you do, and it is a privilege to have other people (spectators) enjoy an event you work hard to put together. But it is indeed a tremendous privilege to receive an award that is presented by your peers. Thank you very much."
The
National Festival of the West is truly a labor of love for the entire
Brown family, who founded the event in 1991. Since that time the
National Festival of
the West has grown to be one of the largest, most well attended shows
of
its type in the nation. Among other honors received by the event are:
Top
100 Events in the National (3 times), Greatest Event on Earth, and
numerous
other awards and accolades.
AzTec Awards honors the National Festival of the West
Each year at the annual AFEA (Arizona Festivals & Events Association) conference the AzTec Awards are presented in a variety of categories for outstanding examples of the best ways festivals are promoted. This year the National Festival of the West was presented with the following awards for the 2001 event:
- Merchandise/pin - Gold
- Community Service - Gold
- Press Kit - Gold
- Poster - Silver
- Event Program - Silver
- Merchandise/T-shirt - Gold
- Sponsor of the Year : Bison Ranch
- Volunteer of the Year : Michael Langley
- AzKicker Award : Nancy Kennedy
1998
Top 100 Events
The National Festival of the 
West
was named one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American
Bus Association and was listed in the ABA's Destinations magazine.
The National Festival of the West was again honored by Events Business News and Special Events Directory. From a field of 38,000 special events in the country, the Festival was named as one of the Top 100 Events in the Country.
1997
Gold APS Az Tec Awards
The National Festival of the West received three awards from the Arizona Festival and Events Association:
- The Gold APS AzTEC Award for Community Service for their extensive education program.
- The Gold Award for their Public Relations Press Kit
- The Silver Trophy for their T-shirt design.
Top 250 Events
In 1996 was named to the Top 250 Events in the country by Special Events Directory and Events Business News, two leading publications in the special event industry. The National Festival of the West was chosen from 38,000 events around the country.
For information on the West National Festival of the West:
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602-996-4387P.O. Box 12966 |