Lighting up the Night

Just like Clark Griswold in the Christmas Classic National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, many of us enjoy the part of the season that includes the bright lights of Christmas that illuminate a sometimes drab winter landscape.

During the hustle and bustle of the advent season, it's nice to take the time for this seasonal treat, both in your own neighborhood and possibly taking the time to seek out destinations that offer an inspiring display. I'd like to share with you two such destinations that are well worth the extra effort: Bentleyville Tour of Lights in Duluth, MN. and Sam's Christmas Village in Somerset, WI.

I'd like to start with the Duluth light show because that was my most recent inspiration. Located on the chilly shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, the Bentleyville Tour of Lights boasts over 5 million lights creating a delightful seasonal display. The walk thru display is actually free of charge, but encourages a donation of non- perishable food items and/or new unwrapped toys. I donated both some food and a new toy. It was fun to pick out a brand new John Deere tractor that I hope will bring delight to some little boy or girl. (Yes, I played with trucks and cars as a little girl...not just dolls!) The charitable donations are managed by the Salvation Army and I think it is a wonderful gesture in the spirit of the season.

The history behind how this light show got started is actually a very interesting tale. Here is the engaging story from their web site:

In 2001 Nathan Bentley first started decorating his home in Esko, MN for the Christmas season.  For the next two years he continually added more lights to create a larger holiday light display; his home quickly became known as the “House with all of the lights in Esko.” 

Since Nathan was going overboard a friend sarcastically started to call it Bentleyville (referencing Dr. Seuss’s town of Whoville). The name caught on with visitors and “Bentleyville Tour of Lights” was born.

During the summer of 2004, Nathan and his family moved from Esko, MN to rural Cloquet, MN to a larger home for their 4 children. With the new name of “Bentleyville” came a whole new vision for Nathan.  To entice people to drive out into the country a larger and grander Christmas light display was being built.  A 78′ x 24′ high entrance castle made of 45,000 lights was built to greet visitors.  Over 500 illuminated snowflakes hung from trees on his wooded property.  Fire pits were added for people to gather around and roast marshmallows.  Santa Claus was now a permanent guest every night at Bentleyville visiting with children and handing out a free winter hat and bag of cookies to all the young children visiting with Santa.

A “Cookie House” was built offering free cookies, coffee and apple cider to everyone visiting Bentleyville.  All the walking paths were paved allowing it to be fully handicapped accessible.  A Popcorn building was built to hand out free popcorn to the people as they strolled through the light show. A food and toy drive were started to collect items for the Salvation Army in Carlton County.

After just 5 years of hosting Bentleyville at his residences and transporting over 72,000 people by school bus, in 2008 Nathan thought it was a good time to take a year off and re-think how everything was working.

In the fall of 2008 Nathan received a phone call from then Duluth City Mayor Don Ness’s Office inviting him to a meeting to discuss an invitation to host Bentleyville Tour of Lights at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth, MN.   Nathan thought the new location would be a good fit for Bentleyville and accepted the one-year trial invitation. For the next year planning for the large undertaking of moving Bentleyville to a venue 4 times the size of his residence was underway.  Nathan selected a Board of Directors, formed a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and asked his original Bentleyville team of 25 people to help organize and plan for a Christmas light show.

On Friday November 27, 2009 Bentleyville  “Tour of Lights” turned on its millions of lights to thousands of onlookers for the first time at Bayfront Park in downtown Duluth.

Bentleyville has gone from a 2-month hobby to a year-round organization which involves  planning,  repairing, purchasing, fundraising and organizing now one of Minnesota’s largest events.  Nathan Bentley still has his pulse on every decision, working every set up day, every meeting and is at Bentleyville every night from lights on to lights off.  

On average 280,000 – 300,000 people stroll through the whimsical light display each year with Santa Claus giving out up to 30,000 new knit hats to children 10 years old and younger. This 2023 season  marks the 20th Anniversary of Bentleyville “Tour of Lights”, the past 15 years of which have been right here in Bayfront  Festival Park

So Scott & I were one of those thousands of folks who enjoyed the holiday lights at Bentleyville this year. It really was a wonderful and very creative display with many unique and inspired "artworks in light." Of course many of the elements were of a Christmas theme, but there were other themes to catch your attention like a nautical theme.

I saw scuba divers, fish and a manta ray. Then closer to the popcorn stand, I spied a lighthouse....love it! To me anyway, it looks surprising like the one in Duluth harbor. I'm thinking maybe that is not just coincidence. In any case, it was one of my favorites. Not a great photo of it, but it is neat that you can see the lights shining on Lake Superior in the back ground. I was too busy taking photos to enjoy the free popcorn, but the hot cocoa and free cookies were awesome.

The night we were there it was quite mild temperature wise and the wind was quiet. I didn't get cold at all, which was surprising being by the shores of Superior, but I guess we got lucky in that respect. I would give folks a warning , however, that it obviously requires ALOT of walking. I guess that is understandable, but be prepared for that. My husband and I enjoyed it, but were completely worn out by the end of the night. I saw many parents, and grandparents, with kids in strollers. They were the lucky ones to be able to take it all in from the vantage point of a comfy chair with a blanket. Nevertheless, I am glad we made the journey, it was really fun!

The next light show I want to "shed some light on" (ha-ha) is one I experienced last season and is much closer to our home: Sam's Christmas Village & Light Tour in Somerset, Wisconsin. I went last year with two of my adult sons and we did really enjoy it. Unlike this year, it was neat that there was a little snow on the ground as part of the ambiance and we did get lots of great photos.

It's a little confusing at first, when planning a trip to Sam's because you have to decide if you want a drive through day or a walk through. Keeping the drivers and the walkers separate, pf course, makes good sense for a fun and safe experience for everyone. Be sure to check their web site for hours or operation, if it's a drive through or walk through day and the pricing. Their web site is: samschristmasvillage.com

We choose the walking option and I am glad we did because I feel like you can just see more and also if feels like you could linger more by each display and take more photos.

Another option at Sam's are the rental of "S'mores cabins", which sounds like fun, They provide you with a small cabin to stay warm, all the makings for S'mores and your own private firepit. We did not pursue that option, but I think it is a fun and unique idea.

Another very nice option they provide at Sam's is little golf carts to drive walkers to their car or other destinations within the village. This is helpful, especially for folks like myself with knees that aren't as young as they use to be. I really appreciated the ride because the parking lot was quite big!

So Sam's Christmas Village and Light Tour boasts 12 million lights! It really is quite a spectacular display and they also have a marketplace. We did have fun and even my "Big Kids" enjoyed themselves.

Merry Christmas everyone and enjoy the beauty and blessings of the season!