A Little Hardware,
a Lot of Heart

TOT3’s first festival awards celebrated everything from late nights to lifting others up.

New this year, Trails of Tales added a few awards with a personality all their own. Director of Media and Creative Alex Kucera earned the Forrest Gump Award for being constantly on the run throughout the festival. Grand Island, Nebraska's Anthony Segovia took home the Todd Kieffer Pumpkin Award for staying out well past his bedtime.

Alongside the laughs were two honors selected before the festival. Savanna Chestnut received the Rising Tide Award for founding the Heartland Music Awards, celebrating independent talent and the community supporting it. With nominees and winners chosen by fellow artists, the inaugural ceremony takes place November 8, 2026, at the Granada Theater in Emporia, Kansas. Her work reflects the award's spirit: helping others rise alongside her.

Red Cloud, Nebraska's Agustus Schriner received the Trailblazer Award, recognizing his career growth over the past year and the work behind that progress.

Young guns Nolan Leonard and Shane Parde earned Surprise Duo of the Week for their “Off the Trails” performances. Leonard, a country singer-songwriter from southwest Iowa, teamed up with nine-year-old Parde of Adams, Nebraska, who wowed listeners with John Denver's “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and selections from Waylon Jennings.