“This is a big coup for Sedona and for anyone who is a Marge Champion and ‘Showboat’ fan,” said Patrick Schweiss, festival director. “To get to experience this film the way it was meant to be seen — on the big screen — and then get to meet Ms. Champion herself and enjoy a Q&A with classic movie master Robert Osborne goes beyond description. It is Hollywood movie magic at its finest … live, right here in Sedona!”

Riverboat entertainers find love, laughs and hardships as they sail along on the Cotton Blossom riverboat in “Showboat”, which was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Musical Score and Best Cinematography. Ms. Champion stars as Ellie May Shipley in the classic, lavish musical.

From novel to Broadway smash to three film versions to stage revivals, like “Old Man River”, “Showboat” just keeps rolling along. Produced by Arthur Freed and directed by George Sidney, this 1951 version of the saga of riverboat lives and loves has glorious stars (Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Marge and Gower Champion) in Technicolor radiance. A made-from-scratch 170-foot paddle wheeler, timeless songs, extravagant dance numbers and an equally timeless outcry against racial bigotry, “Showboat” has stood the test of time and remains one of film’s — and Broadway’s — most beloved musical extravaganzas.

The Cotton Blossom, owned by the Hawk family, is the show boat where everyone comes for great musical entertainment down south. Julie Laverne and her husband are the stars of the show. After a snitch on board calls the local police about Julie (who’s half- African-American) being married to a white man, they are forced to leave the show boat because down South interracial marriages are forbidden. Magnolia Hawk becomes the new show boat attraction and her leading man is Gaylord Ravenal, a gambler. The two instantly fall in love and marry. Magnolia and Gaylord leave the Cotton Blossom for a whirl-wind honeymoon and begin to live in a fantasy world. Magnolia soon faces reality quickly, that gambling means more to Gaylord than anything else. Magnolia confronts Gaylord and after he gambles away their fortune he leaves her — not knowing she is pregnant. Magnolia is left penniless and pregnant, and is left to fend for herself, and make a new start. Two of her friends — dancers Ellie May Shipley and Frank Schultz (Marge and Gower Champion), take her to audition for stage manager Jake Green and help turn her life around.

A celebrated dancer, actress, and choreographer of stage, screen and TV, Marge Champion, together with her then-husband and partner Gower Champion, excelled at the “story dance”, a combination of dance and pantomime, which they performed to great renown on Broadway, in several films, and on television. Ms. Champion was a human figure model for the heroine of Disney’s animated “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937), and later modeled for the blue fairy in “Pinocchio” (1940). She made her film debut in “The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle” (1939) and went on to star in dozens of films, television shows and Broadway musicals. In 1975, Ms. Champion won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography for creating the dances for the celebrated TV-movie “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom”.

Ms. Champion, who turns 91 just days before her Sedona appearance, is still dancing daily and is featured in the short film “Keep Dancing” which will play before both screenings of “Showboat”. After celebrated careers, legendary dancers Ms. Champion and Donald Saddler became friends while performing together in the Broadway Show Follies (2001). When the show closed, they decided to rent a private studio together where they have been choreographing and rehearsing original dances ever since. At 90+ years old, they continue to pursue their passion for life through their love and mastery of dance. “Keep Dancing” seamlessly blends 9 decades of archival film and photographs with present day footage to tell a story through dance of the passing of time and the process of aging.

“Keep Dancing” director, Greg Vander Veer, will join Ms. Champion and Mr. Osborne for the Q&A discussions.

The title sponsor of this special event is L’Auberge de Sedona Resort. Additional support is provided by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Sedona and the Sedona Community Foundation.

“Showboat” will be shown at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 3:30 and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $12 each or $9 for Film Sedona members. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 1785 W. Hwy. 89A, Suite 2B, or by calling 282-1177.

For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com.

The two-day wine festival, which celebrates the wine growing industry of Arizona, particularly the wineries in the Verde Valley, is being sponsored by Sedona Airport as a community service. The Sedona Winefest will feature great wines from 13 Arizona wineries. The entry fee of $12.00 will include an 18-ounce commemorative Winefest glass and 6 tasting tickets. Additional tasting tickets will also be available, and attendees will have the opportunity to purchase wine by the case, bottle and by the glass from participating wineries.

