Friday, August 9, 2019

Art Fairs and Tall Ships: Duluth Scene Is Lively This Weekend, with Dylan Soundtrack Woven In.

A model tall ship, one of many at Karpeles Manuscript
Library Museum where a portion of Bill Pagel's Dylan
Archiveis on display through August 15.
Oh the time will come up
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin’
Like the stillness in the wind
’Fore the hurricane begins
The hour when the ship comes in

Oh the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking

This song should certainly be the anthem for Duluth's Festival of Sail (FoS) when the tall ships arrive this weekend. Penned by Duluth native son Bob Dylan when he was a youth of 22, it's been covered by more than two dozen artists including Arlo on his lovely Hobo's Lullaby album (1972). It became one of Dylan's selections sung with Joan Baez during the 1963 March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech. He also performed it with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood for Live Aid in 1985.

The Festival of Sail is the re-named event that was called Tall Ships Festival in years past. A harbor full of tall ships is still a harbor full of tall ships, whatever name you give it.

One difference from their last visit is that the Bayfront Art Fair took place the same weekend. There was some confusion at that time. THIS YEAR there will again be an art fair in conjunction with the FoS but more as a part of the whole.

Oh the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they’ll be smiling

And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in

And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they’re spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean

One of many new, never-seen-before images that
Ryan Tischer will have on display
this weekend at each of the art fairs.
Preceding this will be Lake Superior Art Fair up on Brighton Beach. It was a much larger show than I expected when I attended last year, and you can hardly beat the location. LSAF will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The FoS will be Sunday through Tuesday.

I do not know the schedule but it certainly would be cool if the tall ships started coming in on Saturday. Brighton Beach would be a spectacular place to view them gliding toward the safe harbor of Duluth.

A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in

Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin’
And the ship’s wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin’

As I was suggesting, wouldn't this be a great anthem for the Festival of Sail? The lyrics are so rich and uplifting, inventive and delicious.

If you're from out of town and have never been past the original home of Bobby Zimmerman on the Central Hillside, where he lived till age six before the family moved to Hibbing, you can find the home located a half block up the hill from Third Avenue East and Fifth Street. It's the yellow duplex on the upper side of the alley. (There's a placard on the front above the porch and a small emblem in the sidewalk.) If you need to punch in an address for your GPS, 519 N. Third Avenue East will get you there.

Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they’ll jerk from their beds and think they’re dreamin’
But they’ll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it’s for real
The hour when the ship comes in

Then they’ll raise their hands
Sayin’ we’ll meet all your demands
But we’ll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharoah’s tribe
They’ll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they’ll be conquered
Copyright © 1963, 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991, 1992 by Special Rider Music


* * * *
Related Links
Festival of Sail Map and Schedule of Events
FRIDAY AT 5:30 P.M.: Opening Reception at AICHO for The Art of Huuc Co & Wakatatlihuni
The Bob Dylan Project: When the Ship Comes In

No comments:

Popular Posts