Bentleyville Archives

Bentleyville Crews Hunker Down for Windy Winter Storm

Volunteers were out as early as 3 p.m. battening down the Bentleyville hatches, securing signage and some lights with cement blocks so they don't blow away.

December 15, 2021

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- While forecasters kept their eyes to the sky Wednesday, crews at Bentleyville were hard at work on the ground, preparing the tour of lights in Bayfront Park for its second major storm of the 2021 season, closing for the precipitation and 50 mph wind gusts that are all but expected off Lake Superior. Volunteers were out as early…

Bentleyville Gets Added Security Boost

November 18, 2021

Reece Lindquist,

DULUTH, Minn. — More eyes will be watching over the Bentleyville Tour of Lights this holiday season. To help detour or even catch any grinches trying to steal away the Christmas spirit. “It was a true blessing to Bentleyville and the whole community to be preserving all the work and all the volunteers and everyone that puts everything into Bentleyville,”…

Year In Review Part Four

December 31, 2020

Reece Lindquist,

DULUTH, Minn. – FOX 21 Local News is taking a look back at the top stories that made headlines in 2020. Here are some of those stories from October, November and December. Categories: Community, Crime, Education, Minnesota, News Tags: Bentleyville, biden, crime, duluth, Election, shooting, Trump, year in review

Bentleyville Founder Urges Weekday Visits as Saturday Nights Get Busy

The attraction started closing to new vehicles at 5:30 Saturday, and ended up turning people away through the rest of the night.

December 13, 2020

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- Bentleyville Tour of Lights is coming off another busy Saturday night. Ahead of the coming holiday weekend, founder Nathan Bentley is again asking future attendees to seriously consider coming during the week. The attraction started closing to new vehicles at 5:30 Saturday, and ended up turning people away through the rest of the night. Bentley has asked attendees…

UPDATE: Bentleyville Line Fills Up, Guests Turned Away Hours Early Saturday

Guests were asked to come back during the week for shorter wait times.

December 12, 2020

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- Bentleyville Tour of Lights completely closed to new vehicles Saturday night, after reaching capacity early in the evening according to their website. Around 5:30 Saturday evening the attraction posted on their Facebook page that to “alleviate the number of vehicles on the roadways,” they would close the line until 7:30. But when 7:30 rolled around, that post changed…

Bentleyville Backed Up, Line Closes for Two Hours Saturday

The line for the Tour of Lights was at capacity, closing from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

December 12, 2020

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- Traffic at Bentleyville once again backed up Saturday, forcing the line for the drive-thru attraction to close for part of the evening. According to a post on their Facebook page, the line was at capacity around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. They closed the line for two hours until 7:30 p.m., and asked guests to return after that to alleviate…

Bentleyville Modifying Drive-Thru Tour After Vehicles Turned Away Opening Night

Volunteers and Duluth Police had to work though traffic hiccups with the new setup, but said all-in-all it was a successful start.

November 22, 2020

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.-Bentleyville Tour of Lights kicked off its new 2020 drive-thru season Saturday night, and before getting to the Christmas lights — vehicle headlights decorated the streets around Bayfront Festival Park, as crews worked through some challenges with the new setup. “When it’s the very first time you’re attempting to do a drive-thru and it’s opening night there’s always gonna…

Bentleyville Tour of Lights Drive-Thru Opens to Hundreds of Cars

A long line of cars could be seen waiting before the now drive-thru light display opened Saturday.

November 22, 2020

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- It’s that time of year, Bentleyville Tour of Lights is once again lighting up the skyline of Duluth. But this year both guests and staff are adapting to the holiday staple being drive-thru. A long line of cars could be seen waiting before the light display opened Saturday. This year the event went all drive-thru to ensure social…

Duluth Police Department Helping Setup Bentleyville

Bentleyville is set to open November 21st and run through December 27th.

October 23, 2020

Reece Lindquist,

DULUTH, Minn. – Several members of the Duluth Police Department were out helping setup Bentleyville Friday afternoon. It’s a yearly tradition where members of the command staff take time out of their days to come down and help set up some of the larger displays for the tour of lights. The chief of the department says engaging like this with…

Harbortown Rotary Club of Duluth Helps Bentleyville Crews Deck the Halls

The Rotary Club members' job: putting up the "5th Avenue Tunnel" lights.

October 22, 2020

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- Snow’s not the only thing getting Duluth in the winter spirit –setup is continuing at the Bentleyville Tour of Lights, and they are continuing to receive help from the community. About 15 volunteers from the Harbortown Rotary Club of Duluth came ready to deck the halls at Bayfront Park. Normally they help out with other parts of the…

Bentleyville Christmas Tree Installed in Bayfront Park

Volunteers worked four hours to install the 128-foot tree in front of Bayfront Pavilion.

