And finally tonight:After months of planning and hundreds of volunteers...BentleyVille's Tour of Lights opened for the season this weekend to a steady stream of visitors.The light show boasts more than 3-million lights and new this year.... A 120-foot, 17 ton Christmas Tree.This is the second year BentleyVille is taking place in Duluth's Bayfront Festival Park.It's open every night until December 26th.It's free to get in... however organizers encourage people to bring a non-perishable food item or unused toy for the Salvation Army.

See the link here 

Three million lights lit up Bentleyville on Saturday evening, but the smile on Kelly Hermanson’s face was just as bright.

The Proctor woman had her Christmas wish granted while she was still sitting on Santa’s lap.

She told Santa she wanted an engagement ring. Her boyfriend, Jeff Crosby of Duluth, was already on one knee, ostensibly to take a picture. Instead, he produced a ring as a cheer went up from dozens of parents and children waiting to see Santa.....

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It should be clear to most in the Duluth area by now that when it comes to Christmas displays, Nathan Bentley goes big. And when he hits the lights Saturday on the Bentleyville Tour of Lights, expect his greatest effort yet — one that will put Clark W. Griswold of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” further to shame.

This year at Bayfront Festival Park, a new steel Christmas tree at 12 stories tall — more than twice the height of New York City’s famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.....

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Bentleyville Tour of Lights is pleased to announce the addition of a twelve story (120 feet) tall Christmas tree to their Bayfront Festival Park display this year.  As tall as Downtown Duluth's Medical Arts Building and rising more than twice the height of New York City's famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, this steel fabricated tree covered with 50,000 LED lights will be located in the center of Bayfront Park.

The Bentleyville tree is being constructed by volunteer iron workers at the Iron Workers Local 512.  Iron workers will weld together 17 tons of iron building the tree to the height of 120 feet.  This tree was made possible through the generosity from Krech Ojard, Iron Workers Local 512, Dynamic Structural Steel LLC, Northern Industrial Erectors from Grand Rapids, CR Meyers from Coleraine, Shelton Excavating, St. Joseph Equipment, JP Concrete, Twin Ports Concrete Pumping and Arrowhead Concrete.

Showcased as the "Tallest Christmas Tree in the United States", the bentleyville tree will be the premier attraction as people experience the magic of nearly 3 million lights illuminating the Bayfront Festival Park from November 20th through December 26th, Sunday through Thursday 5:00-9:00 PM, Friday and Saturday 5:00-10:00 PM.  Admission is free.
 

The story can be read here:  http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/Duluth-Hopes-to-Offer-Free-Parking-for-Bentleyville-Visitors-105476618.html 

Bentleyville volunteers were featured on a news story featured on Fox 21.  Click to watch the video!
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Tom Cawcutt's winning Bentleyville Theme Song can now be listened to by clicking on the link on the left side of the web page.

Enjoy!


 

Though Wrenshall’s Tom Cawcutt Sr. has been a well-established singer-songwriter-performer for a long, long time, his latest curtain call is perhaps his most unusual.

This week, Cawcutt’s original “jingle” was selected as the official theme song of Bentleyville, Nathan Bentley’s annual Christmas lighting extravaganza now held at Duluth’s Bayfront Park.

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