Since the students of Sedona Red Rock High School were denied a prom this year as a result of COVID-19, a local organization decided to bring prom to them in a roundabout way.
As part of its second-year anniversary, Sedona XYZ is teaming with the Sedona Airport, a drive-in movie theater company and a loan company to present a night under the stars with a drive-in movie showing of “Footloose.” The movie will be shown on the west ramp of the Sedona Airport on Wednesday, June 10, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The cost is $25 per carload with proceeds being donated to the Sedona Education Foundation to benefit high school seniors in the Class of 2020.
This is a family-friendly event with no alcohol permitted on the premises. Anyone not following guidelines will be asked to leave without refund.
“We felt that as an organization focused on younger generations in Sedona, the best thing we could do was to support our community’s young people in some way,” said Omar Kenney, who is a co-founder of Sedona XYZ. “The Sedona Education Foundation provides scholarship funds to students, so it seemed like a natural fit.”
Sedona XYZ has been holding monthly events for two years with their last event initially scheduled for the week the state and the nation began to shut down.
“We have all been dealing with business changes and hardships, job losses and major shifts in education from those of us who are parents,” said Marci Taylor, the other co-founder of Sedona XYZ.
“We know that Sedona is slowly reopening, and we wanted to find a way to bring community together in a safe, socially-distanced way. We are also a group that supports the next generations in Sedona, so we were particularly moved by our local high school seniors who were not able to have a traditional prom or graduation this year.”
Taylor said social distancing played a big part in choosing to go the drive-in route.
“We are a very diverse group, and everyone has thoughts on how to be socially responsible during these unprecedented times,” she said. “So, we wanted to do something social, but safe.”
As to why they chose to show “Footloose,” Taylor said, “Drive-in movies are about nostalgia, and what better sentimental film to celebrate teen angst and making a change within the parameters you have at the time? Plus, there’s dancing.”
