A statue not made of matchsticks

Bob Dylan's lyrics will be permanently blowin' in the wind in his birthplace of Duluth if Minnesota sculptor Tom Page completes his $160,000 Kickstarter campaign for a statue of the music icon. The MCAD-educated sculptor from Cohasset, Minn., has designed a 12-foot statue for his Duluth By Dylan project. It depicts Dylan, sucking on his harmonica and strumming his six-string guitar, with the tail of his coat (engraved with song lyrics) blowin' in the wind. The project has the endorsement of Duluth Mayor Don Ness. Page has large sculptures on display in Grand Rapids, Minn., and Houghton-Hancock, Mich. For a $1,500 donation, you can get your name on a plaque associated with one of Dylan's album titles (your choice) on the base of the statue. For smaller donations, there are such premiums as guitar picks, baseball caps and model replicas of the statue. No word from Dylan — is there ever? — about the statue project, but maybe he'll reference it when he returns to Duluth on July 9, with Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Richard Thompson, for only his third hometown appearance ever — and first since 1999.

Jon Bream

Smoke rings

It'll be a big week for Minneapolis jazz singer Connie Evingson. On Wednesday and Thursday, she'll make her debut at New York's Lincoln Center as part of the all-star cast of "Swinging With the Big Bands." It features jazz superstar Wynton Marsalis, cabaret star Michael Feinstein, the ever-charming Nellie McKay and Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, New York's premier classic jazz ensemble. Evingson will do two Peggy Lee songs, "I Wanna Be Loved" and "Why Don't You Do Right" — with an "illicit thrill" planned for the latter. "Before it was a big Peggy Lee/Benny Goodman hit, [the song] was written by Kansas Joe McCoy for the Harlem Hamfats band. The original title was 'Weed Smoker's Dream,' and the lyrics were completely different," Evingson told I.W. "By request of jazz journalist Will Friedwald, I'll be doing some of those original lyrics from 1936." Before heading to New York, Evingson has a hometown date Sunday to revive her winning show "He's Hip: Songs of Dave Frishberg," a salute to the witty St. Paul-born songwriting great featuring saxman Dave Karr and Chicago pianist Jon Weber (4 & 7:30 p.m., Jungle Theater, $25).

Tom Surowicz

From both sides now

Count Katie Couric among the legions of new Zach Sobiech fans. The talk-show host featured the late singer/songwriter on her show Friday, interviewing family members and friends while trying to hold back tears. Sobiech, who was a senior at Stillwater High School, died May 20 after a long battle with osteosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. Before passing, he wrote and recorded "Clouds," a song about celebrating life and facing death. It has been at the top of iTunes chart as well as Billboard's rock digital songs chart. "I'm a mess, by the way," said Couric as she interviewed Sobiech's girlfriend, Amy Adamle, and Zach's lifelong friend Sammy Brown. Couric also talked to Zach's mother, Laura Sobiech, via Skype. Making a surprise appearance was Jason Mraz, one of many celebrities who participated in a video tribute of "Clouds" that has been viewed more than 2.6 million times on YouTube. Mraz told Couric: "I've never heard a song with such purpose."

Bob Dylan is larger than life in the design for a 12-foot statue.

Neal Justin

A doc about docs

"Access to the Danger Zone" — a new documentary about the harrowing effort to bring emergency medical care to some of the world's least secure, most violent places — will be screened free at the Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The documentary, directed by Peter Casaer and Eddie Gregoor and narrated by actor Daniel Day-Lewis, looks at humanitarian groups — Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, the United Nations — that seek to reach people in need. It includes footage from such war-torn places as Afghanistan, Somalia and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Minnesotans who have worked with Doctors Without Borders in various parts of the world.

Claude Peck

Paul & Babe & books

The fourth annual Bemidji Library Book Festival will draw writers from all over the state to teach, read and autograph books. Made possible by the state Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (commonly known as the Legacy Fund), the weeklong festival (June 17-22) is free, though some sessions require pre-registration. Speakers include children's writers Alison McGhee, Lise Lunge-Larsen, John Coy and David LaRochelle; State Poet Laureate Joyce Sutphen; mystery writers Chuck Logan, William Kent Krueger and Brian Freeman; and authors Brenda Child, Anton Treuer and Will Weaver. Call 1-218-751-3963 to register, or visit the Kitchigami Regional Library System website (krls.org) for more information and for a full schedule.

Laurie Hertzel

R.I.P., Phil Kilbourne

A memorial will be held Monday for Twin Cities actor Phil Kilbourne, who died April 6 at age 61. Kilbourne was known for essaying darkly intelligent and off-kilter characters on many local stages. At the Jungle Theater, he played a Russian scientist in "Hapgood," a hoarder in "The Dazzle" and Lucifer in "The Seafarer." The characters he portrayed at Penumbra were softer, including manager types in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "Dinah Was," and "I Wish You Love." The memorial will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the Jungle.

Rohan Preston