DYERSVILLE — Thousands of baseball fans poured into Dyersville, Iowa, over the weekend to pay homage to one of the most popular baseball films of all time, “Field of Dreams.”

To answer the most prevalent question asked in “Field of Dreams” and one of its most heavily quoted lines throughout the weekend at the movie site — this is not heaven. It is Iowa.

Fans and proud Iowans filled the field and surrounding areas at Iowa’s mecca of baseball to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film and were treated on the opening night to a star-studded panel hosted by renowned sports broadcaster, Bob Costas.

The panel was headlined by Kevin Costner, who played Ray Kinsella, the lead in “Field of Dreams” and one of Costner’s defining roles on his way to movie stardom.

Also joining Costner were actors Timothy Busfield, who played Costner’s brother-in-law in the film, and Dwier Brown, who was cast in the role of Costner’s deceased father.

The family theme, particularly the father-son theme, dominated the weekend’s events and perhaps fittingly so, as the celebration took place on the Friday and Saturday before Father’s Day.

The actors sat down in front of the farmhouse featured in the movie to talk to Costas at sunset. The actors spoke about what the movie meant to them.

“I think ‘Field of Dreams’ is really our generation’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ and you all being here just resonates with that idea,” Costner said. “It is a movie that ranks and it never seems to fade.”

Busfield went on to address the father-son relationship that he said makes the film resonate so strongly with new generations decades after it was made.

“I think we all, at the end of our lives, wish that we had a perfect relationship with our parents as they die,” Busfield said. “Nobody wants that fractured relationship and the haunting that Ray goes through and with the crowd here in front of me, I think … [Dwier and Costner’s] relationship [in the film] speaks to all of us.”

After the panel concluded, the crowd migrated in full to the field lit up against the night sky to watch a screening of the film on a large projector in right field, but not before being thanked by Costner.

“Thank you for going to the movies all these years. Thank you for going to my movies,” Costner said. “Thank you for coming here tonight. And for those who aren’t here, they don’t really know what they’re missing.”

Day two of the festivities began with the “Wanna Have a Catch” activity for families — a reference to one of the final scenes in the film where Costner’s character finally plays catch with his father, repairing their damaged relationship and erasing one of the character’s greatest regrets.

Parents were invited to head to the outfield and toss the baseball around with their kids.

Gary Knorr first brought his son Hunter to the Dyersville landmark 20 years ago when Hunter was 13. The family revisited the site for the 25th anniversary celebration, with Hunter, now 33, and Gary’s grandchildren in tow.

“My son brought me here for Father’s Day,” said Gary. “The film is a family favorite and [my] grandson’s favorite movie.”

Gary described the experience as “sort of surreal,” getting to play catch on the field from his family’s favorite film, first with his son and then with his grandson two decades later.

It was not only an event for fathers and sons, however. Paul Hannan and his daughter Elizabeth drove three hours from Rochester, Minnesota, to enjoy the weekend. The Hannans are originally from the Dyersville area and have made numerous trips to the field over the years.

Paul said the coolest part about coming back is mixing it up with the ghost players from the film, most of whom were Dyersville residents in the late 1980s and were asked by the film crew to fill in as extras.

The afternoon was full of softball games between VIPs and event sponsors, followed up by a celebrity game featuring Costner and crew.

The games were competitive but jovial, as the “Ghost Team,” a baseball version of the Harlem Globetrotters, took to the field to entertain with a combination of quality play and humorous baseball tricks.

Costas even got on the loudspeaker and called the last half-inning of the celebrity game.

The weekend concluded at America’s River Festival in Dubuque, Iowa, on June 14 with evening concerts by the Gin Blossoms and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.