Verde Valley Open Air Cinema to Premier in May

COTTONWOOD, Ariz. - April 16, 2015 - PRLog -- Clarkdale/Cottonwood, AZ – AZ Culture, in partnership with the Town of Clarkdale, Cottonwood Economic Development Council, Old Town Center for the Arts, Old Town Association, Yavapai College and Local First AZ presents the premiere of the Verde Valley Open Air Cinema, a series of free public art projects, movie screenings and live musical entertainment.

The first screening takes place in Clarkdale’s historic Town Park on Saturday, May 9, 2014 at 6:00 PM with music provided by DiVoM – Sticks and Bones/David Vincent Mills. In celebration of National Train Day, it will include a double feature of the silent 1903 Classic, “The Great Train Robbery” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”

Additional screenings and music offerings will be as follows:
1) Saturday, May 16th 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM, “Top Gun” with featured musician, Dan Bresnan Unplugged (Dan Bresnan, Chuck Murcko, Lesli Carroll) at the City of Cottonwood’s Activity Park,
2) Saturday, May 30th 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM, “Somm” with featured musician, John Ziegler, at Yavapai College Verde Campus Mabery Pavilion in conjunction with the Verde Valley Wine Consortium Symposium,
3) Saturday, June 6th 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM “Babe” with featured musician, Rick Cyge, at the City of Cottonwood’s Activity Park, and
4) Saturday, June 20th 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM “Casablanca” with feature musician, Don Whitcher at Town Park in Clarkdale.

Movie concessions will be available for purchase at each screening with sales to support the season as well as future screenings through the newly formed Verde Valley Arts Council. Residents may bring their own food and beverages plus outdoor seating. Please visit the website for information about consuming alcohol.

Made possible by a one-time 2014 state budget allocation through the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Verde Valley Open Air Cinema is part of the Art Tank Grant program, designed to make significant investment in Arizona’s arts programming through artists and arts organization-led partnerships. The screenings are also made possible through the support of the Town of Clarkdale, City of Cottonwood, Yavapai College, Local First AZ, Old Town Cottonwood Association, Old Town Center for the Arts and the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce.

AZ Culture is proud to bring the Verde Valley Open Air Cinema to the Verde Valley and to provide residents with a local movie experience for the first time in over a year.

Updates and additional information are available on the event website: www.verdevalleyopenaircinema.com or by calling Juliana Brutsche at 602-882-5196. “Partnerships between arts and non-arts organizations can be effective drivers of economic development, cultural tourism, civic pride, neighborhood revitalization, and youth engagement,” says Arts Commission Executive Director Robert Booker. “An investment in such partnerships is really an investment in the whole community.”

About AZ Culture
AZ Culture is a full service event company and arts and culture clearinghouse, specializing in cultural tourism and Creative Placemaking. We bring together, ARTISTS and AUDIENCES . . . PERFORMERS and FANS . . .EVENTS and VENUES, and we provide a platform for information exchange and self-promotion within the Arizona cultural community, both online and off. See more at: www.azculture.com.