Dylan Days opens tomorrow and runs through Sunday in Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota. For those who don’t remember, I am one of the organizers of Dylan Days. I use this blog, perhaps inappropriately, to promote the event to the strange collection of political operatives, computer-owning Iron Rangers and Google searchers looking for articles about moonshine and iron mining.
Dylan Days is at its core an arts event. We celebrate Bob Dylan, who was born in Duluth and grew up in Hibbing. But our group has come to recognize an even higher purpose. We seek to celebrate the achievements and possibility of the arts community on the Iron Range. I talk about the Range a lot, in my columns, commentary and upcoming book. To me, the Range is a deeply interesting place to live life. Not perfect, but complex and full of all the literary elements you’d ever need.
So Dylan Days this year celebrates the connection between the legend of Bob Dylan and the reality of the Iron Range that deeply influenced the young Bobby Zimmerman. Ironworld in nearby Chisholm opens “Tangled Up in Ore: Bob Dylan and the Iron Range” on Thursday to kick of Dylan Days. (I’ll be hob-nobbing at the VIP preview tonight). This home-grown exhibit, built in partnership between the professional staff at Ironworld and Dylan Days, will explore that connection and show you a side of Dylan’s background you’ve never seen. The exhibit remains open throughout Dylan Days and most of the summer, with additional programming throughout the peak tourism season.
Friday brings the keystone event of Dylan Days, the singer/songwriter contest at Zimmy’s in downtown Hibbing. Twenty-four people are signed up to sing one Dylan song and one original song. The winner opens the Saturday contest and gets other prizes as well. Also Friday are the creative writing workshop, the Toby Thompson signing of his re-released classic “Positively Main Street” and the North Country Jam Session at the Hibbing Memorial Building Little Theater.
Saturday has three biggies: The Bobby Zimmerman bus tour (an interactive, story-telling event that continues to receive the best reviews from Dylan Days visitors), the Literary Showcase (I emcee, featuring poets and fiction writers reading their work, and the world premiere of the first ever winner of the one act playwright contest play), and finally, the Saturday night Dylan Days Benefit Concert with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and others.
Sunday has the farewell brunch and an encore presentation of the winning Dylan Days one act play. (Seriously, check it out … Sunday is a fundraiser for the HCC Theatre which went to great lengths to make this play happen.)
Information on all of this — indeed, exquisite detail — is at the Dylan Days website. I’ve only talked about half of this event, which also includes arts events every day and live music every night. This isn’t just an event for Dylan fans, it’s an event that honors the people of the Iron Range and the possibility that great art provides.
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