THE TO-DO LIST

Run, Smelt, Run

May 12

Aerial Lift Bridge, Zeitgeist Arts Cafe

Things you might see at Magic Smelt Troupe’s annual Run, Smelt, Run parade: stilt-walkers wrapped in foil, a Prince likeness if Prince was a small silvery fish, streamers and crowns and a green headed King Neptune. The parade, which has become a rite of spring, starts near the Aerial Lift Bridge with a celebration of smelt royalty, then curves along the Lakewalk — with music by Brass Messengers — to Zeitgeist Arts Cafe for an optional smelt fry. It can take up to 50 pounds of fried fish to feed these wonderful weirdos. Some of the players involved with the parade have roots in the Minneapolis-based In The Heart of the Beast. Go big for the smelt: dress in silver, create bright red fish lips, then cut loose. Free.

Magicsmelt.com

Duluth Dylan Fest

May 18-26

Venues in Duluth

There is a small, unassuming duplex smack dab in Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood with big history: Bob Dylan lived there for the first six years of his life. In the past decade, owner and Dylan memorabilia collector Bill Pagel has worked to restore the home at 519 N. Third Ave. E. to what it might have looked like when childZimmerman looked out that piano window, clicked those push-button light switches, soaked in the claw-foot tub.

The house is among the draws for Dylan heads who descend on Duluth for its annual Dylan Fest — a more than week-long celebration of all things Dylan. There will be music, lectures, exhibitions, poetry readings and more.

The festival shifts to Dylan’s childhood home on May 24, the artist’s 78th birthday, where Greg Tiburzi will perform Dylan tunes from his front porch fans can mingle, geek out and wish the big wish that just this once, Dylan might drop by. Ticket prices vary according to event. Bobdylanway.com