October 10, 2020

CJ Baumgartner,

DULUTH, Minn.- It’s apparently never too early to get into the Christmas spirit for Bayfront Park, as the Bentleyville Christmas Tree went up Saturday. Volunteers worked four hours to install the 128-foot tree in front of Bayfront Pavilion. The hardest part of installing the tree, crews said, was moving the bottom piece — weighing over 16,000 lbs — from its…

Bentleyville Setup Gets Underway

The setup officially started September 26th and will go up until the its opening in late November.

October 1, 2020

Reece Lindquist,

DULUTH, Minn. – It’s that time of year again the setup for Bentleyville Tour of Lights is officially underway. The setup officially started September 26th and will go up until the its opening in late November. The Executive director of the tour of lights says, this year is more challenging then others with figuring out logistics for each display so…

Volunteers Begin Bentleyville Tear Down

January 4, 2020

Reece Lindquist,

DULUTH, Minn. – Starting today the Bentleyville Tour of Lights is being torn down for the season. After what was a slow year because of weather conditions, dozens of volunteers came to Bayfront Park today to help with the tear down process. All the lights and equipment are to be packed into semi trailers and put into storage until next…

Bentleyville Wraps Up 2019 Season

December 28, 2019

Reece Lindquist,

DULUTH, Minn. – The ending of Bentleyville’s 2019 season was A summary of its year as a whole. “Its been a challenging year than previous years with the weather conditions with the weather conditions we’ve had and a little bit lower in attendance than in previous years,” Bentleyville Executive Director, Nathan Bentley says. Bentleyville was closed for three days back…

Bentleyville Prep Wraps Up Five Days Before Opening

Volunteers finish setting up gift shop.

November 18, 2019

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- The Bentleyville Tour of Lights is almost done setting up in Bayfront Park, for opening night this Saturday. Over the last eight weeks, about 15 hundred volunteers helped set up the 21 acres of over 5 million lights. Founder Nathan Bentley said the display wouldn’t happen without all of that help. “I sometimes believe the public maybe doesn’t…

Duluth Police Adding Additional Help at Bentleyville

Duluth Police Department are adding some extra patrols to the Bayfront Park area

November 5, 2019

Ryan Compeau,

DULUTH, Minn.- Monday night we told you about vandalism once again happening at Bentleyville, this time in the form of graffiti. And now, as Duluth Police continue investigating they are adding some extra patrols to the Bayfront Park area. To make sure the park stays protected, and Bentleyville has a great show this year, more security measures are being added….

Bentleyville USA in Need of Volunteers, Donations

Coffee Conversation: 2019 Bentleyville USA; Need for Volunteers, Donations

October 21, 2019

Brett Scott,

DULUTH, Minn. – Bentleyville USA will flip on the lights for another year of holiday cheer Saturday, November 23. The need for volunteers is in high demand. Nathan Bentley, founder of Bentleyville USA, tells FOX 21 there are six weeks of work to be finished in a matter of four weeks. Volunteers are needed Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 a.m….

Setup Underway for Bentleyville Tour of Lights

October 3, 2019

Reece Lindquist,

DULUTH, Minn. – Volunteers have been hard at work setting up tunnels and lights over at Bayfront Festival Park. Although there’s still a long way to go, organizers are excited to bring new displays this year, especially along the fire pit area. “For the first time in ten years, we’re getting rid of all of our snowflakes on the panels….

Plans to Ease Bayfront Area Traffic and Parking Unveiled

Metropolitan Interstate Council holds meeting to release full plan, get public feedback.

May 22, 2019

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- As summer inches closer, so do festivals and concerts–both at the DECC and at Bayfront Festival Park. Those events are becoming more frequent, and that means growing parking concerns and traffic that backs up onto I-35. But plans are moving forward to help change that, unveiled Wednesday by the Metropolitan Interstate Council, or MIC. The Council is working…

Duluth Says Bye Bye to Bentleyville

Holiday Attraction Packs Its Bags, and Unplugs the Lights

December 27, 2018

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.-That’s a wrap! Well, time to wrap up a lot of Christmas lights that is. Christmas only comes once a year, and unfortunately, so does Bentleyville Tour of Lights. Another year in the books for Duluth’s largest holiday attraction, as it unplugs its lights, closed for the year. On Thursday crews were seen packing up supplies and taking down…

How Many Steps Does It Take? Bentleyville Tour of Lights

Fox 21's Brittney Merlot Takes Us Through Bentleyville For A Beautiful & Bright Active Adventures

