From November 18th to December 26th, Duluth puts on a spectacular light show called Bentleyville. It consists of five million lights and lots of yummy free food.
Upon arrival, excited families surrounded me while we were all waiting for the five million lights to turn on at five o’clock. Christmas music was playing, and everyone was in a good mood dancing and singing along. Then came the moment we all awaited… the lights came on. It was such a magical experience because a song about Bentleyville started playing as we walked inside of the event. It was absolutely gorgeous.
As I walked in, hot chocolate, sugar cookies, popcorn, and marshmallows for roasting were handed out to me free of charge. They were delicious, and truly the perfect start to the event. This event was actually free itself, with the only charge being ten dollars for a parking ticket. There was also a chance to donate toys and money to the Salvation Army, which I thought was a great idea because I strongly believe that every child should be able to have a good and memorable Christmas.
I got a chance to take pictures with characters from Bentleyville including reindeer, bears, and more before walking through the event. It is basically a big circle you walk around with a lot of lit-up structures that are all very unique. They consisted of penguins, the American flag, dinosaurs, a Nativity scene, and so much more. It was so fun to experience, that my family and I wanted to go around a second time. The Nativity scene was definitely my favorite because it showed the true meaning of Christmas.
The only downside of the event was the temperature, which is something that the people who put on the event obviously couldn’t control. It was pretty frigid outside, with icy winds because you were directly next to Lake Superior. However, I didn’t let the temperature affect me too much. I put on many warm layers, plus, I had hot chocolate to warm me up.
After I had seen all of the lights that my heart desired, I had the opportunity to go to a Bentleyville gift shop. It was filled with Christmas decor and a lot of stuff branded by Bentleyville. I got a cute little gnome ornament as a precious keepsake.
Overall, it was a super fun event, and I already want to go back.