Award Winning filmmaker shares the 'reel' heart of Monterey through documentary

As an homage to her family, award winning filmmaker Lauren Zehner Ray created the documentary film "Welcome to Monterey" to give an in-depth, firsthand account of life in small town Monterey. It explores the history and present-day lifestyle of the town, leading up to the 20th annual Labor Day festival "Monterey Days" in 2017. The overarching theme that shadows the film is whether Monterey has a future in today's world, as population is on the decline. The film has been entered into 40 film festivals globally and Ray has received multiple awards for Best Documentary as well as Best First-time Filmmaker. "Welcome to Monterey" documentary DVDs are on sale starting Sept. 1 and can be purchased at welcometomonterey.com/shop and at Monterey Days. If you would like to keep up with Lauren and her journey, you can also follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/laurenzrayvideos or join the newsletter from her website.