Join expert archivists who work in the entertainment industry in celebrating the 14th annual International Home Movie Day on Saturday, Oct. 15, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Valencia Public Library.

Home Movie Day returns to the Santa Clarita Valley with a renewed focus on local “home grown history.”  Home movies are the most organic form of physical evidence we have about how we lived, our families, lives and traditions.

Previous SCV Home Movie Days revealed amazing footage of our valley prior to suburban sprawl. Home movies are a time machine that captured personal close-up looks of how we lived, the landscape and architecture, our community events and celebrations from the past.

If you are lucky enough to have home movies shot on film between 1932 and 1985, here is an opportunity to learn the best way to preserve the originals for future generations and to bring them into your digital life for sharing.

Home Movie Day is free and open to the public. It’s a great event for families. Door prizes will include a chance to win a free digital scan of your home movies from Pro8mm.  Included with the screening is a “film clinic” for assessing the condition of older films, information about how to care for family films and videos, and — best of all — continuous screenings of home movies brought by participants.

All Home Movie Day participants are encouraged to bring one or more reels of 8mm, Super8, or 16mm home movies of any vintage to the event. All films will be inspected and projected on a first-come, first-served basis. Damaged films will not be screened, but preservation specialists will offer expert advice on caring for at-risk materials.

No films of your own? Just come and watch the show.

The Santa Clarita event is being hosted by SCV residents Rhonda and Phil Vigeant, owners of Pro8mm in Burbank.  Rhonda is author of the book, “Get Reel About Your Home Movie Legacy Before It’s Too Late” and is a regular participant in the SCV Local Authors event.  Her podcast, The Home Movie Legacy Project, is filled with advice, tips and amazing stories of what has been discovered on family reels.  Phil has scanned millions of feet of archival footage for the entertainment industry, documentaries and major motion pictures, including the personal archives of many of the world’s most famous faces. His knowledge about scanning options for film will be a wealth of knowledge for the attendees.

Home Movie Day began in 2003 when a small group of film archivists decided to go beyond traditional preservation methods to try and save the countless reels of home movies shot on film during the 20^th Century. The first Home Movie Day was an unexpected success, with more than two dozen cities in four countries participating.  Home movies on 8mm, Super8, and 16mm film offer a unique “you are here” view of decades past, often in gorgeous living color, and are an important part of personal, community and cultural history.

This annual event is sponsored by The Center For Home Movies, which holds events worldwide during the fall.

For more info on Home Movie Day’s local venues worldwide go to  www.homemovieday.com.

Don’t throw your films away — take them to Home Movie Day.

For more information on the SCV event or preserving your family archive, email Rhonda@pro8mm.com