One Moment, Please… The visionaries among us

A couple of Thursdays ago, Iowa drew a lot of attention when the little town of Dyersville (4,130 pop.) hosted a Major League Baseball game.  This was a big deal, considering Iowa doesn’t have any professional sports teams to call their own.

The New York Yankees played the long ball against the Chicago White Sox.  Dressed like ballplayers from 100 years ago, they walked out of the cornfield just like something you’d see in a movie.  And, of course, that movie is the reason they were walking out of a cornfield in Dyersville, Ia.

The 1989 movie Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner, put Dyersville on the map for America’s favorite pastime.  And, they ran with it.

The community kept that story going, and turned a movie filming location into a tourism destination.

Dyersville wasn’t a one-hit wonder.  Somebody had a vision, and that’s what it takes… always.

There are so many visionaries among us.  We don’t have to look too far.

The night of the special MLB game in Dyersville, I was attending The Addams Family musical play at the Chatfield Center for the Arts.  Our entire family enjoyed the production with so many talented locals.  While attending this historic 50th annual theatre production in Chatfield, Minn., I was thinking somebody had a vision.

What a great asset for Chatfield and surrounding communities.  And, I know they draw a crowd from far beyond Southeastern Minnesota.

DreamAcres in rural Wykoff.  Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro.  Niagara Cave in rural Harmony.  Giants of the Earth Heritage Center in Spring Grove.  Vesterheim Museum in Decorah.

Visionaries will take on the challenge of bringing their ideas to life, because they have a passion for what they do.  They would do what they do for free.  They love it that much!

As we look around our region, we find examples of visions that have come to life that attract a crowd.  They may not all be as big as a Hollywood movie production like Field of Dreams, but that can be part of the intimate appeal.  

Most of us have heard, “If you build it, they will come.”  

Taking an idea and making it come to life is quite an amazing thing… that can be shared with others.