The judging for the 2025 IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards Competition has taken place and winners have been selected! Excitement is indeed in the air as we get ready to announce exactly who won, on Monday, September 22, 2025 at the IFEA's 70th Anniversary Convention & Expo presented by atVenu in Palm Springs, CA – we most definitely hope to see you there!

Did you win you ask?!? Well, notices to all Pinnacle winners were sent out on August 13, 2025. It was sent directly to the contact names that were listed on the Pinnacle Entry form, so be sure to double check your inboxes for that email from nia@ifea.com. Check your junk mail, your spam folder, make sure nia@ifea.com is not blocked in any way from your account as you don’t want to miss that email!! Exciting news hopefully came your way! (Note: if you did not receive an email or think it may have been lost in cyberspace – just give us a call to double check.)

Of course . . . we can’t tell you what you won . . . or in what category . . . all we can tell you is that you “won something.” Mean of us we know – but we’ve got to keep it hush hush until the big reveal on September 22! At that time – the celebrations will begin!

On the evening of Monday, September 22, 2025 - notifications will be sent to the 2025 IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Award Winners with a link to a website page that will list the complete details of what was won by everyone! Additional information on this page will include links to the 2025 Pinnacle Winner Logo, a Sample Press Release, duplicate plaque ordering information and much more. Notifications will be sent to all the individual contacts that were listed on the entry form for the Pinnacle entries.

For those of you who are eager to get started on your 2026 IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Award entries – we most definitely encourage you to get started today! Just use the 2025 Pinnacle Brochure as your guide for what entries you can submit . . . the official 2026 Entry Brochure will be out by the end of the year. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Nia Hovde, CFEE, Vice President/Director of Marketing & Communications at nia@ifea.com.

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For all entries, each winning festival/event receiving a Gold, Silver or Bronze award is selected from those festivals and events who enter the IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards Competition and are judged on the overall excellence of a festival / event based on the specific criteria and requirements of the specific category(ies) being entered, within each of the four separate budget categories. Festivals / Events recognized as an “IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Award Winner”, are entitled to use that specific language in sharing the news about a Pinnacle win, for the specific category(ies) won. Language declaring a Festival / Event / Parade / Program etc., as the “Best in the World by the IFEA”, is not correct or in line with the nature of the competition and will not be supported or endorsed by the IFEA.

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Haas & Wilkerson Insurance has proudly supported the IFEA and festivals and events industry for three decades. As the title sponsor of the IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards Program, they have helped to raise the quality and standards of excellence for festivals and events around the globe.

With over 80 years of entertainment industry experience behind them, they provide insurance programs designed for each event’s specific needs and have a long list of clients that includes festivals, fairs, parades, carnivals and more. Learn more about them at www.hwins.com.