Author: Tommy

Verde Valley News – This week, Manzanita Outreach earned the status of Gold Level Certified Sustainable Business by the Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization. Only four other Verde Valley organizations have this designation, and Manzanita is the only one outside of Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek with this Gold Level status. “Some of what makes Manzanita different is our holistic view of creating food security, which is our primary goal,” said Dave Stabenfeldt, Vice Chair of Manzanita’s Board of Directors. “If we want a more resilient, sustainable, and food-secure region, we’re going to need to support local agriculture.…

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The Gallery Shop at the Sedona Arts Center (SAC) is pleased to announce ceramicist Neil Kennedy as its featured artist for the months of November and December 2023 along with the works from the 19th Annual Sedona Plein Air Festival. Kennedy’s artworks meld a spiritual simplicity with a figurative rhythm and physical energy. His ceramic pieces range from functional thrown forms to coil and slab-built figurative sculptures. Current artworks meld thrown forms, slabs, altering, incising and sculpting. His oeuvre reflects the spiritual energy and the magical natural beauty of Sedona, and his pieces are represented in collections throughout the Southwest, Southern California…

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Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the encore of “The Happy Prince” showing Nov. 3-9 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre in honor of the festival’s 30th anniversary season. “The Happy Prince” — written and directed by Rupert Everett — features an award-winning all-star cast, including Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Emily Watson, Edwin Thomas and Colin Morgan. In a cheap Parisian hotel room, Oscar Wilde lies on his death bed and the past floods back, transporting him to other times and places. Was he once the most famous man in London? The artist crucified by…

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Sedona AZ –Dali Lama says, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” The City of Sedona agrees. Once again, at the suggestion of SedonaKind, the mayor and City Council voted to proclaim November 13 at Sedona Kindness Day. Around the world, people celebrate Kindness Day on November 13th, each year. With encouragement from SedonaKind, our community does the same. Throughout what has become Sedona Kindness Season, members of our community will join together to express gratitude and support each other with acts of kindness. The commitment to kindness will carry everyone through another year, despite the turmoil in the…

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By Tommy Acosta — Sedona, AZ — And so, it begins – the chess game of death. The opening move was the massacre in Israel, setting the stage for the opponent’s move, the bombing of Gaza into rubble and the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops in preparation for the grand invasion. The U.S. moves its pieces onto the chessboard — aircraft carriers, guided missile ships, troops, etc. Tehran, and Russia nudge their pieces into the game with Hezzbolah and other actors ready to play their part. An invasion will be launched. The players engage. The killing begins in…

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… the flowers above are called Red Hot Pokers and they are pretty amazing blooms to view … below is a piece of Blue Chalcedony from Africa that I cut … some very beautiful material, translucent and amazingly clean … it is AAAA grade though, so it should be. Years ago, I was able to buy a kilo of the material when the dealer’s main customer for this grade didn’t buy it all. Sometimes you get lucky! Just a few fan headers to connect to the motherboard and then put the computer case back together and test it. It is…

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Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join theaters around the world for a global theatrical event: “Miracle in East Texas” on Sunday and Monday, Oct. 29 and 30 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. Based on actual accounts, “Miracle in East Texas” is the tale of two aging con-men at the dawn of the Great Depression and the biggest oil strike in the history of the world. Irving Tanner, Jr. (Lou Gossett, Jr.) recounts the 1930 legend. Times are hard, when the unluckiest wildcatter in the world, Dad Everett (John Ratzenberger) teams up with Doc Boyd…

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Sedona News – The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley (JCSVV) received a proclamation from the city of Sedona, on October 11, 2023, proclaiming October 29, 2023 as “Mitzvah Day”, a community-wide day of service, with participation from various local organizations. Mitzvah Day is Sunday, October 29, 2023, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Gathering places are the JCSVV synagogue, at 100 Meadow Lark Drive, Sedona, and the Habitat for Humanity building at 737 S. Main Street in Cottonwood. The first “Mitzvah Day” was instituted by Barbara Litrell (of blessed memory) and current JCSVV Rabbi Alicia Magal in 2007.…

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Sedona News – In the aftermath of Halloween, most of our local spooks and apparitions will be retreating to their lairs to await October next year.  Thanks to the Sedona Renegades Artist Group, however, one coterie of friendly monsters will see their season extended! Specifically, Carol Hildebrand’s exquisite pencil drawings of wondrous, unworldly gargoyles will be in residence during November in the Renegades’ gallery at the Sedona Center for Harmony and Enrichment in Hozho Center. Ms Hildebrand, the group’s guest artist for the month, and the Renegades will be on hand at the venue’s First Friday reception on November 3…

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Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with Chamber Music Sedona for a special encore of “Shine” in celebration of the Chamber Music Season on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. “Shine” was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Geoffrey Rush won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film. As a child piano prodigy, David Helfgott’s (Geoffrey Rush) musical ambitions generate friction with his overbearing father, Peter (Armin Mueller-Stahl). When Helfgott travels to London on a musical scholarship, his career as a…

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… today was a day for computers and to try new techniques in processing and creation of new images … some I like and some … well they’re gone … disassembled and now free-floating bits in the nether world. The rose was shot in one of my neighbor’s yards on a walk-in light rain and the shot below was shot in the wild area behind my home. Thank you to all my neighbors who grow flowers, it is appreciated … I am not so good at it. Busy day coming up so will close with this … have a beautiful…

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Sedona News – Just in time for Halloween: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” — the outrageous cultural phenomenon that has been a hit with movie lovers for nearly four decades — returns to the big screen in Sedona on Friday, Oct. 27. The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the return one-night-only engagement at 7 p.m. at the festival’s Mary D. Fisher Theatre. Feel free to dress in costume — if you wish — and come dance, sing along and do the time warp with other Rocky Horror fans! Relive Richard O’Brien’s sinfully twisted salute to horror, sci-fi,…

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Sedona News – The soul-stirring  “Women of Courage”  choral concert will be performed by the Quad City Interfaith Choir on Saturday November 11, 2:00 PM, at the Church of the Red Rocks, 54 Bowstring Dr, off Rte 179. The Choir’s singers come from several congregations in the Prescott, AZ area, including United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist, Latter Day Saints, Jewish, Presbyterian, and other faith traditions. Admission is free. This program is a gift to our community from Sedona’s Church of the Red Rocks, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and the QC Interfaith Choir.  Freewill offerings will be given to Hope House in…

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Sedona News – The Sedona Symphony (formerly Verde Valley Sinfonietta) presents its second concert of the 2023-2024 season under the direction of Artistic Director, Janna Hymes. The concert features internationally-renowned guest artist Bella Hristova, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 on Sunday, November 19 at 2:30 PM in the Sedona Performing Arts Center, 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Rd. in Sedona. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (Classical), and Schubert’s Symphony No. 3 in D major, D 200 round out the program. Bulgarian-American violinist Bella Hristova has won international acclaim for her…

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Sedona News – Sedona Arts Center today announced that Sedona’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $13,482,061 in economic activity in 2022, according to the newly released Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), an economic and social impact study conducted by Americans for the Arts. That economic activity–$5,854,433 in spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations and $7,627,628 in event-related spending by their audiences supported 230 jobs and generated $3,022,349 in local, state, and federal government revenue. Spending by arts and culture audiences generates valuable commerce to local merchants, a value-add that few other industries can compete with. Building on its 30-year legacy as the largest and most inclusive…

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