One of the world’s most famous movies is still alive and kicking in the dust of an Iowa cornfield.
Many of the people who come to visit what was once the set of Field of Dreams actually play a game of ball – with their friends who came with them, or with whoever happens to be on the field at the time. Some people bring their own gear. Some of the gear is professional quality, while some bring whiffle ball bats – it’s all in the name of fun.
Those who come here don’t do so on a whim. The dreamlike quality of this specific baseball field is derived from the many scenes in which Kevin Costner’s character turns on the field’s lights in the middle of the night and plays some ball with Shoeless Joe Jackson (played by Ray Liotta). Those who visit want to see the field all lit up the way it was in the movie; however, the field is not open past 6 pm, so the field’s lights are never turned on; in fact, there are no bulbs in any of the light tower fixtures.
Sometimes during the summer, a Dyersville semi-professional team dresses up in old fashioned baseball uniforms and hides in the corn, reenacting a special moment in the movie. Known as the Ghost Players, they emerge from the cornfield to play some ball with whoever is visiting at the time.
Aside from that, there are no organized baseball games here. Not even if you are the most die-hard Field of Dreams fan there is. The owners prefer to allow anyone to play ball when they visit, like a true field of dreams ought to.
Admission to the Field of Dreams is free, and still looks exactly the way it did in the movie, complete with the simple wooden bleachers, the white farm house with wrap-around porch, and corn fields if you visit at the right time. It is located at 28995 Lansing Road. You can visit from April through November, 9 am to 6 pm, as long as the gates are open. You can call 563-875-8404 to verify.