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Dirty Dancing at 25

Legions of fans will flock to Lake Lure, NC this weekend for the third annual Dirty Dancing Festival, a celebration of the 1987 movie starring Patrick Swayze.

The film was expected to be a flop when it debuted at the box office 25 years ago. Instead, the movie foxtrotted its way into the hearts of audience goers and became a blockbuster hit, grossing $170 million in the year of its release. It’s since become an oft-quoted pop culture icon. Host Frank Stasio explores the film’s enduring legacy with Maria Pramaggiore, a professor of Film Studies and Associate Head of English at North Carolina State University and Michelle Yelton, co-founder of the Dirty Dancing Festival.

Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

See stories by Frank Stasio