GALLERY: Kevin Costner Visits Western Spirit in Scottsdale

In case you missed it, one of the coolest events of 2025 thus far has had to have been the Western Spirit Award Gala featuring none other than Academy Award Winning Actor Kevin Costner! This special evening at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West included dinner, a silent/live auction and a Q&A with the actor who the Museum was honoring with their first-ever Western Spirit Award.

“Kevin Costner’s passion for the West both personally and professionally truly exemplifies the mission of the Museum and its reverence for the spirit, stories and artifacts that embody this time period in American history,” said Todd Bankofier, CEO of Western Spirit. “We were thrilled to be able to honor him for his impressive career which has so eloquently encapsulated the Old West.”

The sold out event also included a VIP “Meet and Greet” with Costner for sponsors only, dinner by M Culinary, a standing-room-only Garden Party by Creative Hands Cuisine including featured spirits by LIQUID Caterers, Bourbon & Bones and One Handsome Bastard, and a silent and live auction for guests hosted by Auctioneer Kelee Lee Walton in support of the museum and its mission to preserve the rich history of the West.

A painting of Kevin Costner (pictured right), titled Spirit of the West, by the French-American painter Mark Maggiori, who is famous for his depictions of the American West was among the most favored items in the live auction, which sold for a whopping $35,000!

Check out photos from the evening below (taken by Marion Rhoades Photography, Stacey Voss, Geoff Reed, Bob Rink and Karen Hamilton) and for more information on Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, visit www.westernspirit.org.