Best bets: Dylan Fest, Native film, plus art, music and poetry

Bob Dylan, among the world’s favorite artists to wonder about, turns 80 on May 24, a milestone that will be celebrated locally with a casual yard party at his childhood duplex (519 N. Third Ave. E., music by Greg Tiburzi), an episode of “Highway 61 Revisited” (at 5 p.m. on KUMD-FM 103.3 ) and a Cowboy Blue Angel concert at Earth Rider Festival Field (5-8 p.m. Superior). These events are part of the nine days of Duluth’s annual Dylan Fest, a mix of virtual and in-person jams, poetry readings and lectures.

Robert Zimmerman was born at St. Mary’s Hospital and lived in Central Hillside but moved to Hibbing, where he eventually graduated from high school. He then, famously, moved to New York City via Minneapolis and has continued to entertain, amuse, confuse and collect major awards like, for instance, the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Medal of Freedom.

Dylan Fest starts at 9 a.m. May 22 with a free tour of Bob Dylan sites, starting at the Armory Arts & Music Center Annex and the Bob Dylan Revue in a livestream from Sacred Heart Music Center at 7 p.m.

For a full schedule, go to bobdylanway.com .

“The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw,” a dramedy by Shelley Niro, a Six Nations Reserve tribal member, is a feature-length story of an artist with an eye toward changing the world with her hats. She’s sidetracked by a return to the reserve, where her hard-to-love mother isn’t well. Back home, she encounters a bully, an old boyfriend and spirit guides who inspire her.

The Duluth Superior Film Festival, American Indian Housing Organization and Zeitgeist are offering a virtual screening of the film — free, but donations will be accepted — at 6:30 p.m. on May 19.

The screening will open with a look at the short film “Dream Wanderer” by Khayman Goodsky, who will host the online event. It’s described as “An Ojibwe woman finds herself stuck in the dreams of a being she’s been warned about.” To register, go to aicho.org .

Joseph Nease Gallery is hosting an in-gallery artist talk with David Bowen, Allen Killian-Moore and Kathy McTavish, who have created individual works that are featured in the exhibition “A Warm Reset.”

(This show has a handful of artists working in painting, photography, film, ceramics, digital animation and installation. There will be an additional artist talk with Tim White, Liz James and Tara Austin in June.)

Killian-Moore’s piece is “Unweaving Unwound,” a film about the public art project by Tia Salmela Keobounpheng; McTavish debuts her new animated “blue atlas,” which includes poetry by Sheila Packa; Bowen has created carved polystyrene pieces that are shown alongside Cary Esser’s ceramic wall-relief structures.

To register for the event, email manager@josephneasegallery.com .

One Less Guest, a local jazz-funk band that quickly became a fan-favorite, is relocating to California. The foursome of Ren Cooper, Nick Muska, Nick Glass and Cody Thoreson announced in February that it was following Thoreson back to his hometown of Anaheim. When he suggested they join him, they bit. Since then, they’ve been wrapping up shows around the region — but this is the finale. One Less Guest plays its farewell concert at 6:30 p.m. May 21 at Earth Rider Festival Field. Tickets start at $5 at eventbrite.com .

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In a rogue bit of art that is part Bansky, part yarn-bombing, part geocaching, a local writer has dropped QR codes in key spots in Duluth and Superior that lead back to poems specific to the place from the perspective of a rideshare driver. A scan in Lincoln Park leads to a story of a man en route to the Motel 6; he leaves behind the essence of french fries. In another, on the 300 block of West Second Street, the poet-driver tells a woman a truth that is almost true. A trip from Duluth to Superior starts with the story of a clogged drain. These short bits of narrative writing tell the stories of humans who live here or are passing through.

To follow the series, scan a QR code — which will then lead to a poem and a map of the rest of them. Why not start with No. 1: It's at 21st Avenue East and London Road.