Monday movie nights return to Sedona Library

​As published in the Red Rock News

Good day Red Rock News readers! One of my earliest New Jersey childhood memories is going to the Jersey City Public Library (Five Corners Branch) on Newark Avenue with my mom to check out the “Godzilla” movie starring Raymond Burr. Long before my parents owned a video store, the library was our go-to for movies. How amazing is it that you didn’t have to pay to rent movies; you could visit your local library and check out, not just books, but movies…for free!  

From taking a cartooning class to attending a program on hiking safety, what a magical place the Library is to this community. It is truly the convergence of many different viewpoints, people, and activities. A popular library program at Sedona Public Library is our Monday Movie Nights. We are happy to announce that Monday Movie Nights will return in February.   

Join us in the Community Room Mondays at 6 p.m. where we’ll show a variety of movies including first-runs, and don’t miss cult classics on the second Monday of the month with yours truly. We would love to tell you exactly what we are showing but per the contract we have for our library movie license, we cannot. However, I can say that we are kicking off Monday, February 7th with a movie featuring one of Hollywood’s greatest leading men, Tom Hanks. The movie is an adaptation of the novel of the same name from writer Paulette Jiles which was published in 2016. It’s a sweeping fictional historical tale that garnered a great many accolades and award nominations including Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score.  

On Valentine’s Day, we’ll be presenting a classic romantic comedy featuring Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock. This 1995 film grossed over $182 million at the box office on a budget of $17 million. It’s a romantic “meet-cute” of mistaken identities and misheard confessions of love. Bullock, along with leading man veteran Bill Pullman, best known for his role as Lone Starr in the Mel Brooks’ film “Spaceballs”, share a great  on screen chemistry. I remember watching this movie when it came out, and I look forward to rediscovering it again with my fellow library cinephiles.  

Sedona Public Library will be closed on Monday, February 21st in observance of Presidents’ Day, so no movie, but movies will return on Monday, February 28. Our last Monday movie of the month will be a 2021 documentary on the late American Chef, Anthony Bourdain. Many may know Bourdain from his reality television show “Parts Unknown” that aired on CNN from 2013 until his passing in 2018. The documentary presents a fair and candid portrait of Bourdain both as a celebrity chef and human being. I never had the chance to see the film in theatres so I’m looking forward to seeing it at the Library.  

We’re very excited to bring back Monday Movie Nights to the Library and we hope you are too. Monday Movie Nights information is available at the Library and on our Library events calendar – including titles! Please be sure to visit our Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as sedonalibrary.org, for more information on all the new and upcoming programs and events at the Library. Call us at (928) 282-7714 for more information! 

Monday Movie Nights at the Library are free and open to the public, but your donations are always appreciated. Audience contributions help cover the costs of the program and will enable us to show a larger selection of films. Thank you for your support of this and other programs at Sedona Public Library. Social distancing and masks are highly recommended.  

Sedona Public Library is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your gifts supplement the funding and support we receive from the City of Sedona, Coconino and Yavapai County property taxes, and Friends of the Sedona Library. Visit sedonalibrary.org/donate to make an online gift. Thank you!  
Sedona Public Library  
Column for January 28, 2022  
Written by Jan Marc Quisumbing, Program & Marketing Coordinator