Field of Dreams- 25th Anniversary

While the name “Dyersville, Iowa” may not ring a bell, this weekend hundreds of people will be in town to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams.” The film was about a baseball field and a father-son reunion. It starred Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan and James Earl Jones. Burt Lancaster made his last film appearance in this widely loved baseball classic. The film was adapted from the novel “Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella. Many aspects of the film still resonate today, and thousands of people travel each year to reconnect with their loved ones or just have a catch, in what many consider a sacred baseball place in Dyersville, Iowa.

Fortunately, Don Lansing decided not to replant the cornfield when the filming of “Field of Dreams” ended in 1988. The move opened in April 1989, and the first visitors to Dyersville arrived in May.  It has been almost twenty years or so since I made the long drive through the cornfields. I remember walking through those cornfields and playing catch on the field. I thought I might be the only person there, but that was not the case. There were several people playing a game on the field and the bleachers were filled with people from the around the world. I have been to major league stadiums across the country but never to a field that provokes emotions the way this little one does in an Iowa cornfield. The field is just as you remember it from the movie, just like James Earl Jones’ vision. “People will come, Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn into the driveway, not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past.”  The library has the film as well as the book that it was adapted from. Also in our collection is Brett Mandel’s “Is this Heaven?: The Magic of the Field of Dreams.” Did you know Dubuque, Iowa is Boston in the film, and Galena, Illinois is really Chisholm, Minnesota? You need to experience the magic! We can help you plan your weekend or day getaway to Iowa.  Visit 917.77 in our nonfiction collection for many travels guides to the state.