Patrons will delight in tasting wines from Freitas Vineyard, Javelina Leap, Caduceus Cellars, Merkin Vineyards, Jerome Winery, Bitter Creek Winery, Page Springs Cellars, Arizona Stronghold, Alcantara, Pillsbury Wine Co., Oak Creek Vineyards, Juniper Well Ranch Vineyards, & Carlson Creek Vineyard. The popular wine lovers magazine, Arizona Vines & Wines, will be on hand as well as an olive oil tasting booth and several vendors to enhance your wine experience. There will be a raffle both days, including prizes from participating wineries and local restaurants.

The Sedona Arts Center will be also host an adjacent pavilion with their “Artists in Action” program – where over a dozen artists who are also instructors at the art center demonstrate their artistic skills, Visitors will be able to join in and get on the pottery wheel to see if they can create a masterpiece.

The Sedona Winefest pavilion will include a food court with a variety of menu items and snacks throughout the day. Food providers for 2010 are Dahl and DiLuca and the Grille at ShadowRock at the Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa. There will be an area for patrons to sit, sip wine and enjoy food and live music. Scheduled on Saturday is Steve Douglas’ gypsy jazz trio, ZAZU, and on Sunday, patrons will enjoy the popular trio Soundscape Sedona, featuring Susannah Martin.

Families take note: On Saturday, September 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. the airport will also host the annual airport open house and fly-in and the classic car show. Included in this wonderful family event will be the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor aircraft which is only one of 5 such aircraft still flying in the world. Rides on the Tri-Motor will be offered for $60 a person. Other aircraft, including 4 brand new, state of the art airplanes representing the best of American aircraft manufacturers will be on display. The Sedona Car Club will once again host their competitive 100+ car show with car buffs from around the state
completing for prizes for best of show. This event ends on Saturday, Sept 25 at 2 p.m. The Sedona Winefest is both days, Saturday September 25 from 11 AM to 6 PM and Sunday September 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Sandy at sandy@sedonawinefest.com or visit www.sedonawinefest.com

For more information about Fiesta, performance times and other events visit www.tlaq.com, or call 928.282.4838

Experience Native American culture and learn about some of the artistry and talents of the Cultural Demonstration Program:

August 7-8, 2010: At SUNSET CRATER VOLCANO – Ruby Chimerica will be at the Sunset Crater Volcano Visitor Center demonstrating Hopi Basket Weaving from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM

August 14-15, 2010: AT WALNUT CANYON – Stephanie Lomatewama will be at the Walnut Canyon Visitor Center demonstrating Hopi Pottery from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Wupatki, Walnut Canyon and Sunset Crater Volcano remain very sacred and integral to many tribes. Today, Native American artisans continue centuries-long traditions. They are part of a long continuum, using technical skills and knowledge of natural materials that have been passed down over many generations. The symbolism and tradition in Native American art forms link each unique handmade piece to other parts of traditional life, past and present.

Funding for this program is provided by the Western National Parks Association in support of visitor education and interpretive activities.

For more information about Sunset Crater Volcano, please call (928) 526-0502 or visit www.nps.gov/sucr

For more information about Walnut Canyon, please call (928) 526-3367 or visit www.nps.gov/waca

The playful mix of colors, media, and styles shown in the exhibit will engage your senses and remind you of the joyful, lazy days of childhood summers. Featured artists are: Gale Craig (Mixed-media), Sue Hunter (Pastels), V. Norton (Calligraphy & Ceramics), and Norma Cox Miller (Mixed-Media).

Norma Cox Miller working

The exhibit is lovingly dedicated to Norma Cox Miller who died expectedly on July 22.  Her spirit, her talent, her passion for art, and her love of life will always be part of the Sedona Arts Community.  She will be missed!  The Friday night reception will be a celebration of her life and her art as we showcase her newest and final works together with the works of the other featured artists. Please, join us to bid her farewell in the way that she would have wanted.

