BOVEY — Megan Reynolds has been championing arts on the Iron Range for many years now, and KAXE honored her in 2024 with the Kathy Dodge Community Arts Advocate Award. She joined Bright Spot on the KAXE Morning Show to share information about Iron Range Barn Dances, high school theater and other arts happening in the Arrowhead region.
For some, the thought of dancing in front of other people, perhaps strangers, is very daunting. But Iron Range Barn Dances believes you can overcome those feelings and find a real sense of community at one of their events.
"It's really about being together and uniting over something ... regardless of who you are and where you come from," Reynolds said.
"Everybody is there to physically make something happen ... create a community that arises in that moment. I kind of get choked up every time it happens on the Iron Range."
Iron Range Barn Dances have been happening across the Range for about four years. Locations have included Kaleva Hall in Virginia and Maple Hill Community Club in Hibbing. The organizers will host their first dance at Bovey City Hall from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14. Sugar on the Roof will provide live music. The band includes Reynolds, her husband, Jefferson, and Clancy Ward.
"The floor is gorgeous," Reynolds said. "So those of us who are real dance nerds are super excited to get out there."
You do not, however, need to be a dance nerd to participate. All steps are taught by a caller, in this case Julie Young, who Reynolds describes as a "dance whisperer." You also do not need a partner. If you come with your sweetheart, you will find yourself dancing with many others throughout the evening.
Reynolds is also the theater coach at Hibbing High School. She described the recent one-act play competition, in which her team placed second in its section. They performed Antigone in Munich, which tells the story of a pair of siblings who published anti-Nazi pamphlets in 1941 Germany.
"This story was one ... of what it is to feel an internal conflict between your morality and the laws that your country has enacted," Reynolds said.
Next up at Hibbing High School is their spring production, Romeo and Juliet.
Reynolds also gave a brief rundown of other upcoming theater events, like CHAIR's youth version of The Sound of Music and Mesabi Musical Theater's production of Hello, Dolly this summer.
Listen to our full conversation above!
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The Bright Spot is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