December 4, 2018

Brittney Merlot,

DULUTH, Minn. — Looking for ways to get those extra steps in during the holiday season? Take a walk through Bentleyville! In this weeks Active Adventures, Fox 21’s Brittney Merlot takes us through the tour of lights – joined by Mayor Bentleyville’s daughter, underneath the 128-foot tree! We chat about what it takes to put on the big light show,…

Superheroes Unite for Duluth Police Foundation

Superhero 5K Run by 120 Participants

October 28, 2018

Arman Rahman,

DULUTH, Minn.- 120 Supermen, Wonder Women, and other superheroes came out to race throughout Duluth, to benefit the heroes who fight everyday without capes or superpowers: our law enforcement. Duluth Avengers and Justice League members enjoyed a rewarding drink at their fortress of solitude, the Sports Garden, after defeating the villain known as the 5k Run. Just kidding, more of…

Volunteers Do Spring Cleaning At Bayfront Festival Park

Different volunteer groups showed up for the cleanup

April 21, 2018

Haydee Clotter,

DULUTH, Minn. – These warmer temperatures were just right to do some spring cleaning at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth. Volunteers stepped up and spent their time picking up trash and others items left behind. One volunteer says he was surprised with how clean the park was and how people take pride in keeping it that way. “When we have…

Midday Update 12-27-17

Local News and Weather Headlines for Wednesday, December 27, 2017

December 27, 2017

Brett Scott,

Categories: Community, News Update Tags: Bentleyville, Brett Scott, cold, Headlines, Local News, Minnesota Power, News, temperatures, Update, weather

Great Outdoors: Bentleyville Tour of Lights 2017 Finale

Attraction Saw Bigger Crowds Than 2016

December 26, 2017

Nikki Davidson,

Exciting news for Bentleyville Tour of Lights 2017, attendance was way up compared to last year. Nathan Bentley tells us that in 2016, 292,000 people visited Bentleyville in Duluth’s Bayfront Park. In 2017, that number is about 330,000 people. Bentley says it takes a lot of people to make the holiday attraction come together each year, and they are now…

Bentleyville Remains Nation’s Largest Free Lighting Display

Coffee Conversation: Bentleyville Tour of Lights

November 13, 2017

Natalie Froistad,

DULUTH, Minn. – With the holidays right around the corner, giant lighting displays are beginning to take over Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth. This is for Bentelyville Tour of Lights. Nearly four million lights fill the nation’s largest free walk through lighting display. Through the walk, there are stops for complimentary hot cocoa, cookies, popcorn and roasted marshmallows. Children will…

Final Preparations Underway for Bentleyville Tour of Lights

Northlander volunteers play a large role in getting Bentleyville up and running.

November 12, 2017

Lauren Leigh,

DULUTH, Minn.-Bentleyville will be open in just six days, last minute preparations are currently underway. Many Northlanders have lent a hand setting up Bentleyville, now its the final count down till the holiday lights flick on. The helpers still out preparing the final details have special skill sets, necessary to get the park up and running. This year there are plenty…

Bentleyville

Volunteers were out as early as 3 p.m. battening down the Bentleyville hatches, securing signage and some lights with cement blocks so they don't blow away.

The attraction started closing to new vehicles at 5:30 Saturday, and ended up turning people away through the rest of the night.

Guests were asked to come back during the week for shorter wait times.

The line for the Tour of Lights was at capacity, closing from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Volunteers and Duluth Police had to work though traffic hiccups with the new setup, but said all-in-all it was a successful start.

A long line of cars could be seen waiting before the now drive-thru light display opened Saturday.

Bentleyville is set to open November 21st and run through December 27th.

The Rotary Club members' job: putting up the "5th Avenue Tunnel" lights.

Volunteers worked four hours to install the 128-foot tree in front of Bayfront Pavilion.

The setup officially started September 26th and will go up until the its opening in late November.

Volunteers finish setting up gift shop.

Duluth Police Department are adding some extra patrols to the Bayfront Park area

Coffee Conversation: 2019 Bentleyville USA; Need for Volunteers, Donations

Metropolitan Interstate Council holds meeting to release full plan, get public feedback.

Holiday Attraction Packs Its Bags, and Unplugs the Lights

Fox 21's Brittney Merlot Takes Us Through Bentleyville For A Beautiful & Bright Active Adventures

Superhero 5K Run by 120 Participants

Different volunteer groups showed up for the cleanup

Local News and Weather Headlines for Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Attraction Saw Bigger Crowds Than 2016

Coffee Conversation: Bentleyville Tour of Lights

Northlander volunteers play a large role in getting Bentleyville up and running.

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