Norma Cox Miller grew up on a small farm in Kentucky. Her memories of the sunlight and shadows, the small stream near her home and the changing colors of the leaves, season by season, influenced her paintings throughout her life.  She did not have the opportunity to formally study art until she entered Morehead State University where she learned the basics, which was only the beginning.  An avid life-long art student, with an insatiable appetite for learning and improving her skill, she was always seeking more and studied with many well-known artists such as Edward Betts, Charles Reid, Gerald Brommer and Virginia.

When she was no longer as challenged by landscape painting, she turned to abstraction.  At first she used landscape elements in her work, and slowly began to paint completely non-objective abstractions, reverting occasionally to semi-abstraction. She preferred stretched canvas or watercolor paper using acrylic paint and various collage and texturing materials to add variety and interest to her pieces. She began showing in juried exhibitions in 1970 and has received numerous awards for her work in acrylic and mixed-media.

“NEPTUNE'S DANCE” by Gail Craig

Gale Craig is both a painter and designer of one-of-a-kind jewelry. Gale paints primarily in oils, acrylics and encaustics, a 2,000 year old process which uses heat to fuse layer upon layer of pigmented beeswax and damar resin. The wax delivers color in a way no other medium can, producing magnificent translucent effects.

The first thing that strikes you when you look at Gale’s vibrant, colorful abstract paintings is that she paints from the heart. Her remarkable use of color reflects her passion for the mystical and healing arts. However, what is truly unique about Gale’s style is that you can feel the essence of spiritual energy in everything she paints.

She states, “I see in the Universe a mystical world of flowing energies. My visions are inspired by the colors and movement of the energies I see within and around an object. It is the beauty and vibrancy of this universal energy that I try to capture in my paintings.”

Sue Hunter was born in Arkansas but has lived in Arizona since 1960 and thinks of Arizona as home.  The lovely desert colors, wide open spaces, and diverse landscapes of the southwest provide her with endless subject matter for her paintings. She works in pastel, oils, watercolor and acrylics.  Her subjects include landscapes, still life, figures and animals.  She is known for her paintings of roosters.

Color is an important aspect of Sue’s art which is reflected in her impressionistic style.  “I try to put into my paintings the emotions I feel using color, light and shadow effects to create design.”

Sue graduated from Western International University and has studied art at Scottsdale Artists School, Scottsdale Community College, with local art instructors and has attended numerous workshops locally and in Europe. She is a consistent award winner in juried exhibits and her work is included in many private and public collections.

V. Norton (Victoria) is a dual artist – ceramicist and calligrapher. She has been a resident of Sedona for 25 years, and works in a studio overlooking the beautiful red rocks. Her inspiration comes from the exquisite landscapes, animals, and people around her.

Sue has traveled extensively in North and South America, Europe, and Africa, which has influenced her amazing masks and has impacted the artistic path which she is currently following. She takes the realistic and interprets it in abstract forms and designs, using the clay as her canvas. This occurs both with her sculptural and figurative pieces.

Her calligraphy has been another 30-year adventure.  Sue was a teacher at the Arts Center for fourteen years, dating back to the time when the studio was downstairs in the Art barn. From there, she became an adjunct faculty member at NAU for five years. Now her focus is on original commissions: evolving a series of calligraphy cards, and most recently, getting back into creating one of a kind, hand bound books.

The Sedona Arts Center is located at the corner of 15 Art Barn Rd. and State Rte 89A in Uptown Sedona – on the right just before entering Oak Creek Canyon. For more information about the Poets Corner or the Sedona Arts Center please call 928.282.3865. The evening event is free of charge and open to all who would like to attend.

Dykinga blends large format landscape art photography with documentary photojournalism.  He is a regular contributor to Arizona Highways and National Geographic Magazines.  He is the author of nine wilderness advocacy, large format books.  Jack Dykinga’s ARIZONA, released in 2004 from Westcliffe Publishers, a compellation of Jack’s best Arizona images and: IMAGES:  Jack Dykinga’s Grand Canyon released by Arizona Highways, May 2008, reflect Jack’s love for Arizona.

