As some of you know, I am one of the organizers of Dylan Days, an annual event celebrating Hibbing’s own Bob Dylan and the arts community of northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. This week we’re releasing the results of the Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest.

The contest takes on even deeper meaning this year in the aftermath of Bob Dylan’s special citation Pulitzer Prize for 2008. On Monday, Jeff Warner of the Hibbing Daily Tribune wrote a story about local reaction to Dylan’s Pulitzer. The theme I see emerging as I prepare materials for this year’s event is that Bob Dylan is much more than just a rock ‘n’ roll star and Hibbing is much more than just a small town.

Dylan Days 2008 will celebrate Dylan’s prize, but also some terrific up and coming artists, writers and musicians who are competing for prizes at this year’s event. It’s a pretty good time to experience the Iron Range. Come on up May 22-25 in Hibbing.