DULUTH — You would have thought Ryan Gosling himself had just walked into Paulucci Hall. "Oh my god," cried one woman as she walked through the event space. "Here comes Ken!" Her excitement was understandable.
Right there at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center stood not just a Ken doll, but the original Ken doll — the very first figure to be sold as Barbie's amiable date. Appropriately for the harborside setting, Ken was ready for the beach, wearing a red swimsuit with matching sandals and carrying a yellow towel under his arm. Ken is in Duluth as part of "Barbie: A Cultural Icon," a touring exhibit featuring dozens of dolls and accessories from throughout the toy line's 65-year history.
The exhibit opened Aug. 6 and two days later, the DECC invited fans to a "Pink Party" celebrating the the first-ever museum-style exhibit hosted by the facility. DECC Executive Director Dan Hartman, resplendent in a pink sport coat, was standing in the Symphony Hall mezzanine, where a DJ was playing Miley Cyrus and the party's early attendees were loading up on appetizers.
Museums often have parties to celebrate major exhibit openings, said Hartman, and the DECC event was in that spirit. ADVERTISEMENT "People, I think, are surprised that something like this is here in Duluth, which I think is great. I can't tell you how much effort it took to convince Mattel to actually have it here in Duluth," said Hartman.
"It (is traveling) from Las Vegas to Phoenix to Duluth to New York City." .