Dear Sedona Community, I’m reaching out to personally invite you to attend the upcoming City Council meeting on April 28th, where the City will present the results of its survey on the future of the Sedona Cultural Park and amphitheater. Right now, the City is looking at survey data on the Amphitheater. But the numbers don’t tell the full story. People do. What gets decided here has the potential to directly impact our businesses, our employees, and the long term stability of Sedona’s economy. This affects all of us. • • • The reality is, an active amphitheater isn’t about one…
Author: Tommy Acosta
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Sedona, AZ — Theres a new live music venue in town and for sure it’s going to make a big splash here in Cottonwood, Arizona. It’s called BV’s Italian Kitchen Patio, located on the front patio of the Verde Lux Hotel and the music is revving up and getting ready to go, with live music being offered 6 days a week, Monday through Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays. The line up so far incudes some of the best performing musicians in the area, including Sedona. The first show kicked off on Thursday, April 23, with Patrick Ki and Robin Miller, followed…
Sedona, AZ — Minstrels Robin Miller and Patrick Ki will be performing at BV’s Italian Kitchen Patio on Thursday, April 23, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Miller, known throughout Northern Arizona as a quintessential performer, songwriter and entertainer, is a masterful guitarist and seasoned vocalist who enthralls his audience with the beauty of his songs and delivery. He is a recording artist with more than a dozen albums under his belt. He is one of the most respected and loved musicians in Arizona, with decades of performing in the community. He is a virtuoso guitar player playing with numerous bands…
SEDONA, Ariz. – On Thursday, April 30, 2026 from 4 to 6 p.m., at The Hub, located at 525-B Posse Ground Rd., the city of Sedona will host an open house seeking input on city-owned buildings, electric car chargers, solar panels and other projects that will assist the city in its efforts to meet municipal operations carbon neutrality goals. This public input session is part of a planning and design project being completed with Alternative Energy Systems Consulting for each of the projects identified in a municipal decarbonization roadmap that was established as part of the Municipal Sustainability Plan. Attendees…
SEDONA, Ariz. – The city of Sedona will hold a Community Conversation public meeting for residents and local businesses to discuss the needs of families and seniors on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Community Library Sedona, located 3250 White Bear Rd. This Community Conversation is the first meeting in a reoccurring series the city council launched to engage the community on varying themes over the coming months. These meetings aim to increase public participation, build positive relationships, create dialogue with the public on current issues and inform future policy decisions the council makes. “Creating space for real,…
Multiscreen concert film of two massive live shows by John Lennon & Yoko Ono Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join theaters around the world for a global theatrical event: “Power To The People: John & Yoko Live in NYC”, showing April 29 and May 3 at the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres. “Power To The People: John & Yoko Live in NYC” is the 2026 multiscreen concert film of two massive live shows by John Lennon & Yoko Ono at Madison Square Garden, New York City on August 30, 1972, newly restored,…
Sedona, AZ– The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley will honor Rabbi Alicia Magal on May 3, who is celebrating her 20th year anniversary as the synagogue’s spiritual leader. Chairperson of the event, Patricia Eyres, said, “Rabbi Magal’s leadership and vision have shaped religious services, educational and cultural programming, and outreach to Verde Valley communities.” The event will feature a cocktail reception, elegant dinner, musical entertainment, and heartfelt personal tributes. Chairperson Eyres continued, “Rabbi has earned deep respect from congregants, interfaith clergy and colleagues from a variety of civic and religious organizations.” Rabbi Magal, who came to JCSVV in 2006,…
By Amaya Gayle Gregory Sedona, AZ — Radicalization is fascinating to me. The word applies to religions, politics, social norms, personal expression, even our self-talk and the way we respond to one another. It’s an all-purpose term. The more radicalization worms into the mind, gut and heart, the greater the inflexibility is. Radicalization is another word for intolerance, for judgement, for knowing definitively what is right and what is wrong. In some ways, we are all radicalized. Are you? It’s easy to look and see. I am. I am radicalized to love. Now that word love is slippery. What some…
By David Stephen Sedona, AZ — There is a new [April 18, 2026] report on NPR, Trump signs order fast tracking review of psychedelics for mental health disorders, stating that, “President Trump has signed an executive order to make certain psychedelic drugs more available to treat mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety. He directed $50 million in federal funds to make them more accessible, and ordered the Food and Drug Administration to fast track a review of such drugs as psilocybin and ibogaine.” “Next week, the FDA will issue national priority vouchers to three psychedelics, which the agency’s commissioner,…
In a divided Sedona, real leadership means hearing every voice—without being driven by the loudest—and acting for the entire community, including those not in the room. By Bear Howard and Associates Listen to this story HERE: Sedona, Az — First, a story…. The folding chairs in the city hall City Council chambers filled up early that evening. By the time the council meeting started, the back wall was lined with people—arms crossed, papers in hand, some already shaking their heads before anything had been said. On the agenda: a proposal to allow a modest apartment development on the edge of…
By David Stephen There is a recent [April 8, 2026] report on Reuters, IMF, World Bank and UN food agency say war is increasing food prices, insecurity, stating that, “The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the U.N. World Food Programme warned on Wednesday that sharp increases in oil, natural gas and fertilizer prices triggered by the war in the Middle East will inevitably cause rising food prices and food insecurity.” “In a joint statement issued after a meeting on the war, the leaders of the global institutions said the burden would fall most heavily on the world’s most vulnerable populations, particularly…
Sedona, AZ — On April 17th, 2026 the Sedona-Oak Creek Airport Authority (SOCAA) released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of approximately 2.97 acres on the southwest corner of the airport for hangar construction. This milestone development represents a culmination of years of work by SOCAA staff and Board Members to open the Airport Mesa for development. Most recently, the SOCAA Board of Directors approved the acceptance of a loan for $1.67M from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) for the construction of an enhanced fire suppression water system. This system expands the fire-fighting capacity in…
Sedona, AZ — The Arts Academy of Sedona (AAS) invites the community to an inspiring evening of performance and poetry with the next installment of its beloved Friday Night at The Theatre series on Friday, April 17, 2026, from 7:00–8:30 p.m. In celebration of National Poetry Month, this special event—“The Poetry Cabaret: Voices in Bloom”—marks the continuation of AAS’s new monthly Third Friday series, now hosted in its new performance venue, The New Room (Sedona UMC). This cabaret-style evening will feature a dynamic fusion of music, dance, recitation, and drama, bringing together a diverse and talented lineup of local artists.…
In Sedona and the Verde Valley, immigrant labor quietly supports the service economy—even as the national conversation turns them into symbols. By Bear Howard and Associates “When the Noise Finally Fell Away in Sedona” Sedona, AZ–It started, like so many arguments do now, with a phone on a table. Tom slid it across to Daniel at a small coffee shop just off 89A. Outside, a steady line of visitors moved past in hiking shoes and wide-brim hats, maps in hand, cameras ready. It was another busy day in Sedona. It almost always was. “Read this,” Tom said. Daniel leaned in.…
By Sedona.biz Staff — Sedona, AZ — It’s time to take a fresh look at the Western Gateway Sedona Story and the former Cultural Park. Over nearly three decades, the narrative surrounding this property has evolved—and often become distorted. Unless you followed the events closely as they unfolded, it’s easy for today’s understanding to be shaped by partial information, competing arguments, and personal perspectives. What ultimately happens with the property remains uncertain. The future use of the site will depend on decisions still to be made and the economic realities that accompany them. What is clear, however, is that the…