His fine art images were featured along with the work of Ansel Adams in an Arizona Highways Magazine retrospective shown at the Phoenix Art Museum, The Center for Creative Photography, and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

In April 2010, Jack’s image: “Stone Canyon” was selected as one of the forty best Nature Photographs of all time by the International League of Conservation Photographers and he received: The 2011 Outstanding Photographer of the Year Award from the Nature Photographers of North America. His illustration of the wilderness lands of Native American Tribes is featured in the August 2010 National Geographic.

His work is driven by his passionate advocacy for preservation of the natural world.  Currently, he serves on the board of The Sonoran National Park Project in an effort to create a new Bi-National Park on the Arizona/Sonora, Mexico border.

In April, 2007, Jack and four other photographers: Thomas Mangelsen, U.S.A.; Patricio Robles Gil, Mexico; Fulvio Eccardi, Italy & Mexico; and Florien Schultz from Germany, became the first ever R.A.V.E. (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) for the International League of Conservation Photographers, to document the El Triunfo Cloud forest in Chiapas, Mexico, drawing attention to the threatened habitat there.

Since then, Jack has donated his talents to iLPC’s RAVEs in
Balandra 2007, Baja Sur, Mexico, the Yucatan 2009, Yucatan, Mexico, the U.S./ Mexico Borderlands 2009 Project as well as the 2010 Patagonia, Chile RAVE. In each case, Jack and teams of celebrated photographers from all over the world pooled their collective talents to highlight environmental degradation.

An evening with Jack Dykinga takes place from 6-7:30pm on Saturday July 25th at the Sedona Creative Life Center.  The cost for the evening is $45 and includes a reception following the event at Sedona Art Center from 7:45-8:45pm catered by Dahl and Di Luca.  For more information or to purchase tickets to “An Evening with Jack Dykinga” please go to www.sedonaphotofest.com or call Sedona Art Center at 928.282.3809.

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “Cinema Under the Stars” at Tequa featuring the exclusive Arizona premiere of the sophisticated, moving and offbeat comedy “The Extra Man” on Friday, July 16.  There will be one screening of the film outdoors at the Tequa Marketplace courtyard in the Village of Oak Creek.

A live concert performance by Meadowlark — the duo of Rick Cyge and Lynn Trombetta — will kick off the evening at 7 p.m. Come early, bring lawn chairs and blankets … and enjoy the sounds of these renowned performers! The film will follow the concert at approximately 8 p.m.

“Just like last month, this promises to be an extraordinary night of music, film and fun as we celebrate summer with the second of our ‘cinema under the stars’ events,” said festival director Patrick Schweiss. “Where else can you experience an incredible concert and an award-winning film under the beautiful Sedona night skies?”

The Sedona premiere of “The Extra Man” marks the film’s debut two weeks before it’s U.S. theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles. The comedy features a stellar ensemble cast led by Academy Award and Tony Award winner Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, Katie Holmes and Academy Award and multi Golden Globe nominee John C. Reilly.

A sophisticated and moving comedy, “The Extra Man” follows Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.  When a deeply embarrassing incident forces him to leave his job at an exclusive Princeton prep school, Louis heads to New York City to make a fresh start.

He quickly finds a nine-to-five job at an environmental magazine, where he encounters an entrancing, green-obsessed co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes). But it’s Louis’ new home life that really sparks his imagination. He rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a penniless, wildly eccentric but brilliant playwright.  When Henry’s not dancing alone to obscure music or singing operettas, he’s performing — with great panache — the duties of an “extra man”, a social escort for the wealthy widows of Manhattan high society.

These two men, separated in age by more than forty years, develop a volatile mentor/apprentice relationship. Through a series of urban adventures where they encounter everything from a leaping lion to a wildly jealous hirsute neighbor, from drunken nonagenarians to a shady Swiss hunchback, Louis and Henry form a memorable bond that bridges their differences.

“Anyone who has lived in New York City has met someone like Henry Harrison,” said writer Jonathan Ames, who penned the novel that the film is based on as well as co-wrote the screenplay. “Impossibly charming and sophisticated, despite having no fixed income or easily discernible job, Henry is the kind of person who knows how to get into the opera for free, wangle invites to the poshest of parties, and winter in Florida with the jet-set. In other words, he’s just the kind of mentor that shy, passionate, would-be writer Louis Ives needs when he moves to Manhattan to pursue his literary dreams.”

