September 8, Verde Valley Wood Carvers Sedona, AZ — If you have a piece of wood and a wood carving knife, come to “Monday at the Museum” at Sedona Heritage Museum on Monday, September 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and join the Verde Valley Woodcarvers. Hundreds of people have tried their hand at carving with this group since its founding in 1997 by Norm Knight. The group consists of carvers ranging from beginners to master carvers. Come by with your own equipment or just come to watch these artisans do relief carving, chip carving, and bark carving. There…
Author: Tommy Acosta
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Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF), now in its 32nd year, is thrilled to invite submissions for its highly regarded Screenplay Competition. Writers are encouraged to submit original work in one of three categories: Feature Screenplays, Short Screenplays, and One-Hour or ½-Hour TV Pilots. The regular deadline for entries is September 30, 2025, with an extended deadline of November 30, 2025. The festival will take place in Sedona, Arizona, from February 21–March 1, 2026. Winners will receive an impressive prize package that may include: VIP Passes to the Festival Hotel accommodations A live table read by professional…
Festival partners with The Wilde Resort & Spa for “Wilde Wednesdays” outdoor films Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is partnering with The Wilde Resort in West Sedona to present its “Movies on the Move” outdoor film experience — “Wilde Wednesdays” Cinema Under the Stars — every Wednesday in the summer season! Join us on Wednesday, Aug. 27 as we present “A Complete Unknown” in The Grove Fire Pit Garden at The Wilde Resort and Spa. “A Complete Unknown” was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Lead Actor for Timothée Chalamet, Best Supporting Actor…
Sedona, AZ — The Sedona Heritage Museum will host another round of their popular annual local history tours, on September 24-27, visiting historic sites, homesteads, and buildings along the Red Rock Loop Road. “Red Rock” was the original name for the area around the base of Cathedral Rock long before anyone ever heard of the name “Sedona.” Sedona Heritage Museum historians will share stories of early settlers, wine history, homesteading, irrigation and water rights, and so much more. Tour participants will learn about the origins of Red Rock State Park and the House of Apache Fire within the park, built…
Yavapai County, AZ – MATFORCE, a primary prevention organization with the goal of supporting treatment and recovery of substance use disorders, invites you to attend the annual Prescott Recovery Celebration in observance of Recovery Month. Join MATFORCE, Oxford House, DecisionPoint, and Wolf Creek Recovery at the annual Recovery Celebration on Saturday, September 6th, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. This year’s event will be held at A.C. Williams Granite Creek Park Ramada, located at 554 N 6th Street in Prescott, AZ. Recovery Month aims to raise awareness that individuals can and do recover from substance use disorders. It encourages those in…
By Tommy Acosta — Sedona, AZ — Sometimes we get caught up in life and find ourselves burning the candle on both ends and sometimes even the middle too. There are things we can do to avoid burning out when stress takes over our lives, like tap out, get a massage, a beaty treatment, a facial, energy treatments and exercise. Recently, I found myself in that position from taking on way too many tasks at one time and it was suggested to me that I should get an NAD + Infusion Treatment at NAMTI Spa in West Sedona. NAD+ IV…
— Artist-in-Residence for 2025 — will perform live on Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. Sedona, AZ — The Mary D. Fisher Theatre is thrilled to announce that internationally renowned guitarist Esteban Esteban and his acclaimed band will perform live at the theatre every third Saturday of the month throughout the year, bringing a regular series of world-class performances to Sedona’s premier venue for arts and culture. Known for his passionate blend of classical and flamenco-inspired guitar, Esteban has captivated audiences around the world with his extraordinary technique and deeply emotional performances. A student of the legendary Andrés Segovia, Esteban…
By Joseph Rittenhouse Sedona, AZ — The tears will flow like a river from the eyes of the Gaza City residents about to be torn from their homes by the coming Israeli onslaught. The job must be finished according to Israel’s leadership, and not until every single Hamas member is wiped out or driven out will the effort to destroy them end. What makes it even more poignant, ironic, is that the mop-up begins on October 7 in Gaza City, the same date as the cowardly October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas that took the lives of thousands of Israelis…
Here is a beautiful poem by Amaya Gregory exploring the meaning and many guises of “Love.” Which part of this poem has a special meaning to you and the loves you may have experienced in your lifetime? Read on… Is It Love is it love or is it tolerance does love stand by as its beloveds are berated does it have a sense of forbearance a squeal of magnanimity does it wait patiently as targets are put on the backs of the undesirables as those who are different are twisted into cannon fodder for hate does it watch silently as…
Sedona, AZ & Jasło, Poland — A unique international photography exhibition “Sedona Through the Lens”, that explores the breathtaking landscapes and vibrant cultural heritage of Sedona, will debut in Poland this summer as part of the expanding Jasło–Sedona Sister Cities friendship. The project was proposed by Edyta Wieczorek, Chair of the Jasło Sister Cities Committee, and curated by Linda Goldenstein, longtime Sedona arts advocate, as a creative way to promote mutual understanding and artistic connection between the two communities. The first exhibition will be held August 24–31, 2025, in Jasło’s Main Square, where twenty striking images will be presented in…
Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) has released its 2030 Strategic Plan to guide the organization’s work. NAH created this set of goals and priorities after nearly two years of listening to more than 4,000 people in the region, including community members, patients, colleagues and providers, to understand the region’s needs. The listening sessions were incredibly useful, as consistent themes emerged from all of the people with whom we connected. We shared those themes with the NAH Board of Directors, which spent months revising the themes into a set of strategic imperatives to guide our work. From 2025 to 2030, NAH will: 1) Put…
Sedona, AZ — The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadowlark Drive off Route 179 in Sedona, is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. The JCSVV offers soul-enriching services, programs, and classes, all listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Office telephone: 928 204-1286. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. Those who cannot attend in person can access the service through zoom. Rabbi Magal will lead Friday evening services on August 15 which will begin at 5:30…
By David Stephen — The theme for the [August, 9] 2025 International Day of the World’s Indigenous People was Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures. On July 29, 2025, OpenAI introduced study mode. A new way to learn in ChatGPT that offers step by step guidance instead of quick answers. Google [August 6, 2025] is providing $1 billion to support AI education and job training programs and research in the U.S. Why is it unlikely for an individual to know everything about an area of medicine in 2 weeks? Just the knowledge, without practical, as much as a resident, in that timeframe? Assuming…
Five Reasons to Love Sedona’s Summer “Ghost Town” Vibe By Tommy Acosta — Everyone is wondering what the heck has happened to our tourists and visitors this summer season. Some are saying this has been the lowest tourist season in recent memory. Streets are empty. Parking lots are vacant. Restaurants and lodging are down by 40 points or more. Uptown is a ghost town. Some say it’s because of the heat. Others blame the instability in the world; airplanes crashing into each other, the mass shootings almost every day. People being attacked and beat up by gangs of young thugs…
By Bear Howard — Part one: The Deportation Fantasy: Why America Can’t Arrest Its Way Out of Immigration Sedona, AZ — In 2025, the United States stands on the cusp of one of the most ambitious—and in many ways absurd—law enforcement undertakings in its modern history. The stated goal of some in power is simple in theory, yet staggering in practice: to identify, arrest, detain, adjudicate, and deport millions of undocumented immigrants already living and working in the country. On the surface, it’s pitched as a clean, decisive solution—a single sweep of the broom to “restore order.” But beneath that…