The mentor-protégé relationship between Henry and Louis is at the heart of “The Extra Man”, brought to the big screen by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, the Oscar-nominated team who directed the indie hit “American Splendor”.  The New York Times raves that “The Extra Man” is “hands down Kevin Kline’s funniest role in years.”

Food and beverages will be available for purchase from the Tequa Marketplace restaurants. In addition, movie snacks and concessions will be available to benefit the Sedona Boy Scout Troop 48. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and beach towels.

The title sponsors for the event are Tequa Marketplace and the Verde Valley Caregivers Coalition. The series is also made possible by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Sedona and the Sedona Community Foundation.

“The Extra Man” will be shown outdoors at Tequa Marketplace in “Cinema Under the Stars” on Friday, July 16 at 8:00 p.m., with a pre-film concert beginning at 7:00 p.m. This event will go on rain or shine! In case of monsoon rains or bad weather, the event will be held in the Hilton Sedona Resort Ballroom, adjacent to Tequa Marketplace.

Tickets are $12 or $9 for Film Sedona members, and will be available starting at Tequa beginning at 6 p.m. that evening. Cash or checks only. Film Sedona members can purchase tickets in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 1785 W. Hwy. 89A, Suite 2B, or by calling 282-1177. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com.

This weekend, Tlaquepaque will host a sizzlin’ summer bash to celebrate and honor Independence Day. The event will feature music from a Dixie Land band, the Geritol Hipsters, and a bit of jazz and country from the Cat Black Band. The music will surely have you dancing on your feet all afternoon.

For the kids, there will be face painting, potato sack racing and a pie eating contest for kids of all ages… So join the fun – relax, feast and shop at Tlaquepaque!

The event is free!

The festivities take place on Saturday, July 3, at the beautiful Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village in Sedona, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 928.282.4838 or click here for further information.

Rodeo cowboy storytelling starts the day, along with Hopi Elder Fakina Bluestar storytelling and dances. Listen to Brian Denali tell Native American stories interwoven with flute playing. Cowboy poet Mike Peach will perform at Oak Creek Marketplace during the day. Western trades people will demonstrate their skills at Sinagua Plaza all day.

Gunfights, whip crackin’ and ropin’ start at High Noon as part of live performances ’til 5 pm in front of Red Rock Western Jeep Tours! There will be gunfights in the fast moving action and drama from local cowboys & gals, too! Historical re-enactments by Boots & Bustles of Prescott will take place from noon – 4pm.  You can try your hand at roping a steer (the stationary kind!) and get a tip or two from the cowboys giving roping demonstrations. Take a picture with Babe, The Giant Horse, and try a pony ride. For more information please call: 928-204-2390.

Photography Enthusiasts, Students, Educators, Emerging Pros:
Come to Sedona for an Eight Day Celebration of Southwest Photography Amidst the Stunning Red Rock Country of Sedona

Sedona PhotoFest 2010 brings together Pulitzer-winning photographer Jack Dykinga, “Sedona Masters,” six competing “Apprentice Photographers” juried from Arizona high schools, and the public for three days of field photography in Sedona. The highlight of Sedona PhotoFest 2010 is our 3-Day Symposium including keynote talks, workshop presentations and panel discussions. Two fine art landscape gallery exhibitions along with special evening events make this week ideal for photographers, educators, students, families and art buyers worldwide to celebrate Southwest photography’s contribution to the fine arts.

This inaugural year brings photographers an incredible chance to see Sedona, hone skills and learn in a unique and intimate setting at the beautiful Creative Life Center in Sedona. If you’ve been to other photography conferences and seminars, you’ll find Sedona PhotoFest offers you an excellent program while keeping it affordable.

PhotoFest’s “Master Photographer-in-Residence,” Jack Dykinga, blends landscape photography with documentary photojournalism. His landscape art photography, magazine contributions, and nine wilderness advocacy, large format books are world-renowned. He is a captivating public speaker whose work is driven by his passionate advocacy for preservation of the natural world. He is a regular contributor to Arizona Highways and National Geographic.

For more information, call the Sedona Arts Center at 928.282.3809 or visit sedonaphotofest.com